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.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2026 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
Latest Magazine Issues
Jun 2026
Jan 2026
2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
July 2026
Nuclear Technology
June 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
May 2026
Latest News
Antares achieves zero-power criticality at INL
Leveraging more than $140 million in private capital fundraising, over 322,000 square feet of operational manufacturing space, and multifaceted partnerships with the Departments of Energy and Defense, reactor start-up Antares has become the first company involved in the Reactor Pilot Program to achieve zero-power fueled criticality—a full month ahead of the July 4 deadline set by President Trump’s Executive Order 14301.
This milestone, announced yesterday, was achieved with the company’s Mark-0: a sodium heat-pipe-cooled, TRISO-fueled microreactor. The Mark-0 is a forerunner to the company’s flagship design, which it calls the R1. For Antares, this development represents a key validation of its reactor physics, control systems, and supply chain.
Technical Session|Sponsored by THD|Cosponsored by RPD
Tuesday, November 17, 2020|4:50–6:30PM EST
Session Chair:
Prashant K. Jain (Oak Ridge National Lab)
Session Organizer:
Track Organizer:
Alternate Chair:
Emilian Popov
Staff Producer:
Erica McGowan (American Nuclear Society)
To access the session recording, you must be logged in and registered for the meeting.
Register NowLog In
To access paper attachments, you must be logged in and registered for the meeting.
Pressure Vessel Design Optimization of the Transformational Challenge Reactor
Nathan D. See (Oak Ridge National Laboratory), Jesse Heinemann (Oak Ridge National Laboratory), Phillip Chesser (Oak Ridge National Laboratory), Sacit M. Cetiner (Oak Ridge National Laboratory), Benjamin R. Betzler (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
Paper
Ex-Core Thermofluidic Modeling and Simulations for Transformational Challenge Reactor
B. R. Betzler (Oak Ridge National Laboratory), Brian J. Ade (Oak Ridge National Laboratory), Florent Heidet (Argonne National Laboratory), Alberto Talamo (Argonne National Laboratory), Subhasish Mohanty (Argonne National Laboratory), Aurelien X. Bergeron (Argonne National Laboratory), Prasad Vegendla (Argonne National Laboratory)
Gas Coolant Channel Optimization for Transformational Challenge Reactor
Prashant K. Jain (Oak Ridge National Laboratory), Casey J. Jesse (Idaho National Laboratory), Justin Weinmeister (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
Preliminary Design and Stress Analysis of the Transformational Challenge Reactor Vessel
Subhasish Mohanty (Argonne National Laboratory), Benjamin R. Betzler (Oak Ridge National Laboratory), Brian J. Ade (Oak Ridge National Laboratory), Florent Heidet (Argonne National Laboratory), Prasad Vegendla (Argonne National Laboratory), Alberto Talamo (Argonne National Laboratory), Aurelien X. Bergeron (Argonne National Laboratory)
Transformational Challenge Reactor Accident Analysis
Jordan D. Rader (Oak Ridge National Laboratory), Prashant K. Jain (Oak Ridge National Laboratory), Aaron J. Wysocki (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
Thermal-Hydraulic Analyses to Support TCR Optimization
Kurt A. Terrani (Oak Ridge National Laboratory), Benjamin R. Betzler (Oak Ridge National Laboratory), Rick Archibald (ORNL), Briana D. Hiscox (Oak Ridge National Laboratory), Vladimir Sobes (University of Tennessee Knoxville), Emilian Popov (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
