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Division Spotlight
Operations & Power
Members focus on the dissemination of knowledge and information in the area of power reactors with particular application to the production of electric power and process heat. The division sponsors meetings on the coverage of applied nuclear science and engineering as related to power plants, non-power reactors, and other nuclear facilities. It encourages and assists with the dissemination of knowledge pertinent to the safe and efficient operation of nuclear facilities through professional staff development, information exchange, and supporting the generation of viable solutions to current issues.
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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April 2024
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
February 2024
Latest News
Lightbridge announces first U-Zr fuel rod samples extruded at INL
Lightbridge Corporation announced today that it has reached “a critical milestone” in the development of its extruded solid fuel technology. Coupon samples using an alloy of zirconium and depleted uranium—not the high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) that Lightbridge plans to use to manufacture its fuel for the commercial market—were extruded at Idaho National Laboratory’s Materials and Fuels Complex.
Philip L. Lafreniere, Devin S. Rappleye, Robert O. Hoover, Michael F. Simpson, Edward D. Blandford
Nuclear Technology | Volume 189 | Number 2 | February 2015 | Pages 173-185
Technical Paper | Fuel Cycle and Management | doi.org/10.13182/NT14-35
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Signature-based safeguards (SBS) is currently being investigated to assist traditional nuclear material accountancy in tracking special nuclear material (SNM) within a fuel cycle facility. SBS involves the identification and detection of signatures from process monitoring data for off-normal operation scenarios that involve the loss or improper movement of SNM. To determine possible realistic signatures, the electrorefiner (ER) process is modeled using the code Enhanced REFIN with Anodic Deposition (ERAD), and the JCC-31 Neutron Coincidence Counter, a nondestructive assay detector, is simulated using MCNPx-POLIMI. The ERAD model is used to determine the elemental composition of the ER cathode deposit, while the MCNPx model is developed to determine the single and double count rates expected for this deposition using ft8 tallies. For the determination of signatures, changes were made in the ER model for current density and diffusion layer thickness. The signatures in terms of both modeled ER and detector output demonstrate distinct signatures to be expected for off-normal operations. The detector response in particular shows significant changes registered in count rates when plutonium is deposited at the cathode, due to the changes in the simulated ER operating conditions.