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Division Spotlight
Nuclear Criticality Safety
NCSD provides communication among nuclear criticality safety professionals through the development of standards, the evolution of training methods and materials, the presentation of technical data and procedures, and the creation of specialty publications. In these ways, the division furthers the exchange of technical information on nuclear criticality safety with the ultimate goal of promoting the safe handling of fissionable materials outside reactors.
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
ANS designates Armour Research Foundation Reactor as Nuclear Historic Landmark
The American Nuclear Society presented the Illinois Institute of Technology with a plaque last week to officially designate the Armour Research Foundation Reactor a Nuclear Historic Landmark, following the Society’s decision to confer the status onto the reactor in September 2024.
Charles Erwin Cohn
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 6 | Number 4 | October 1959 | Pages 284-287
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE59-A28845
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In reactors having D2O or Be moderators, the photoneutrons produced by gamma rays from long-lived fission products give rise to transient effects which could introduce appreciable errors into various types of reactivity measurements. This paper presents digital computer calculations of these effects in D2O for criticality measurements, subcritical multiplication measurements, rod drops, and rising period measurements. It is found that in some cases appreciable errors are possible even after one hour waiting periods. Since the Be photoneutron data cannot be resolved into groups, calculations for Be could not be done. However, the nature of the effects that could be expected is discussed.