ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Division Spotlight
Nuclear Installations Safety
Devoted specifically to the safety of nuclear installations and the health and safety of the public, this division seeks a better understanding of the role of safety in the design, construction and operation of nuclear installation facilities. The division also promotes engineering and scientific technology advancement associated with the safety of such facilities.
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
May 2024
Jan 2024
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
June 2024
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Proving DRACO will deliver
The United States is now closer than it has been in over five decades to launching the first nuclear thermal rocket into space, thanks to DRACO—the Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Orbit.
Hangbok Choi, Gérald Rimpault, Jean C. Bosq
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 152 | Number 2 | February 2006 | Pages 204-218
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE06-A2576
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A neutronic feasibility study was performed for a 600-MW(thermal) gas-cooled fast reactor fuel cycle through recycling simulations. Sensitivity calculations were also performed for various physics design parameters such as the plutonium volume fraction of the fuel, fuel burnup, core material volume fraction, and the power density. The results showed that the initial breeding gain of -0.04755 is sufficient to sustain the recycling of the actinides with a reasonable amount of natural uranium and plutonium feed material. The comparative calculation on the core power density has shown that it is feasible to reduce the amount of minor actinides and spent fuel in the high power density core (98.4 MW/m3) compared to the reference core (58.2 MW/m3). It was also found that the fuel cycle cost is saved by 0.4 mills/kWh for the high power density core compared to the reference core.