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Division Spotlight
Young Members Group
The Young Members Group works to encourage and enable all young professional members to be actively involved in the efforts and endeavors of the Society at all levels (Professional Divisions, ANS Governance, Local Sections, etc.) as they transition from the role of a student to the role of a professional. It sponsors non-technical workshops and meetings that provide professional development and networking opportunities for young professionals, collaborates with other Divisions and Groups in developing technical and non-technical content for topical and national meetings, encourages its members to participate in the activities of the Groups and Divisions that are closely related to their professional interests as well as in their local sections, introduces young members to the rules and governance structure of the Society, and nominates young professionals for awards and leadership opportunities available to members.
Meeting Spotlight
2025 ANS Annual Conference
June 15–18, 2025
Chicago, IL|Chicago Marriott 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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Nuclear Science and Engineering
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High-temperature plumbing and advanced reactors
The use of nuclear fission power and its role in impacting climate change is hotly debated. Fission advocates argue that short-term solutions would involve the rapid deployment of Gen III+ nuclear reactors, like Vogtle-3 and -4, while long-term climate change impact would rely on the creation and implementation of Gen IV reactors, “inherently safe” reactors that use passive laws of physics and chemistry rather than active controls such as valves and pumps to operate safely. While Gen IV reactors vary in many ways, one thing unites nearly all of them: the use of exotic, high-temperature coolants. These fluids, like molten salts and liquid metals, can enable reactor engineers to design much safer nuclear reactors—ultimately because the boiling point of each fluid is extremely high. Fluids that remain liquid over large temperature ranges can provide good heat transfer through many demanding conditions, all with minimal pressurization. Although the most apparent use for these fluids is advanced fission power, they have the potential to be applied to other power generation sources such as fusion, thermal storage, solar, or high-temperature process heat.1–3
Alberto Previti, Alberto Brighenti, Damien Raynaud, Barbara Vezzoni
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 197 | Number 9 | September 2023 | Pages 2459-2483
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/00295639.2023.2189535
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The design and safety assessment of nuclear reactors rely on a combination of calculations performed by several simulation packages, each dedicated to modeling a specific ensemble of phenomena. To treat the complexity of the physical problem, appropriate software architectures and methodologies to trace and implement user needs are of paramount importance to fulfill the needs of all the possible stakeholders. This work proposes a systematic approach to break the complexity of constructing a lattice neutronics platform that is one of the simulation packages needed in nuclear reactor analysis. After reviewing the state of the art of current methods applied in reactor physics engineering, the work concentrates on identifying the applicable software architecture strategies and on discussing advantages and drawbacks. While the specific target is the neutronics code APOLLO3®, the subsequent categorization and analysis of user needs written in the form of formal requirements allow for defining a unified approach to design an effective, industrial-grade, and future-proof calculation platform. Subsequent presentation of typical use cases involved in developing deterministic lattice calculation schemes allows linking the formal definition of use cases and software architecture with the actual application to a specific calculation setting. This work aims, therefore, at proposing an innovative viewpoint to tackle large software developments applicable in the nuclear industry. The research presented in this paper has been developed at Framatome in the context of the lattice neutronics work package of the H2020 CAMIVVER project.