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.
Division Spotlight
Thermal Hydraulics
The division provides a forum for focused technical dialogue on thermal hydraulic technology in the nuclear industry. Specifically, this will include heat transfer and fluid mechanics involved in the utilization of nuclear energy. It is intended to attract the highest quality of theoretical and experimental work to ANS, including research on basic phenomena and application to nuclear system design.
Meeting Spotlight
2024 ANS Annual Conference
June 16–19, 2024
Las Vegas, NV|Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
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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Nuclear Science and Engineering
May 2024
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Framatome signs contracts with Sizewell C
French nuclear developer Framatome is slated to deliver key equipment for Sizewell C Ltd.’s two large reactors planned for the United Kingdom’s Suffolk coast.
The agreement, reportedly worth multiple billions of euros, was announced this week and will involve Framatome from the design phase until commissioning. The company also agreed to a long-term fuel supply deal. Framatome is 80.5 percent owned by France’s EDF and 19.5 percent owned by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
Shadi Z. Ghrayeb, Kostadin N. Ivanov, Samuel H. Levine, Eric P. Loewen
Nuclear Technology | Volume 176 | Number 2 | November 2011 | Pages 188-194
Technical Paper | Fission Reactors | doi.org/10.13182/NT11-A13295
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Thorium-based fuels are investigated to improve fast reactor fuel burnup. Such new sources of fuel will have to ensure that the projected expansion of nuclear power is achieved in conjunction with a reduced risk of nuclear weapons proliferation. Thorium fuel cycles have many incentives such as reduction of plutonium generation and consumption of light water reactor actinides, high-performance burnup, and conservation of 235U resources. This study provides the insight needed to judge the limitations of the thorium fuel system. This work examines burnup reactivity loss and depletion analysis of thorium- versus uranium-based metal fuels. When compared, the thorium-based metallic fuel outperformed uranium-based fuel with respect to higher actinide burnup and higher depletion rate of plutonium isotopes. The results of this paper help ascertain the limitations based on the long-term performance and behavior of the fuel under core operating conditions. Additionally, the resulting knowledge gained and techniques developed during this project support reestablishing the domestic infrastructure in the U.S. fast reactor development program. The thorium cycle offers an alternative, innovative concept for fast reactor fuels to better burn transuranics, and this study provides test cases for comparisons between options.