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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
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.
Chaung Lin, Zhih Pao Lin, Wern Jiahn Jiang
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 102 | Number 2 | June 1989 | Pages 134-139
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE89-A23638
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A method based on a forward dynamic programming technique is applied to load-following control of a boiling water reactor. The control strategy obtained is optimal and satisfies operation constraints. A coarse-mesh, one-dimensional model using the two-group diffusion theory with Doppler, void, and xenon feedbacks is developed to reduce computer time. The control rods are assumed to be fixed during load maneuvers, and variations in core power are accomplished through core flow. An off-line daily load-following analysis needs ∼2000 CPU s on a PRIME 9950 computer. With some relaxation, computation time can be reduced to several hundred seconds. Thus, an on-line calculation that leads to an approximate closed-loop control is feasible.
