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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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Powering the future: How the DOE is fueling nuclear fuel cycle research and development
As global interest in nuclear energy surges, the United States must remain at the forefront of research and development to ensure national energy security, advance nuclear technologies, and promote international cooperation on safety and nonproliferation. A crucial step in achieving this is analyzing how funding and resources are allocated to better understand how to direct future research and development. The Department of Energy has spearheaded this effort by funding hundreds of research projects across the country through the Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP). This initiative has empowered dozens of universities to collaborate toward a nuclear-friendly future.
Raymond J. Juzaitis
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 80 | Number 3 | March 1982 | Pages 424-447
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE82-A19829
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A deterministic analysis of the computational cost associated with geometric splitting/Russian roulette in Monte Carlo radiation transport calculations is presented. Appropriate integro-differential equations (based on the theory of Monte Carlo errors) are developed for the first and second moments of the tally as well as for the expected value of time per particle history, given that splitting with Russian roulette takes place at one or more internal surfaces of the geometry. The equations are solved using a standard Sn solution technique, allowing for the prediction of computer cost (formulated as the product of sample variance and time per particle history) associated with a given set of splitting parameters. Extensive numerical results relating to the transport model chosen for study (namely, particle transmission through a semi-infinite slab shield composed of an isotropically scattering medium) are presented. Optimum splitting surface locations and splitting ratios are determined. Single-surface results indicate that the threshold slab thickness for which any splitting becomes cost effective varies from ∼2 to >7 mean-free-paths, depending on the degree of scattering in the medium. When splitting is cost effective, it is so over a wide range of surface locations. Benefits of such an analysis are particularly noteworthy for transport problems in which splitting is apt to be extensively employed (e.g., deep-penetration calculations).