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Division Spotlight
Robotics & Remote Systems
The Mission of the Robotics and Remote Systems Division is to promote the development and application of immersive simulation, robotics, and remote systems for hazardous environments for the purpose of reducing hazardous exposure to individuals, reducing environmental hazards and reducing the cost of performing work.
Meeting Spotlight
Nuclear and Emerging Technologies for Space (NETS 2023)
May 7–11, 2023
Idaho Falls, ID|Snake River Event Center
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
The blossoming of cooperation between the U.S. and Canada
The United States and Canadian nuclear industries used to be an example of how two independent teams of engineers facing an identical problem—making electricity from uranium—could come up with completely different answers. In the 1950s, Canada began designing a reactor with tubes, heavy water, and natural uranium, while in the U.S. it was big pots of light water and enriched uranium.
But 80 years later, there is a remarkable convergence. The North American push for a new generation of nuclear reactors, mostly small modular reactors (SMRs), is becoming binational, with U.S. and Canadian companies seeking markets and regulatory certification on both sides of the border and in many cases sourcing key components in the other country.
E. C. Miller, J. K. Mattingly, S. D. Clarke, C. J. Solomon, B. Dennis, A. Meldrum, S. A. Pozzi
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 176 | Number 2 | February 2014 | Pages 167-185
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE12-53
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Simulations of neutron multiplicity measurements of a highly multiplicative plutonium sphere measured with a moderated array of 3He proportional counters have consistently overpredicted the mean and variance of the measured multiplicity distribution. In contrast, identical experiments using a 252Cf source have been accurately simulated. This paper outlines a sensitivity analysis of several key parameters that could account for the overprediction in the simulation of the plutonium sphere. Parameters that were analyzed include source-detector distance, detector dead time, variations in density and volume of the plutonium, and the value of for v̅ 239Pu-induced fission. Of these parameters, the only factor that accounted for the overprediction within reasonable bounds was a change in the value of the 239Pu v̅. The sensitivity analysis showed that a small change (1.14% reduction) in the value of v̅ dramatically improved the simulated results.
