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Division Spotlight
Reactor Physics
The division's objectives are to promote the advancement of knowledge and understanding of the fundamental physical phenomena characterizing nuclear reactors and other nuclear systems. The division encourages research and disseminates information through meetings and publications. Areas of technical interest include nuclear data, particle interactions and transport, reactor and nuclear systems analysis, methods, design, validation and operating experience and standards. The Wigner Award heads the awards program.
Meeting Spotlight
International Conference on Mathematics and Computational Methods Applied to Nuclear Science and Engineering (M&C 2025)
April 27–30, 2025
Denver, CO|The Westin Denver Downtown
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!
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Latest News
DOE-EM awards $74.8M Oak Ridge support services contract
The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management has awarded a five-year contract worth up to $74.8 million to Independent Strategic Management Solutions for professional support services at the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management site in Oak Ridge, Tenn.
Simon A. Vreeke, Gary M. Sandquist
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 42 | Number 3 | December 1970 | Pages 295-305
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE70-A21219
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A method for studying systems of differential equations employing an interactive computer system with a display screen is presented and applied to three nonlinear problems in reactor kinetics. Interactively it is possible to construct phase space solutions of second- and third-order systems of equations. It is also possible to project from the three-dimensional space and to consider the solutions of the equations as explicit functions of the independent variable. The method is demonstrated on three different nonlinear problems of interest to nuclear reactor kinetics. A second-order problem with temperature-dependent reactivity is considered. Two third-order problems with reactivity a function of two effective temperatures and 135Xe concentration, respectively, are also considered. The method of analysis makes it possible to efficiently study the effect of various parameter values on the solutions of the equations. Limit cycle behavior is investigated and the effect of the parameters of the model on the limit cycles is studied with greater effectiveness than can be achieved by an analytical study.