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Division Spotlight
Nuclear Installations Safety
Devoted specifically to the safety of nuclear installations and the health and safety of the public, this division seeks a better understanding of the role of safety in the design, construction and operation of nuclear installation facilities. The division also promotes engineering and scientific technology advancement associated with the safety of such facilities.
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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May 2024
Jan 2024
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Nuclear Science and Engineering
June 2024
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
How robust is HALEU from a nonproliferation perspective?
Shikha Prasad
High-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) has emerged as a popular fuel choice for advanced small modular reactors due to its long power production periods before refueling. It is currently being pursued by TerraPower, X-energy, BWX Technologies, Kairos, Oklo, and other reactor companies. HALEU has a uranium-235 enrichment ranging from 5 percent to 20 percent, whereas traditional LWRs use low-enriched uranium fuel enriched up to 5 percent.
HALEU will provide power for longer durations, compared with traditional LWRs. But could it also provide an opportunity for more rapid proliferation, as is speculated in a 2023 National Academy of Sciences report on advanced nuclear reactors (nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/26630/)?
If a nuclear proliferator conspires to divert fresh nuclear fuel for weapons production when it has not been used in a reactor, the effort required in separative work units (SWUs) to enrich U-235 from 5 percent to 90 percent and that required to enrich from 20 percent to 90 percent are both very small, compared with the effort required to enrich U-235 from its natural abundance to the initial 5 percent.
Technical Session|Sponsored by Advanced/Novel Materials
Monday, December 11, 2023|3:10–4:50PM CST|Galerie 5
Session Chair:
Caleb P. Massey (ORNL)
Alternate Chair:
Janelle P. Wharry (Purdue Univeristy)
Track Organizers:
Kevin Field (Univ. Michigan)
Grace Burke (INL)
Benjamin Sutton (Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI))
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Design and Testing of a Next Generation HFIR Target Rod Rabbit Holder Facility
3:10–3:30PM CST
N.G. Russell (ORNL), A.S. Chapel (ORNL), R.H. Howard (ORNL), C.D. Bryan (ORNL), G.J. Hirtz (ORNL), M.W. Crowell (ORNL)
Paper
Neutron Irradiation as a Function of Temperature -- Experiment (NIFT-E)
3:30–3:50PM CST
Simon M. Pimblott (INL), David Armstrong (Univ. Oxford), Matthew Arrowood (INL), Karina Assis (Westinghouse Electric Co.), Christopher Grovenor (Univ. Oxford), Abbie Jones (Univ. Manchester), Susan R. Ortner (National Nuclear Laboratory), Nassia Tzelepi (National Nuclear Laboratory), Stuart Maloy (PNNL), Janelle P. Wharry (Purdue)
The Role of Nuclear Science User Facilities in Nuclear Energy Materials Research and Development
3:50–4:10PM CST
Brenden Heidrich (INL)
Presentation Slides (Visible to Attendees)
Advanced Reactor Irradiation Testing at Oak Ridge National Laboratory Under the Nuclear Science User Facilities Program
4:10–4:30PM CST
A.G. Le Coq (ORNL), J.P. Gorton (ORNL), N.G. Russell (ORNL), A.M. Schrell (ORNL), K.D. Linton (ORNL)
Molybdenum Weld Development for Applications in the High Flux Isotope Reactor
4:30–4:50PM CST
R.H. Howard (ORNL), A.M. Schrell (ORNL)
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