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
Isotopes & Radiation
Members are devoted to applying nuclear science and engineering technologies involving isotopes, radiation applications, and associated equipment in scientific research, development, and industrial processes. Their interests lie primarily in education, industrial uses, biology, medicine, and health physics. Division committees include Analytical Applications of Isotopes and Radiation, Biology and Medicine, Radiation Applications, Radiation Sources and Detection, and Thermal Power Sources.
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
DOE issues final RFQ for WIPP clean energy initiative
The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management has issued a request for qualifications for interested parties and prospective offerors looking to enter into a realty agreement for carbon-pollution-free electricity (CFE) projects at the department’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant site in southeastern New Mexico.
Thomas D. Radcliff, Shu-Pei Liu, Don W. Miller
Nuclear Technology | Volume 140 | Number 2 | November 2002 | Pages 209-221
Technical Paper | Nuclear Plant Instrumentation, Control, and Human-Machine Interface Technologies | doi.org/10.13182/NT02-A3334
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A controlled-calorimetric in-core instrument that can directly measure nuclear energy deposition has been developed and tested. This instrument works by heating an element of reactor fuel to a constant temperature with an electric heater, such that input electrical power is inversely related to the deposited nuclear power. Tests on first-generation sensor prototypes and subsequent modeling showed three problems: lack of proportionality in the relative neutron and photon response, a relatively low bandwidth, and drift. A model of the sensor has been developed and used to optimize the design of second-generation prototypes with respect to these three problems. Study of the predicted relative neutron and gamma response showed that a nonuniform distribution of nuclear and electrical energy deposition caused the temperature distribution within the sensor to change as the ratio of the energy components varies. This affects sensor power proportionality and increases response time. Heat transfer through the sensor power leads was demonstrated to cause most of the observed drift. The proposed second-generation sensor design forces almost all of the temperature gradient into a thin metal axial region, which gives uniform energy distribution from all sources and better control of thermal leakage and contact resistances. This results in a prediction of increased bandwidth with improved proportionality.