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 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
Latest Magazine Issues
Aug 2026
Jan 2026
2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
October 2026
Nuclear Technology
September 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
August 2026
Latest News
Front-end nuclear fuel supply cooperation: Turning allied interdependence into strategic advantage
The global nuclear revival, which is fueled by unprecedented demand for firm, affordable, dispatchable power for artificial intelligence and data center build-out, energy security imperatives, and climate commitments, has exposed a structural reality of the Western fuel cycle: No single allied nation currently possesses the full suite of front-end capabilities. From mining through conversion, enrichment, fabrication, and the emerging deconversion and metallization steps required for reactor fuels, capability is distributed across Canada, France, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States (collectively, the “Sapporo Five”), as well as a small group of close partners.
V. V. Verbinski
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 27 | Number 1 | January 1967 | Pages 51-66
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE67-A18042
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Measurements of the spectra of neutrons moderated in LiH were made in the energy range of about 0.01 to 600 eV, and the results were compared with calculated spectra obtained from a Monte Carlo calculation, a direct numerical integration of the Boltzmann equation (NIOBE code), a moments numerical calculation, and three infinite-medium thermalization calculations, each utilizing a different scattering kernel. The measurements were carried out by irradiating slabs of LiH with neutrons having a near-fission spectrum. The spectra of the leakage flux, of the forward-directed flux, and of the scalar flux within the slab were obtained at neutron penetrations of 2.5 to 10 cm. Below 30 eV, the leakage flux and scalar flux attained an asymptotic spectral shape at a penetration of 2.5 cm, and the forward-directed flux at about 5 cm. The shapes of the calculated spectra agree with the shapes of the measured spectra for all energy regions in which each calculation is valid. A large discrepancy between the NIOBE code predictions and the measurements below 0.08 eV is caused by upscattering and molecular binding effects, which are neglected by NIOBE. These effects were included in a neutron thermalization calculation for an infinite medium with a constant source density; however, good agreement with measurement was obtained only for the case in which the measurement had been made in a nearly gradient-free region. In a region of strong flux gradients, the spectrum of the forward-directed flux is shown to be related to that of the scalar flux with good accuracy by the Purohit expression, according to a NIOBE code calculation which yielded both spectra.