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Division Spotlight
Nuclear Installations Safety
Devoted specifically to the safety of nuclear installations and the health and safety of the public, this division seeks a better understanding of the role of safety in the design, construction and operation of nuclear installation facilities. The division also promotes engineering and scientific technology advancement associated with the safety of such facilities.
Meeting Spotlight
International Conference on Mathematics and Computational Methods Applied to Nuclear Science and Engineering (M&C 2025)
April 27–30, 2025
Denver, CO|The Westin Denver 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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Latest News
Argonne’s METL gears up to test more sodium fast reactor components
Argonne National Laboratory has successfully swapped out an aging cold trap in the sodium test loop called METL (Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop), the Department of Energy announced April 23. The upgrade is the first of its kind in the United States in more than 30 years, according to the DOE, and will help test components and operations for the sodium-cooled fast reactors being developed now.
Tingzhou Fei, Zhaopeng Zhong, Samuel E. Bays, Florent Heidet
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 196 | Number 1 | October 2022 | Pages S98-S109
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295639.2021.1991760
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The Versatile Test Reactor (VTR) is currently under development by the U.S. Department of Energy. It will provide very high fast neutron flux irradiation capabilities that are currently unavailable in the United States. Given the increasingly large number of advanced reactor concepts being pursued in recent years, this irradiation testing capability will be essential to support maturation of these designs. Radiation protection is an important part of the VTR design. High neutron fluxes can pose a challenge for radiation protection of the structures and equipment near the reactor core. This paper provides a summary on the status of the radiation protection considerations and shielding analysis performed for VTR under a nominal operating condition. The main radiation sources identified and examined in the study are applicable only under this operating condition. The paper focuses on three areas of radiation protection and shielding: secondary sodium activation in the intermediate heat exchanger, air activation in the reactor vessel auxiliary cooling system, and dose rate above the head access area due to primary sodium activation. VTR design and development are continuously progressing, and as such, the shielding considerations discussed in this paper will evolve alongside the overall VTR design.