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Division Spotlight
Robotics & Remote Systems
The Mission of the Robotics and Remote Systems Division is to promote the development and application of immersive simulation, robotics, and remote systems for hazardous environments for the purpose of reducing hazardous exposure to individuals, reducing environmental hazards and reducing the cost of performing work.
Meeting Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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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
Nagra publishes license applications for Swiss geologic repository
Nagra, Switzerland’s national cooperative for the disposal of radioactive waste, has published its general license applications for a deep geologic repository and separate spent fuel encapsulation plant, making the documents publicly available on a digital platform.
Adrienne M. Lafleur, William S. Charlton, Howard O. Menlove, Martyn T. Swinhoe, Alain R. Lebrun
Nuclear Technology | Volume 181 | Number 2 | February 2013 | Pages 354-370
Technical Paper | Radiation Measurements and General Instrumentation | doi.org/10.13182/NT13-A15790
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A new nondestructive assay technique called self-interrogation neutron resonance densitometry (SINRD) is currently being developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory to improve existing nuclear safeguards and material accountability measurements for light water reactor fuel assemblies. The viability of using SINRD to improve the detection of possible diversion scenarios for pressurized water reactor 17 × 17 spent low-enriched uranium (LEU) and mixed oxide (MOX) fuel assemblies was investigated via Monte Carlo N-Particle eXtended transport code (MCNPX) simulations. The following capabilities were assessed: (a) verification of the burnup of a spent fuel assembly, (b) ability to distinguish fresh and one-cycle spent MOX fuel from three- and four-cycle spent LEU fuel, and (c) sensitivity and penetrability to the removal of fuel pins. SINRD utilizes 244Cm spontaneous-fission neutrons to self-interrogate the spent fuel pins. The amount of resonance absorption of these neutrons in the fuel can be quantified using a set of fission chambers (FCs) placed adjacent to the assembly. The sensitivity of SINRD is based on using the same fissile materials in the FCs as are present in the fuel because the effect of resonance absorption lines in the transmitted flux is amplified by the corresponding (n,f) reaction peaks in the FC. SINRD requires calibration with a reference assembly of similar geometry in a similar measurement configuration with the same surrounding moderator as the spent fuel assemblies. However, this densitometry method uses ratios of different detectors so that several systematic errors related to calibration and positioning cancel in the ratios.