ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Division Spotlight
Aerospace Nuclear Science & Technology
Organized to promote the advancement of knowledge in the use of nuclear science and technologies in the aerospace application. Specialized nuclear-based technologies and applications are needed to advance the state-of-the-art in aerospace design, engineering and operations to explore planetary bodies in our solar system and beyond, plus enhance the safety of air travel, especially high speed air travel. Areas of interest will include but are not limited to the creation of nuclear-based power and propulsion systems, multifunctional materials to protect humans and electronic components from atmospheric, space, and nuclear power system radiation, human factor strategies for the safety and reliable operation of nuclear power and propulsion plants by non-specialized personnel and more.
Meeting Spotlight
2025 ANS Annual Conference
June 15–18, 2025
Chicago, IL|Chicago Marriott Downtown
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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Nuclear Science and Engineering
July 2025
Nuclear Technology
June 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
High-temperature plumbing and advanced reactors
The use of nuclear fission power and its role in impacting climate change is hotly debated. Fission advocates argue that short-term solutions would involve the rapid deployment of Gen III+ nuclear reactors, like Vogtle-3 and -4, while long-term climate change impact would rely on the creation and implementation of Gen IV reactors, “inherently safe” reactors that use passive laws of physics and chemistry rather than active controls such as valves and pumps to operate safely. While Gen IV reactors vary in many ways, one thing unites nearly all of them: the use of exotic, high-temperature coolants. These fluids, like molten salts and liquid metals, can enable reactor engineers to design much safer nuclear reactors—ultimately because the boiling point of each fluid is extremely high. Fluids that remain liquid over large temperature ranges can provide good heat transfer through many demanding conditions, all with minimal pressurization. Although the most apparent use for these fluids is advanced fission power, they have the potential to be applied to other power generation sources such as fusion, thermal storage, solar, or high-temperature process heat.1–3
Technical Session|Sponsored by FCWMD
Tuesday, November 19, 2024|1:00–2:45PM EST|Labrid A/B
Session Chair:
Leah Squires
Session Organizer:
Alternate Chair:
Kaushik Banerjee
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Pebble-Bed-Moderated Molten-Salt Reactor with Replaceable Graphite and Alternative Fuel Cycles
1:00–1:20PM EST
Charles Forsberg (MIT), Eugene Shwageraus (Cambridge Univ.)
Paper
Presentation Slides (Visible to Attendees)
Determining Fuel Salt Compositions for a Moderated Large-Sized MSR with SCALE
1:20–1:40PM EST
Donny Hartanto (ORNL), Georgeta Radulescu (ORNL), Friederike Bostelmann (ORNL), William A. Wieselquist (ORNL)
Applications of Flowing Molten Salt Loops with Neutron Irradiation
1:40–2:00PM EST
Charles Forsberg (MIT), Dave Carpenter (MIT), Ayman I. Hawari (NCSU), Raluca O. Scarlat (Univ. California, Berkeley), Kevin Robb (ORNL)
Liquid Fuel Performance Characterization
2:00–2:20PM EST
Kevin Kelly (EPRI), Brandon M. Chisholm (Southern Co.), Dan Moneghan (EPRI)
Evaluation of Chloride Salt Fast Reactor Waste Stream Management and Research Needs
2:20–2:40PM EST
Irfan Ibrahim (Vanderbilt Univ.), Allen Croff (Vanderbilt Univ.), Steve Krahn (Vanderbilt Univ.), Dan Moneghan (EPRI)
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