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Division Spotlight
Aerospace Nuclear Science & Technology
Organized to promote the advancement of knowledge in the use of nuclear science and technologies in the aerospace application. Specialized nuclear-based technologies and applications are needed to advance the state-of-the-art in aerospace design, engineering and operations to explore planetary bodies in our solar system and beyond, plus enhance the safety of air travel, especially high speed air travel. Areas of interest will include but are not limited to the creation of nuclear-based power and propulsion systems, multifunctional materials to protect humans and electronic components from atmospheric, space, and nuclear power system radiation, human factor strategies for the safety and reliable operation of nuclear power and propulsion plants by non-specialized personnel and more.
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
Can hydrogen be the transportation fuel in an otherwise nuclear economy?
Let’s face it: The global economy should be powered primarily by nuclear power. And it probably will by the end of this century, with a still-significant assist from renewables and hydro. Once nuclear systems are dominant, the costs come down to where gas is now; and when carbon emissions are reduced to a small portion of their present state, it will become obvious that most other sources are only good in niche settings. I mean, why use small modular reactors to load-follow when they can just produce that power instead of buffering it?
Baocheng Zhang, Larry Mayhue, Harish Huria, Boyan Ivanov
Nuclear Technology | Volume 183 | Number 3 | September 2013 | Pages 527-534
Technical Paper | Fission Reactors | doi.org/10.13182/NT13-A19439
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Advanced cores and fuel assembly designs have been developed to improve operational flexibility and economic performance and to further enhance safety features of nuclear power plants. The simulation of these new designs, along with strong heterogeneous fuel loading, have brought new challenges to the reactor physics methodologies currently employed in the industrial codes for core analyses. Control rod insertion during normal operation is one operational feature in the AP1000® plant of Westinghouse next-generation pressurized water reactor design. This design improves its operational flexibility and efficiency but significantly challenges the conventional reactor physics methods, especially in pin power calculations. The mixture loading of fuel assemblies with significant neutron spectra causes a strong interaction between different fuel assembly types that is not fully captured with the current core design codes. To overcome the weaknesses of the conventional methods, Westinghouse has developed a state-of-the-art three-dimensional (3-D) pin-by-pin calculation methodology (P3C) and successfully implemented it in the Westinghouse core design code ANC. The new methodology has been qualified and licensed for pin power prediction. The 3-D P3C methodology along with its application and validation are discussed in the paper.