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Division Spotlight
Reactor Physics
The division's objectives are to promote the advancement of knowledge and understanding of the fundamental physical phenomena characterizing nuclear reactors and other nuclear systems. The division encourages research and disseminates information through meetings and publications. Areas of technical interest include nuclear data, particle interactions and transport, reactor and nuclear systems analysis, methods, design, validation and operating experience and standards. The Wigner Award heads the awards program.
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ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
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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Neutron Vision at Los Alamos: Exploring the Frontiers of Nuclear Materials Science
In materials science, understanding the unseen—how materials behave internally under real-world conditions—has always been key to developing new materials and accelerating innovative technologies to market. Moreover, the tools that allow us to see into this invisible world of materials have often been game-changers. Among these, neutron imaging stands out as a uniquely powerful method for investigating the internal structure and behavior of materials without having to alter or destroy the sample. By harnessing the unique properties of neutrons, researchers can uncover the hidden behavior of materials, providing insights essential for advancing nuclear materials and technologies.
Heba Louis, Esmaat Amin, Moustafa Aziz, Ibrahim Bashter
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 170 | Number 1 | January 2012 | Pages 61-65
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE11-11
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The accelerator-driven system (ADS) is an innovative reactor that is being considered as a dedicated high-level-waste burner in a double-strata fuel cycle. (“Double-strata fuel cycle” means a partitioning and transmutation system for long-lived radioactive nuclides.) The target is the physical and functional interface between the accelerator and the subcritical reactor in the ADS, so it is probably the most innovative component of the ADS. Key parameters of ADS are the number of neutrons emitted per incident proton, the neutron multiplicity (n/p), the mean energy deposited in the target for neutrons produced, the neutron energy spectrum, and the spallation product spatial distribution. This paper focuses on the production of neutrons in the spallation reactions. The neutrons produced in the spallation reactions can be characterized by their energy and spatial distributions and multiplicity. The present calculations have been performed using the Monte Carlo code MCNPX. The Monte Carlo simulations have been performed to investigate the neutron multiplicity as a function of incident proton beam energy, as well as a function of target material and target size. Neutron flux distributions at the target surface are calculated and compared with different target materials and proton energies. A comparison of MCNPX with experimental results is made.