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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
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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Latest News
Nuclear fuel cycle reimagined: Powering the next frontiers from nuclear waste
In the fall of 2023, a small Zeno Power team accomplished a major feat: they demonstrated the first strontium-90 heat source in decades—and the first-ever by a commercial company.
Zeno Power worked with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to fabricate and validate this Z1 heat source design at the lab’s Radiochemical Processing Laboratory. The Z1 demonstration heralded renewed interest in developing radioisotope power system (RPS) technology. In early 2025, the heat source was disassembled, and the Sr-90 was returned to the U.S. Department of Energy for continued use.
Victor Coppo Leite, Elia Merzari, Jiaxin Mao, Victor Petrov, Annalisa Manera
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 198 | Number 7 | July 2024 | Pages 1386-1403
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/00295639.2023.2186159
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In the present work, two large eddy simulations (LESs) of single isothermal jets discharging into large enclosure facilities are proposed. The geometries and tested flow conditions correspond to scaled experiments of the upper plenum of high-temperature gas-cooled reactors. More specifically, two reference experiments were conducted at Texas A&M University and Michigan University. The objective of the present work is to validate these simulations with their corresponding reference experiments. The proposed LES models are performed with NekRS, a spectral element code with graphics processing unit capabilities developed at Argonne National Laboratory. These simulations were performed on the Summit supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. For validation purposes, first- and second-order statistics from the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) calculation are compared with measurements obtained from the experiments. The models proved to be accurate, as these results are in good agreement. Additionally, flow visualization is provided showing that these models are able to retrieve similar effects to what are described in the literature for this type of flow configuration. Finally, the proposed models are part of a broader effort under the current Integrated Research Project of Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation 1.1, whose main objective is to deliver fast-running models to accurately predict complex physical phenomena, including for instance, turbulent mixing and thermal stratification. In this regard, the CFD models proposed here will be used to generate a high-fidelity data set to be applied in conjunction with data-driven methods to improve turbulence modeling closures.