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Division Spotlight
Nuclear Criticality Safety
NCSD provides communication among nuclear criticality safety professionals through the development of standards, the evolution of training methods and materials, the presentation of technical data and procedures, and the creation of specialty publications. In these ways, the division furthers the exchange of technical information on nuclear criticality safety with the ultimate goal of promoting the safe handling of fissionable materials outside reactors.
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
NRC begins special inspection at Constellation’s Quad Cities plant
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is conducting a special inspection at Constellation’s Quad Cities nuclear plant to review two events caused by battery issues. Neither event had any impact on public health or plant workers.
Cheng-Der Wang, Chaung Lin
Nuclear Technology | Volume 176 | Number 1 | October 2011 | Pages 72-82
Technical Paper | Second Seminar on Accelerated Testing of Materials in Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Waste Storage Systems / Fission Reactors | doi.org/10.13182/NT11-A12543
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A method for the automatic design of a boiling water reactor (BWR) control rod (CR) pattern (CRP) was developed using the rank-based ant system, which is an effective optimization algorithm for a combinatorial optimization problem. The designed BWR CRP followed either the A2-B1-A1-B2 or the A1-B2-A2-B1 sequence in this study. After the CRP was determined, the SIMULATE-3 code was used to calculate the axial power distribution, the effective multiplication factor keff, the shutdown margin, and three thermal limits-which were then used to evaluate the CRP and update the pheromone concentration. The developed methodology was demonstrated using design CRPs for several fuel loading patterns, showing that the designed patterns can be obtained within a reasonable computation time and with an acceptable cycle length.
