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Division Spotlight
Nuclear Criticality Safety
NCSD provides communication among nuclear criticality safety professionals through the development of standards, the evolution of training methods and materials, the presentation of technical data and procedures, and the creation of specialty publications. In these ways, the division furthers the exchange of technical information on nuclear criticality safety with the ultimate goal of promoting the safe handling of fissionable materials outside reactors.
Meeting Spotlight
International Conference on Mathematics and Computational Methods Applied to Nuclear Science and Engineering (M&C 2025)
April 27–30, 2025
Denver, CO|The Westin Denver 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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Latest News
Argonne’s METL gears up to test more sodium fast reactor components
Argonne National Laboratory has successfully swapped out an aging cold trap in the sodium test loop called METL (Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop), the Department of Energy announced April 23. The upgrade is the first of its kind in the United States in more than 30 years, according to the DOE, and will help test components and operations for the sodium-cooled fast reactors being developed now.
F. Tovesson, T. S. Hill
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 165 | Number 2 | June 2010 | Pages 224-231
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE09-41
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The 239Pu and 241Pu neutron-induced fission cross sections have been measured from subthermal energies to 200 MeV. These measurements are part of a campaign to measure fission cross sections with high precision in support of advanced fast reactor technology. Plutonium-241 is the most active target measured in this program to date, with a half-life of 14.4 yr. The results for 239Pu are in good agreement with previous experiments and add new information to the limited knowledge on the fission cross section above 30 MeV. Discrepancies of up to 30% between the evaluations and the experimental data for 241Pu are found in the fast region, which is of particular importance for fast spectrum reactor technology, and a reevaluation of the fission cross section for this isotope is recommended.
