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Division Spotlight
Accelerator Applications
The division was organized to promote the advancement of knowledge of the use of particle accelerator technologies for nuclear and other applications. It focuses on production of neutrons and other particles, utilization of these particles for scientific or industrial purposes, such as the production or destruction of radionuclides significant to energy, medicine, defense or other endeavors, as well as imaging and diagnostics.
Meeting Spotlight
2024 ANS Winter Conference and Expo
November 17–21, 2024
Orlando, FL|Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld
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
October 2024
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Don’t get boxed in: Entergy CNO Kimberly Cook-Nelson shares her journey
Kimberly Cook-Nelson
For Kimberly Cook-Nelson, the path to the nuclear industry started with a couple of refrigerator boxes and cellophane paper. Her sixth-grade science project was inspired by her father, who worked at Seabrook power station in New Hampshire as a nuclear operator.
“I had two big refrigerator boxes I taped together. I cut the ‘primary operating system’ and the ‘secondary system’ out of them. Then I used different colored cellophane paper to show the pressurized water system versus the steam versus the cold cooling water,” Cook-Nelson said. “My dad got me those little replica pellets that I could pass out to people as they were going by at my science fair.”
David Grabaskas, Jason Andrus, Dennis Henneke, Jonathan Li, Matthew Bucknor, Matthew Warner
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 196 | Number 1 | October 2022 | Pages S278-S288
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295639.2021.2014741
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The Versatile Test Reactor (VTR) is a fast spectrum test reactor currently being developed in the United States under the direction of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE). The mission of the VTR is to enable accelerated testing of advanced reactor fuels and materials required for advanced reactor technologies. The conceptual design of the 300-MW(thermal), sodium-cooled, metallic-fueled, pool-type fast reactor has been led by U.S. national laboratories in collaboration with General Electric-Hitachi and Bechtel National Inc. To facilitate risk-informed design and authorization activities during the conceptual development phase, a conceptual design probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) was performed for the VTR. This paper provides an overview of the development of the VTR conceptual design PRA, including key DOE and industry standards and the PRA analysis approach and structure. In addition, the results of the VTR conceptual design PRA are provided, which include its use within authorization documentation and design decisions, along with important lessons learned during the process. The work reported in the paper is the result of studies supporting a VTR conceptual design, cost, and schedule estimate for DOE-NE to make a decision on procurement. As such, it is preliminary.