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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.
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Remembering Charles E. Till
Charles E. Till
Charles E. Till, an ANS member since 1963 and Fellow since 1987, passed away on March 22 at the age of 89. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Saskatchewan and a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from Imperial College, University of London. Till initially worked for the Civilian Atomic Power Department of the Canadian General Electric Company, where he was the physicist in charge of the startup of the first prototype CANDU reactor in Canada.
Till joined Argonne National Laboratory in 1963 in the Applied Physics Division, where he worked as an experimentalist in the Fast Critical Experiments program. He then moved to additional positions of increasing responsibility, becoming division director in 1973. Under his leadership, the Applied Physics Division established itself as one of the elite reactor physics organizations in the world. Both the experimental (critical experiments and nuclear data measurements) and nuclear analysis methods work were internationally recognized. Till led Argonne’s participation in the International Nuclear Fuel Cycle Evaluation (INFCE), and he was the lead U.S. delegate to INFCE Working Group 5, Fast Breeders.
Povilas Poskas, Raimondas Kilda, Valdas Ragaisis, Terry M. Sullivan
Nuclear Technology | Volume 161 | Number 2 | February 2008 | Pages 140-155
Technical Paper | Radioactive Waste Management and Disposal | doi.org/10.13182/NT08-A3919
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Safety assessment of a near-surface repository of radioactive waste usually assumes a homogeneous distribution of activity within the vaults of the repository. However, in some cases there is radioactive waste, e.g., disused sealed sources, which should result in so-called "hot spots" when disposed of with other radioactive waste. An uneven distribution of waste activity is obtained in that case.The impact of heterogeneities in source distribution on radionuclide releases from a near-surface repository to the groundwater is analyzed in the paper. The conditions that stand for the application of homogeneous distribution of radioactive waste are revealed.The assessment has been performed using the methodology of the Improving Long Term Safety Assessment Methodologies for Near Surface Radioactive Waste Disposal Facilities (ISAM) study recommended by the International Atomic Energy Agency for the safety analysis of the near-surface repository. A description of the ISAM methodology and its application for the analysis of heterogeneity including a brief description of the disposal system of radioactive waste, the scenarios for the radionuclide migration, and the developed conceptual models are presented in the paper.The calculations have been carried out using the DUST and GWSCREEN computer codes, designed to simulate radionuclide transport. The modeling results for the case of homogeneous distribution of radioactive waste in the repository are considered. The impact of heterogeneities has been analyzed by comparing the modeling results of radionuclide transport for the heterogeneous case of waste distribution to the homogeneous case.