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Division Spotlight
Education, Training & Workforce Development
The Education, Training & Workforce Development Division provides communication among the academic, industrial, and governmental communities through the exchange of views and information on matters related to education, training and workforce development in nuclear and radiological science, engineering, and technology. Industry leaders, education and training professionals, and interested students work together through Society-sponsored meetings and publications, to enrich their professional development, to educate the general public, and to advance nuclear and radiological science and engineering.
Meeting Spotlight
2024 ANS Annual Conference
June 16–19, 2024
Las Vegas, NV|Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
Standards Program
The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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Latest News
Commercial nuclear innovation "new space" age
In early 2006, a start-up company launched a small rocket from a tiny island in the Pacific. It exploded, showering the island with debris. A year later, a second launch attempt sent a rocket to space but failed to make orbit, burning up in the atmosphere. Another year brought a third attempt—and a third failure. The following month, in September 2008, the company used the last of its funds to launch a fourth rocket. It reached orbit, making history as the first privately funded liquid-fueled rocket to do so.
Stacey Eaton, Carl Beard, Kevin Ramsey, John Buksa, Ken Chidester
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 136 | Number 2 | October 2000 | Pages 151-177
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE00-A2151
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Investigations of an advanced fuel form are currently under way. This new fuel form, referred to as evolutionary mixed oxide (EMOX), is a slight perturbation on standard mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel, and analyses show that it can be an effective plutonium management tool in existing light water reactors. The addition of a small fraction of calcia-stabilized zirconia to the uranium-plutonium oxide matrix allows for greater plutonium conversion while also providing a licensing path forward toward eventual implementation of higher-plutonium-destruction fuels. These fuels, referred to as nonfertile (NF) fuels, achieve their high destruction rates through the absence of uranium, which breeds plutonium, in the fuel composition.Extensive calculations have been performed to assess the feasibility of incorporating the EMOX fuel form into existing pressurized water reactor systems, and the results are given in detail. Specifically, calculations have been made to determine the plutonium consumption achievable by the EMOX concept, and comparisons have been made of this performance to that of typical MOX and NF fuels. The results indicate that EMOX and NF fuels can provide flexibility with regard to controlling plutonium inventories in spent fuel. In addition, fabrication experiments have been conducted to determine the feasibility of fabricating suitable EMOX and NF fuels. NF and EMOX fuels have been fabricated using the solid-state reaction method. Precursor powders were successfully blended and milled using a combination of ball milling and high-energy vibratory milling. Sintering data for EMOX fuel indicated that significant densification occurred at a temperature of 1700°C.