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Division Spotlight
Mathematics & Computation
Division members promote the advancement of mathematical and computational methods for solving problems arising in all disciplines encompassed by the Society. They place particular emphasis on numerical techniques for efficient computer applications to aid in the dissemination, integration, and proper use of computer codes, including preparation of computational benchmark and development of standards for computing practices, and to encourage the development on new computer codes and broaden their use.
Meeting Spotlight
2025 ANS Annual Conference
June 15–18, 2025
Chicago, IL|Chicago Marriott 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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Nuclear Science and Engineering
August 2025
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Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
DOE opens Milestone fusion pilot plant program to new companies and teams
Eight companies were chosen to develop fusion pilot plant designs through the Department of Energy’s Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program just over two years ago. It wasn’t until June 2024 that the DOE announced that protracted negotiations over program metrics had been concluded. Now, two years on, the original eight are “making great progress,” according to Colleen Nehl, program manager for public-private partnerships in the DOE’s Office of Fusion Energy Sciences (FES). Nehl spoke during a June 4 webinar convened on short notice to discuss the latest fusion Milestone news: a fast-tracked opportunity for additional teams to access remaining Fiscal Year 2025 funding for the Milestone program.
J. A. Turnbull, S. K. Yagnik, M. Hirai, D. M. Staicu, C. T. Walker
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 179 | Number 4 | April 2015 | Pages 477-485
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE14-20
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
To investigate the potential disintegration to powder of high-burnup fuel pellets during a rapid temperature transient, the Nuclear Fuels Industry Research (NFIR) Program commissioned two independent scoping studies. The first investigated the effect of hydrostatic restraint pressure on fission gas release during a series of fast temperature ramps. In the second study laser heating was used to investigate the temperature at which small samples of fuel fragmented. From the observations made in these studies, local burnup and temperature thresholds of 71 MWd/kg HM and 645°C were identified for fuel pulverization during a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA). It is shown that fine fragment production in integral LOCA tests performed in other independent investigations at Studsvik and Halden was generally well predicted using these thresholds of burnup and temperature. The NFIR investigations also reveal that the degree of pulverization and resulting fragment size are dependent on the temperature ramp rate. Moreover, they confirm that pulverization can be substantially reduced by the imposition of hydrostatic pressure.