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Reactor Physics
The division's objectives are to promote the advancement of knowledge and understanding of the fundamental physical phenomena characterizing nuclear reactors and other nuclear systems. The division encourages research and disseminates information through meetings and publications. Areas of technical interest include nuclear data, particle interactions and transport, reactor and nuclear systems analysis, methods, design, validation and operating experience and standards. The Wigner Award heads the awards program.
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2024 ANS Annual Conference
June 16–19, 2024
Las Vegas, NV|Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
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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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BWXT announces nuclear manufacturing plant expansion
BWX Technologies announced today plans to expand and add advanced manufacturing equipment to its manufacturing plant in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada.
A $36.3 million USD ($50M CAD) expansion will increase the plant’s size by 25 percent—to 280,000 square feet—and another $21.7 million USD ($30M CAD) will be spent on new equipment to increase and accelerate its output of large nuclear components. The investment will increase capacity and create more than 200 long-term jobs for skilled workers, engineers, and support staff, according to the company.
Christopher A. Juchau, Mary Lou Dunzik-Gougar, Jacob J. Jacobson
Nuclear Technology | Volume 171 | Number 2 | August 2010 | Pages 136-141
Technical Paper | Fuel Cycle and Management | doi.org/10.13182/NT171-136
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A review of existing analysis codes for nuclear fuel cycle systems was performed to determine if any existing codes meet technical and functional requirements defined for a U.S. national program supporting the global and domestic assessment, development, and deployment of nuclear energy systems. The program would be implemented using an interconnected architecture of different codes ranging from the fuel cycle analysis code, which is the subject of the review, to fundamental physical and mechanistic codes. Four main functions are defined for the code. Function 1 is the ability to characterize and deploy individual fuel cycle facilities and reactors in a simulation while discretely tracking material movements. Function 2 is the capability to perform an uncertainty analysis for each element of the fuel cycle and an aggregate uncertainty analysis. Function 3 is the inclusion of an optimization engine able to optimize simultaneously across multiple objective functions. Function 4 is open and accessible code software and documentation to aid in collaboration between multiple entities and to facilitate software updates.Existing codes, categorized as annualized or discrete fuel tracking codes, were assessed according to the four functions and associated requirements. These codes were developed by various government, education, and industrial entities to fulfill particular needs. In some cases, decisions were made during code development to limit the level of detail included in a code to ease its use or to focus on certain aspects of a fuel cycle to address specific questions. The review revealed that while no two of the codes are identical, they all perform many of the same basic functions. No code was able to perform defined function 2 or several requirements of functions 1 and 3. Based on this review, it was concluded that the functions and requirements will be met only with development of a new code, referred to as GENIUS.