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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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May 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|Reactor Design and Analysis
Monday, April 22, 2024|3:30–5:15PM PDT|Franciscan A
Session Chair:
Tingzhou Fei
Alternate Chair:
Mauricio E. Tano Retamales
Session Organizer:
Eva E. Davidson
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Development of a Gaseous Fission Products' Model for a Molten Salt Reactor (MSR): Analysis of the Effect of the Gas Removal System's Efficiency on the Concentration of Xenon in the Fuel Circuit
3:30–3:50PM PDT
M. Marone (Univ. Grenoble Alpes), P. Rubiolo (Univ. Grenoble Alpes), V. Ghetta (Univ. Grenoble Alpes), J. Giraud (Univ. Grenoble Alpes), F. Quinteros (Univ. Grenoble Alpes)
Paper
Griffin's Depletion Calculation of Molten Salt Reactor Experiment
3:50–4:10PM PDT
D. Hartanto (ORNL), E. Davidson (ORNL), Y. Cao (ANL), T. Fei (ANL), M. Tano-Retamales (INL)
Effect of Temperature Recirculation on Frequency Response and Stability of Molten Salt Reactors
4:10–4:30PM PDT
Lubomir Bures (Seaborg Technologies)
Verification and Validation Activities of Molten Salt Reactors Multiphysics Coupling Schemes at Idaho National Laboratory
4:30–4:50PM PDT
Mustafa K. Jaradat (INL), Namjae Choi (INL), Mauricio Tano Retamales (INL), Sebastian Schunert (INL), Abdalla Abou Jaoude (INL), Javier Ortensi (INL)
Modeling the MSRR Using MPACT
4:50–5:10PM PDT
Nicholas Herring (Univ. Texas, Austin), Benjamin Collins (Univ. Texas, Austin), Kevin Clarno (Univ. Texas, Austin)
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