ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2025 ANS Winter Conference & Expo
November 9–12, 2025
Washington, DC|Washington Hilton
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
Sep 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
September 2025
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
October 2025
Latest News
A wave of new U.S.-U.K. deals ahead of Trump’s state visit
President Trump will arrive in the United Kingdom this week for a state visit that promises to include the usual pomp and ceremony alongside the signing of a landmark new agreement on U.S.-U.K. nuclear collaboration.
Justin M. Pounders, Farzad Rahnema
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 163 | Number 3 | November 2009 | Pages 243-262
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE163-243
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The definition of the multigroup diffusion coefficient for reactor physics problems is not unique; rather, it is based on limiting approximations made to the Boltzmann transport equation. In this paper, we present several new diffusion closures in an attempt to gain increased accuracy over the standard P1-based diffusion theory. First, the Levermore-Pomraning flux-limited diffusion theory is applied to reactor physics problems both in its original form and in a new modified form that makes the methodology more robust with respect to the energy variable. Additionally, two novel definitions of the diffusion coefficient are introduced that permit a neutron flux that is greater than first order in angle. These various diffusion theories are completed by developing consistent boundary conditions for each case. Diffusion theory solutions are computed for each unique closure and are compared against transport theory analytically for a simple half-space problem and numerically for a suite of simplified one-dimensional reactor problems. Conclusions and observations are made for each diffusion method in terms of its underlying assumptions and accuracy of the benchmark solutions.