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Division Spotlight
Fusion Energy
This division promotes the development and timely introduction of fusion energy as a sustainable energy source with favorable economic, environmental, and safety attributes. The division cooperates with other organizations on common issues of multidisciplinary fusion science and technology, conducts professional meetings, and disseminates technical information in support of these goals. Members focus on the assessment and resolution of critical developmental issues for practical fusion energy applications.
Meeting Spotlight
ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
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
Wisconsin lawmakers push nuclear support
A joint resolution under consideration in the Wisconsin legislature aims to declare and promote the state’s support for nuclear power and willingness to deploy additional sources.
David J. Kropaczek, Ryan Walden
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 193 | Number 5 | May 2019 | Pages 523-536
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295639.2018.1550970
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The constraint annealing method is presented and demonstrated for the solution of large-scale, multiconstrained problems in light water reactor fuel cycle optimization. Constraint annealing is a penalty-free method that eliminates the need for traditional constraint weighting factors by treating each objective function and constraint as separate and concurrently solved minimization problems within a global optimization search framework. The current application seeks to demonstrate the effectiveness of constraint annealing for a complex core loading pattern design problem containing multiple objective functions and constraints without the need for additional ad hoc control parameters. Two problems of varying degrees of complexity are analyzed. The first problem is defined by a single objective function based on maximizing cycle energy with two constraints based on power peaking and peak rod exposure. The second problem expands upon the first by adding an additional objective function for vessel fluence and four additional constraints based on controlled power peaking, steaming rate, moderator temperature coefficient, and alternate source term. Results demonstrate that constraint annealing inherently addresses issues of scaling associated with different objective function and constraint formulations as well as the impact on cycle energy.