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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
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Why should safeguards by design be a global effort?
Jeremy Whitlock
I can’t think of a more exciting time to be working in nuclear, with the diversity of advanced reactor development and increasing global support for nuclear in sustainable energy planning. But we can’t lose sight of the need to plan for efficient international safeguards at the same time.
Global nuclear deployment has been underpinned since 1970 by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), making it a key customer requirement for governments to demonstrate unequivocally that the technology is not being misused for weapons development.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has helped verify this commitment for more than 50 years, but it has never safeguarded many of the advanced reactors (and related fuel cycle processes) being developed today.
B. T. Rearden, M. L. Williams, M. A. Jessee, D. E. Mueller, D. A. Wiarda
Nuclear Technology | Volume 174 | Number 2 | May 2011 | Pages 236-288
Technical Paper | Special Issue on the SCALE Nuclear Analysis Code System / Radiation Protection | doi.org/10.13182/NT174-236
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In SCALE 6, the Tools for Sensitivity and UNcertainty Analysis Methodology Implementation (TSUNAMI) modules calculate the sensitivity of keff or reactivity differences to the neutron cross-section data on an energy-dependent, nuclide-reaction-specific basis. These sensitivity data are useful for uncertainty quantification, using the comprehensive neutron cross-section-covariance data in SCALE 6. Additional modules in SCALE 6 use the sensitivity and uncertainty data to produce correlation coefficients and other relational parameters that quantify the similarity of benchmark experiments to application systems for code validation purposes. Bias and bias uncertainties are quantified using parametric trending analysis or data adjustment techniques, providing detailed assessments of sources of biases and their uncertainties and quantifying gaps in experimental data available for validation. An example application of these methods is presented for a generic burnup credit cask model.