ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
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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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Latest News
G7 pledges support for nuclear at Italy meeting
The Group of Seven (G7) recommitted its support for nuclear energy in the countries that opt to use it at a Ministerial Meeting on Climate in Italy last month.
In a statement following the April meeting, the group committed to support multilateral efforts to strengthen the resilience of nuclear supply chains, referencing the goal set by 25 countries during last year’s COP28 climate conference in Dubai to triple global nuclear generating capacity by 2050.
Pavel Hejzlar, Jacopo Buongiorno, Philip E. MacDonald, Neil E. Todreas
Nuclear Technology | Volume 147 | Number 3 | September 2004 | Pages 321-343
Technical Paper | Medium-Power Lead-Alloy Reactors | doi.org/10.13182/NT147-321
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
We outline the strategy and constraints adopted for the design of medium-power lead-alloy-cooled actinide-burning reactors that strive for a lower cost than accelerator-driven systems and for robust safety. Reduced cost is pursued through the use of (1) a modular design and maximum power rating to capitalize on an economy of scale within the constraints imposed by modularity, (2) a very compact and simple supercritical-CO2 power cycle, and (3) simplifications of the primary system allowed by the use of lead coolant. Excellent safety is pursued by adopting the integral fast reactor approach of achieving a self-controllable reactor that responds to all key abnormal occurrences, including anticipated transients without scrams, by a safe shutdown without exceeding core integrity limits. The three concepts developed are the fertile-free actinide burner for incineration of all transuranics from light water reactor (LWR) spent fuel, the fertile-free minor actinide (MA) burner for preferential burning of MAs working in tandem with LWRs or gas-cooled thermal reactors, and the actinide burner with thorium fuel aimed also at reducing the electricity generation costs through longer-cycle operation.