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Aerospace Nuclear Science & Technology
Organized to promote the advancement of knowledge in the use of nuclear science and technologies in the aerospace application. Specialized nuclear-based technologies and applications are needed to advance the state-of-the-art in aerospace design, engineering and operations to explore planetary bodies in our solar system and beyond, plus enhance the safety of air travel, especially high speed air travel. Areas of interest will include but are not limited to the creation of nuclear-based power and propulsion systems, multifunctional materials to protect humans and electronic components from atmospheric, space, and nuclear power system radiation, human factor strategies for the safety and reliable operation of nuclear power and propulsion plants by non-specialized personnel and more.
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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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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?
Min-Ho Baek, Sang-Ji Kim, Jaewoon Yoo, In-Ho Bae
Nuclear Technology | Volume 183 | Number 3 | September 2013 | Pages 287-297
Technical Paper | Fission Reactors | doi.org/10.13182/NT13-A19418
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The major roles of a prototype sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) planned to be developed at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute are (a) to provide an irradiation test capability for fuel and structural materials and (b) to obtain operational experience on the systems and components. The power level of the prototype SFR should be large enough to provide an appropriate irradiation test environment. Trade-off studies were therefore performed from a neutronics viewpoint to determine the power level. Specifically, core designs were performed for power levels of 125, 250, 400, and 500 MW(thermal). The selected core performance and economic efficiency indices became insensitive to the power at [approximately]400 to 500 MW(thermal) and sharply deteriorated at [approximately]125 to 250 MW(thermal) with decreasing core sizes. For the fuel management scheme, the transuranic (TRU) core performance compared with that of the uranium core, and the sodium void reactivity, were also evaluated with increasing power levels. It was found that increasing the number of batches shows a higher-burnup performance and economic efficiency. However, increasing the cycle length resulted in a lower economic efficiency. The irradiation performance of TRU and enriched TRU cores was improved by [approximately]20% and 50%, respectively. A maximum sodium void reactivity of 5.2 $ was confirmed as less than the design limit of 7.5 $. As a conclusion of our entire study, the power capacity of the prototype SFR should not be <250 MW(thermal), and would be appropriate at [approximately]500 MW(thermal) considering the performance and economic efficiency.