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Reactor Physics
The division's objectives are to promote the advancement of knowledge and understanding of the fundamental physical phenomena characterizing nuclear reactors and other nuclear systems. The division encourages research and disseminates information through meetings and publications. Areas of technical interest include nuclear data, particle interactions and transport, reactor and nuclear systems analysis, methods, design, validation and operating experience and standards. The Wigner Award heads the awards program.
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2024 ANS Annual Conference
June 16–19, 2024
Las Vegas, NV|Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
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Proving DRACO will deliver
The United States is now closer than it has been in over five decades to launching the first nuclear thermal rocket into space, thanks to DRACO—the Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Orbit.
Milorad Dusic, Mark Dutton, Horst Glaeser, Joachim Herb, Javier Hortal, Rafael Mendizábal, Fernando Pelayo
Nuclear Technology | Volume 188 | Number 1 | October 2014 | Pages 63-77
Technical Paper | Reactor Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT13-16
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In 2009 the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) published “Deterministic Safety Analysis for Nuclear Power Plants Specific Safety Guide,” Specific Safety Guide No. SSG-2 (hereinafter referred to as SSG-2). SSG-2 addresses four options for the application of deterministic safety analyses. Option 1, which has been used since the early days of civil nuclear power and is still used today, uses conservative codes/models and conservative initial and boundary (I&B) conditions. Option 2, which is frequently used worldwide, uses realistic codes/models but with conservative I&B conditions. Option 3 uses realistic codes/models and realistic I&B conditions and therefore needs also to consider the associated uncertainties. Today, option 3 is known as the Best Estimate Plus Uncertainty option. Option 4 is not developed in SSG-2 and only indicates that option 4 is an attempt to combine insights from probabilistic safety analyses with a deterministic approach, which results in a risk-informed safety analysis. In options 1, 2, and 3, the availability of safety systems is based on conservative assumptions, whereas in option 4, the availability of safety systems is derived by probabilistic means. This paper explains in more detail the approach proposed for option 4 and provides illustrative examples for its application, recognizing the fact that option 4 is still a research option and will remain so for some time.