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Division Spotlight
Reactor Physics
The division's objectives are to promote the advancement of knowledge and understanding of the fundamental physical phenomena characterizing nuclear reactors and other nuclear systems. The division encourages research and disseminates information through meetings and publications. Areas of technical interest include nuclear data, particle interactions and transport, reactor and nuclear systems analysis, methods, design, validation and operating experience and standards. The Wigner Award heads the awards program.
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.
A. Moisseytsev, E. Hoffman, C. Grandy
Nuclear Technology | Volume 173 | Number 3 | March 2011 | Pages 251-269
Technical Paper | Heat Transfer | doi.org/10.13182/NT11-A11660
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The selection of the operating temperatures for a sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) always involves a trade-off between the plant performance and cost. In this work, the general trends with an increase of the core outlet temperature were calculated for the Advanced Burner Reactor (ABR). First, the benefits of higher temperatures in terms of the higher plant efficiency were calculated for several power conversion systems. To characterize the disadvantages of higher temperatures, the safety margins were investigated for the design conditions, normal operational transients, and beyond-design-basis accidents. The limiting criteria were identified for both oxide and metal fuel core designs. In addition, the effect of the higher temperatures on the structural thicknesses was estimated. A preliminary cost analysis incorporating both benefits and cost penalties of higher temperatures showed the economical benefit potential of higher temperatures, provided that the safety requirements are satisfied by the design and/or material selection.