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Isotopes & Radiation
Members are devoted to applying nuclear science and engineering technologies involving isotopes, radiation applications, and associated equipment in scientific research, development, and industrial processes. Their interests lie primarily in education, industrial uses, biology, medicine, and health physics. Division committees include Analytical Applications of Isotopes and Radiation, Biology and Medicine, Radiation Applications, Radiation Sources and Detection, and Thermal Power Sources.
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2024 ANS Annual Conference
June 16–19, 2024
Las Vegas, NV|Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
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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.
Workshop
Sunday, April 21, 2024|8:00AM–12:00PM PDT|Franciscan B
Price: $49
Westinghouse Electric Company recognizes the importance of supporting students pursuing a career in reactor physics. For this reason, Westinghouse will be sponsoring the first 100 student workshop registrants by covering their fees. Contact registrar@ans.org for a discount code before registering. Limited space available in each workshop. Once these seats are filled, you will be put on a waitlist. You must request a discount code before registering. No refunds will be made if you do not contact us before registering.
Organized by Joshua Hanophy (INL), Hansol Park (ANL) through the Advanced Reactor Technology and Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation Programs
The goal of the training session is to gain familiarity modeling the running-in phase of pebble bed reactors (PBRs) with the MOOSE-based tools Griffin and Pronghorn. Griffin includes capabilities for neutronics and depletion calculations and provides power densities to Pronghorn. Pronghorn uses the power densities to calculate temperatures using a porous medium flow model and user input thermal-hydraulic conditions as well as simplified models for the pebble bed reactor structures. Griffin can use pregenerated multigroup libraries for cross sections or a new feature that enables using its own cross sections generated online. This workshop will provide hands-on exercises for online cross section generation, run-in phase modeling with Griffin, thermal-hydraulics modeling with Pronghorn, and multiphysics running-in modeling including a control rod withdrawal event from a non- equilibrium core.
The training will be conducted via the INL High Performance Computing (HPC) center. Trainees can either apply for: A) an INL HPC account and code licenses directly via (https://inl.gov/ncrc/) or B) temporary INL HPC account and temporary access to the codes. Either way, details on the INL’s Nuclear Computational Resource Center training signup process will be shared with registered participants. Trainees must bring their own laptops. Details on the process will be shared with registered participants. Note the following cutoffs for INL HPC account and license applications:
Cutoff for U.S.A. nationals INL HPC account and licenses is April 15th, 2024.
Cutoff for foreign nationals INL HPC account and licenses is March 1st, 2024.
Agenda:
8:00 – 8:30 am (30 m): Overview of the PBR design & computer setup
8:30 – 9:30 am (60 m): Theory and hands-on online cross section generation for PBR
9:30 – 10:30 am (60 m): Hands-on neutronics running-in phase with Griffin
10:30 – 10:45 am (15 m): Coffee break
10:15 – 11:00 am (45 m): Hands-on thermal-hydraulics modeling with Pronghorn
11:30 – 12:00 am (30 m): Hands-on multiphysics running-in calculation / the control rod withdrawal event with a non-equilibrium core
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