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
Thermal Hydraulics
The division provides a forum for focused technical dialogue on thermal hydraulic technology in the nuclear industry. Specifically, this will include heat transfer and fluid mechanics involved in the utilization of nuclear energy. It is intended to attract the highest quality of theoretical and experimental work to ANS, including research on basic phenomena and application to nuclear system design.
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
Apr 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
June 2025
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
May 2025
Latest News
Argonne’s METL gears up to test more sodium fast reactor components
Argonne National Laboratory has successfully swapped out an aging cold trap in the sodium test loop called METL (Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop), the Department of Energy announced April 23. The upgrade is the first of its kind in the United States in more than 30 years, according to the DOE, and will help test components and operations for the sodium-cooled fast reactors being developed now.
Toshikazu Takeda, Hironobu Unesaki, Tamotsu Sekiya, Keisho Shirakata
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 100 | Number 4 | December 1988 | Pages 538-548
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE88-A23586
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
To solve the problems encountered in the analysis of the large homogeneous and heterogeneous fast critical assemblies, Zero-Power Plutonium Reactor (ZPPR) 9, 10, and 13, we have revisited the analysis using improved methods. Two-dimensional cell calculations, cell calculations using multidrawer cell models, and three-dimensional transport theory core calculations were introduced. Using these methods, the discrepancies in the calculation-to-experiment (C/E) values of keff for the fast critical assemblies was reduced. The use of the multidrawer model reduced the C/E spatial dependency of the control rod worths in the ZPPR-10 cores. To investigate the remaining problems of the spatial dependence of the C/E values of reaction rate distribution and control rod worth, we have adjusted a cross-section set obtained from the JENDL-2 library using the integral experiments. The cross-section changes, particularly for the diffusion coefficient, 238U scattering and capture, and 239Pu fission cross sections, have corrected the spatial dependence, as well as the overestimation of the 238U capture to 239Pu fission rate ratio and sodium void worth.