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Conference Spotlight
2025 ANS Winter Conference & Expo
November 9–12, 2025
Washington, DC|Washington Hilton
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The journey of the U.S. fuel cycle
Craig Piercycpiercy@ans.org
While most big journeys begin with a clear objective, they rarely start with an exact knowledge of the route. When commissioning the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1803, President Thomas Jefferson didn’t provide specific “turn right at the big mountain” directions to the Corps of Discovery. He gave goal-oriented instructions: explore the Missouri River, find its source, search for a transcontinental water route to the Pacific, and build scientific and cultural knowledge along the way.
Jefferson left it up to Lewis and Clark to turn his broad, geopolitically motivated guidance into gritty reality.
Similarly, U.S. nuclear policy has begun a journey toward closing the U.S. nuclear fuel cycle. There is a clear signal of support for recycling from the Trump administration, along with growing bipartisan excitement in Congress. Yet the precise path remains unclear.
Tien-Ko Wang, F. M. Clikeman, K. O. Ott
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 93 | Number 3 | July 1986 | Pages 262-272
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE86-A17755
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Experimental and computational studies of the gamma-ray energy deposition rate in the Fast Breeder Blanket Facility (FBBF) were performed with thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs). Various corrections including the TLD neutron sensitivities and the f factors (general cavity-ionization theory) were applied to the TLD measurements. Comparisons were made with results of three computer codes — 1DX, 2DB, and ANISN — and two nuclear libraries — LIB-IV and EPR. Both neutron and gamma-ray calculations were performed. The previously reported deviations between the gamma-ray energy deposition calculated-toexperiment (C/E) ratios for lead and for stainless steel were resolved. It is believed that the remaining C/E discrepancy comes primarily from the inaccuracies in the neutronics part of the calculations, because similar dropoffs are also reported in the FBBF reaction rate C/E comparisons. Detailed analysis of the deviation between transport (Sn) and diffusion calculations in the FBBF were performed. It was found that the deviation is built up in the blanket region and is largely independent of the curvature of the “independent” source region. Comparisons between Sn and diffusion calculations (on a one-dimensional basis) for neutron fluxes and reaction rates indicated that the use of transport calculations should reduce the discrepancies of C/E comparisons.