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
Fuel Cycle & Waste Management
Devoted to all aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle including waste management, worldwide. Division specific areas of interest and involvement include uranium conversion and enrichment; fuel fabrication, management (in-core and ex-core) and recycle; transportation; safeguards; high-level, low-level and mixed waste management and disposal; public policy and program management; decontamination and decommissioning environmental restoration; and excess weapons materials disposition.
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
Apr 2024
Jan 2024
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
May 2024
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
X-energy receives federal tax credit for TRISO fuel facility
Advanced reactor company X-energy has been awarded $148.5 million in tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act for construction of its TRISO-X fuel fabrication facility in Oak Ridge, Tenn.
Bruno Merk, Sören Kliem, Emil Fridman, Frank-Peter Weiss
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 171 | Number 2 | June 2012 | Pages 136-149
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE10-58
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
This work shows the effect of the use of moderating layers on the sodium void effect in sodium-cooled, mixed oxide-fueled fast breeder reactors. The moderating layers consist of either zirconium boride ZrB2 or zirconium hydride ZrH2. The two investigated ZrH2 layers (0.1 and 0.2 mm thick) cause a strong reduction of the sodium void effect. Additionally, these layers significantly improve the fuel temperature effect and the coolant effect of the system. All changes caused by the insertion of the ZrH2 layers result in a significantly increased stability of the fast reactor system against transients. The moderating layers have only a small influence on the breeding effect and on the production of minor actinides. The effect in the infinite system can be fully combined with the traditional methods of increasing the neutron leakage.