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 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
Latest Magazine Issues
May 2026
Jan 2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
June 2026
Nuclear Technology
April 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Nuclear Energy Strategy announced at CNA2026
At the Canadian Nuclear Association Conference (CNA2026) in Ottawa, Ontario, on April 29, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Tim Hodgson announced that Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) is developing a new Nuclear Energy Strategy for the country. The strategy, which is slated to be released by the end of this year, will be based on four objectives: 1) enabling new nuclear builds across Canada, 2) being a global supplier and exporter of nuclear technology and services, 3) expanding uranium production and nuclear fuel opportunities, and 4) developing new Canadian nuclear innovations, including in both fission and fusion technologies.
John B. Sampson, E. A. Luebke
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 4 | Number 6 | December 1958 | Pages 745-761
doi.org/10.13182/NSE58-A15496
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A fuel element consisting of plutonium and uranium oxide in steel tubing and capable of a large fraction of fuel burnup is described. As this fuel element makes possible recovery and refabrication with fewer steps than are required for a metal fuel element, lower recycle costs result. Breeders with fuel and fertile material in both oxide and metallic form were analyzed by the multigroup method on the UNIVAC for the purpose of comparing characteristics. A summary of the calculations is presented. The decrease in the breeding ratio resulting from the replacement of the metal core by oxide is only 0.2, a small effect in a future nuclear power economy where plutonium will have a low value as fuel rather than a high value as weapon material. Use of an oxide blanket may further reduce the breeding ratio by 0.05. An illustrative design is presented which has five atoms of uranium per atom of plutonium in the core and 45% sodium, a breeding ratio of 1.4 and a critical mass of 400 kg. Incremental refueling is assumed to reduce the control range required for 50% burnup of the original fuel loaded.