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Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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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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New coolants, new fuels: A new generation of university reactors
Here’s an easy way to make aging U.S. power reactors look relatively youthful: Compare them (average age: 43) with the nation’s university research reactors. The 25 operating today have been licensed for an average of about 58 years.
W. N. McElroy, S. Berg, T. B. Crockett, R. J. Tuttle
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 36 | Number 1 | April 1969 | Pages 15-27
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE69-A18853
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A multiple foil activation iterative method has been used to experimentally determine neutron flux spectra in various types of neutron environments. The method involves irradiation of a set of different foil detectors, measurement of resultant activities, and adjustment of a spectrum selected as an initial approximation to obtain a good-fit solution for a set of simultaneous activation integral equations. A computer code, SAND-II, is used to obtain this solution. Spectra from thermal and fast reactors and from beam sources have been measured. In each experiment, a set of more than ten foil detectors, encompassing low- and high-energy neutron-induced reactions, was irradiated and used as input to SAND-II. Solutions obtained are compared with diffusion, transport, or Monte Carlo calculations or with spectrometer measurements. It is concluded that the multiple foil activation iterative method is an important adjunct to calculational and neutron spectrometer techniques used to determine neutron flux spectra.