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
Aerospace Nuclear Science & Technology
Organized to promote the advancement of knowledge in the use of nuclear science and technologies in the aerospace application. Specialized nuclear-based technologies and applications are needed to advance the state-of-the-art in aerospace design, engineering and operations to explore planetary bodies in our solar system and beyond, plus enhance the safety of air travel, especially high speed air travel. Areas of interest will include but are not limited to the creation of nuclear-based power and propulsion systems, multifunctional materials to protect humans and electronic components from atmospheric, space, and nuclear power system radiation, human factor strategies for the safety and reliable operation of nuclear power and propulsion plants by non-specialized personnel and more.
Meeting Spotlight
2021 Student Conference
April 8–10, 2021
Virtual Meeting
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
Mar 2021
Jul 2020
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
March 2021
Nuclear Technology
February 2021
Fusion Science and Technology
January 2021
Latest News
NC State celebrates 70 years of nuclear engineering education
An early picture of the research reactor building on the North Carolina State University campus. The Department of Nuclear Engineering is celebrating the 70th anniversary of its nuclear engineering curriculum in 2020–2021. Photo: North Carolina State University
The Department of Nuclear Engineering at North Carolina State University has spent the 2020–2021 academic year celebrating the 70th anniversary of its becoming the first U.S. university to establish a nuclear engineering curriculum. It started in 1950, when Clifford Beck, then of Oak Ridge, Tenn., obtained support from NC State’s dean of engineering, Harold Lampe, to build the nation’s first university nuclear reactor and, in conjunction, establish an educational curriculum dedicated to nuclear engineering.
The department, host to the 2021 ANS Virtual Student Conference, scheduled for April 8–10, now features 23 tenure/tenure-track faculty and three research faculty members. “What a journey for the first nuclear engineering curriculum in the nation,” said Kostadin Ivanov, professor and department head.
Emiliano Masiello, Richard Sanchez, Igor Zmijarevic
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 161 | Number 3 | March 2009 | Pages 257-278
Technical Paper | dx.doi.org/10.13182/NSE161-257
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The method of short characteristics is extended to two-dimensional heterogeneous Cartesian cells. The new application is intended for realistic pin-by-pin lattice calculations with an exact representation of the geometric shape of the pins, without need for homogenization. The method keeps the advantages of conventional discrete ordinates methods, such as fast execution, together with the possibility to deal with a large number of spatial meshes. Expansion bases, spatial integration, and balance conservation are discussed. A Fourier analysis of the method shows that the scheme preserves the asymptotic behavior of analytical transport. Two coarse-mesh finite difference acceleration techniques have also been analyzed and generalized with the use of Eddington's factors to speed up the rate of convergence of the inner iterations. Numerical examples for realistic configurations show the precision of the method and the efficiency of the accelerated iterations. An analytical stability analysis is also presented for studying the nonconverged behavior of the accelerated scheme, and we give numerical proof of chaotic behavior and the existence of bifurcations.
