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 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
Latest Magazine Issues
Jun 2026
Jan 2026
2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
July 2026
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
May 2026
Latest News
Breaking ground on a new approach to construction
The drive to Kairos Power’s reactor demonstration site in Oak Ridge, Tenn., is not only scenic—it’s historic. Nearly 85 years ago, roughly 30,000 construction workers transformed orchards and farmland into a key Manhattan Project site. Depending on your route, you may pass by one of the three gatehouses that were once military checkpoints controlling access to Atomic Energy Commission production facilities.
R. C. Lloyd, E. D. Clayton
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 52 | Number 1 | September 1973 | Pages 73-75
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE73-A23289
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A series of criticality experiments have been completed with plutonium nitrate solutions made up from extremely high burnup fuel (239Pu isotopic concentration <½ total Pu). The measurements were performed on a large, 61-cm-diam, water-reflected, cylindrical vessel. The critical experiment data were analyzed by means of the KENO Monte Carlo code utilizing both ENDF/B-H and -III cross sections; the computed criticality factors were in the range of 1.6 to 1.9% above unity. The effects of the various heavy element isotopes on criticality were analyzed. The results show the importance of properly accounting for, and treating, the effects of each of the various isotopes in computing criticality. Even the presence of as little as 1% of 241 Am can cause a change in the reactivity of the solutions used in these experiments by ∼1%.