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.
Division Spotlight
Young Members Group
The Young Members Group works to encourage and enable all young professional members to be actively involved in the efforts and endeavors of the Society at all levels (Professional Divisions, ANS Governance, Local Sections, etc.) as they transition from the role of a student to the role of a professional. It sponsors non-technical workshops and meetings that provide professional development and networking opportunities for young professionals, collaborates with other Divisions and Groups in developing technical and non-technical content for topical and national meetings, encourages its members to participate in the activities of the Groups and Divisions that are closely related to their professional interests as well as in their local sections, introduces young members to the rules and governance structure of the Society, and nominates young professionals for awards and leadership opportunities available to members.
Meeting Spotlight
2024 ANS Annual Conference
June 16–19, 2024
Las Vegas, NV|Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
Standards Program
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
May 2024
Jan 2024
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
June 2024
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Securing the advanced reactor fleet
Physical protection accounts for a significant portion of a nuclear power plant’s operational costs. As the U.S. moves toward smaller and safer advanced reactors, similar protection strategies could prove cost prohibitive. For tomorrow’s small modular reactors and microreactors, security costs must remain appropriate to the size of the reactor for economical operation.
Kuan-Jan Lin, Chaung Lin
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 130 | Number 1 | September 1998 | Pages 128-140
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE98-A1995
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A knowledge-based expert system was developed for generating a pressurized water reactor fuel reload design. First, an initial loading pattern was generated according to the fuel assembly's infinite multiplication factor, by using heuristic rules. Then, the fuel assembly was swapped or rotated, using heuristic rules, to satisfy an assumed search target. The search target was the defined nuclear enthalpy rise hot-channel factor FH at each fuel assembly location. When FH's of a trial loading pattern satisfied the search target, the pattern met the design limit at each exposure checkpoint for all control rods out and D-bank control rods half-inserted conditions, which is the design requirement. The developed program successfully generated several reload cycles for the Maanshan nuclear power plant in Taiwan.