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 Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
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
Dec 2025
Jul 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
December 2025
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
November 2025
Latest News
Perpetual Atomics, QSA Global produce Am fuel for nuclear space power
U.K.-based Perpetual Atomics and U.S.-based QSA Global claim to have achieved a major step forward in processing americium dioxide to fuel radioisotope power systems used in space missions. Using an industrially scalable process, the companies said they have turned americium into stable, large-scale ceramic pellets that can be directly integrated into sealed sources for radioisotope power systems, including radioisotope heater units (RHUs) and radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs).
R. C. Lloyd, S. R. Bierman, E. D. Clayton, B. M. Durst
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 78 | Number 2 | June 1981 | Pages 121-125
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE81-A20098
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A series of experiments was performed to determine the effect of gadolinium as a soluble neutron absorber on the criticality of fuel rod assemblies in uranyl nitrate solution. The gadolinium in the form of Gd(NO3)s was mixed with uranyl nitrate solution. The lattice assemblies were composed of 4.3 wt% 235U-enriched UO2 pellets contained in stainless steel tubes immersed in the uranyl nitrate solution of the same 235U enrichment. Lattice assemblies with center-to-center fuel rod separations of 22.9, 27.9, and 33.0 mm were utilized in this study. In each case, a preset number of fuel rods was positioned in the assembly vessel and uranyl nitrate subsequently added, with the measurement then being of the depth of solution required for criticality. The uranyl nitrate was limited to the fuel-rod-bearing region of the lattice assemblies that were, in turn, reflected with water. Data on integral critical experiments are provided against which calculational techniques can be checked.