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
Education, Training & Workforce Development
The Education, Training & Workforce Development Division provides communication among the academic, industrial, and governmental communities through the exchange of views and information on matters related to education, training and workforce development in nuclear and radiological science, engineering, and technology. Industry leaders, education and training professionals, and interested students work together through Society-sponsored meetings and publications, to enrich their professional development, to educate the general public, and to advance nuclear and radiological science and engineering.
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
Mar 2024
Jan 2024
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
April 2024
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
February 2024
Latest News
Can hydrogen be the transportation fuel in an otherwise nuclear economy?
Let’s face it: The global economy should be powered primarily by nuclear power. And it probably will by the end of this century, with a still-significant assist from renewables and hydro. Once nuclear systems are dominant, the costs come down to where gas is now; and when carbon emissions are reduced to a small portion of their present state, it will become obvious that most other sources are only good in niche settings. I mean, why use small modular reactors to load-follow when they can just produce that power instead of buffering it?
Bruce A. Robinson, Ned Z. Elkins, Joe T. Carter
Nuclear Technology | Volume 180 | Number 1 | October 2012 | Pages 122-138
Technical Paper | Radioactive Waste Management and Disposal | doi.org/10.13182/NT12-A14524
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
With the United States rethinking its strategy for the management and disposal of defense high-level radioactive waste and civilian used nuclear fuel (UNF), it is an opportune time to evaluate the near-term and long-term options and requirements for the U.S. geologic repository program. In this paper, we outline a research program investigating the behavior of salt when subjected to thermal loads like those that would be present in a high-level-waste (HLW) repository. This program builds upon the knowledge base developed as a result of previous repository program efforts and the successful licensing and operation of the Waste Isolation Pilot Project Transuranic waste repository. We present a preliminary evaluation of a conceptual repository design that, in principle, exploits the positive attributes of salt as a disposal medium while balancing heat management issues against other considerations such as efficiency of disposal operations and cost. The coupled thermal-mechanical behavior of the intact and crushed salt, which influences and is influenced by the liberation and movement of water present in the salt and hydrous minerals, will ultimately control the thermal and hydrochemical conditions in the repository and at the waste package. To address key scientific issues, we advocate a combination of laboratory-scale investigations, a thermal test in the field for a configuration that replicates a small portion of our conceptual repository design, and numerical simulations conducted to develop a validated model that can be used for future repository design or performance assessment purposes. Accompanying this testing program would be a broader set of investigations that we advocate be conducted in the context of an iterative and adaptive process for systematically reducing uncertainties as we build a science-based safety case for HLW disposal in salt.