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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
2021 ANS Virtual Annual Meeting
June 14–16, 2021
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
Consultant recommends subsidies for Exelon plants
A research and consulting firm hired by Illinois governor J. B. Pritzker’s administration to scrutinize the financial fitness of Exelon’s Byron and Dresden nuclear plants approves of limited state subsidies for the facilities, according to a redacted version of the firm’s report made available yesterday.
Cole Gentry, G. Ivan Maldonado, Ondrej Chvala, Bojan Petrovic
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 187 | Number 2 | August 2017 | Pages 166-184
Technical Paper | dx.doi.org/10.1080/00295639.2017.1312931
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
This study presents a thorough parametric neutronic analysis of a plate-based tristructual isotropic (TRISO) fuel particle bearing liquid salt–cooled reactor assembly. The analyses presented investigated the effects of altering fuel enrichment, packing fraction, plate region thicknesses, assembly structure thicknesses, assembly size, numbers of plates per assembly, use of burnable poison materials, replacement of assembly and plate carbon material with silicon carbide, and use of uranium nitride fuel kernels. The effects or trends observed included reactivity behavior, discharge burnup, cycle length, and other key design parameters such as moderator temperature coefficients, coolant density coefficients, control blade worth, and impacts upon power peaking (i.e., power and flux distributions).
This study is based upon two-dimensional lattice physics calculations involving the SERPENT 2 code and by using the nonlinear reactivity model as a reasonable tool for predicting discharge burnup. The reported results show that the system’s reactivity can be significantly altered by varying these design parameters, thus providing a starting point for future design optimization studies, and it is understood that future studies will need to be expanded to equilibrium full core analysis for more complete and accurate design and safety assessments, which is also a work in progress.