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
Operations & Power
Members focus on the dissemination of knowledge and information in the area of power reactors with particular application to the production of electric power and process heat. The division sponsors meetings on the coverage of applied nuclear science and engineering as related to power plants, non-power reactors, and other nuclear facilities. It encourages and assists with the dissemination of knowledge pertinent to the safe and efficient operation of nuclear facilities through professional staff development, information exchange, and supporting the generation of viable solutions to current issues.
Meeting Spotlight
Conference on Nuclear Training and Education: A Biennial International Forum (CONTE 2025)
February 3–6, 2025
Amelia Island, FL|Omni Amelia Island Resort
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
February 2025
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Cape Fear CC expands nuclear technology program
Cape Fear Community College (CFCC) in Wilmington, N.C., has appointed Kelli Davis its first Nuclear Technology program director. Davis has nearly 20 years of experience in nuclear power, including roles in chemistry, operations, and environmental supervision.
Koroush Shirvan, Mujid Kazimi
Nuclear Technology | Volume 184 | Number 3 | December 2013 | Pages 274-286
Technical Paper | Fission Reactors | doi.org/10.13182/NT13-A24985
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
An optimization search over all design parameters yields a boiling water reactor (BWR) with high power density (BWR-HD) at a power level of 5000 MW(thermal), equivalent to a 26% uprated Advanced BWR (ABWR), the latest version of operating BWR. This results in economic benefits, estimated to be [approximately]20% capital and operation and maintenance costs and similar total fuel cycle cost per unit electricity. A safety analysis of the BWR-HD was performed and compared with that of the ABWR. It covered a range of transients, involving a decrease in reactor coolant inventory or coolant system flow rate, changes in coolant temperature along with increase in reactor pressure, and a reactivity-initiated transient. The BWR-HD's different core flow velocity, feedwater flow rate, core inlet temperature, void coefficient of reactivity, pressure drop, core fuel loading, and volume of fluid in the core resulted in very different response to transients. In general, the 1.3-m-shorter core results in faster scram times and lower total positive reactivity insertions during the transients, which improves the BWR-HD's performance compared to that of the ABWR. The core remains covered and the pressure in the reactor pressure vessel never rises above the licensing limits during any of the simulated transients. The change in minimum critical power ratio for the BWR-HD was smaller than or equal to that of the reference ABWR in all of the six simulated transients. For the loss-of-coolant-inventory accidents and severe accidents, the BWR-HD qualitative performance was judged to be acceptable and could result in an improved response with the lower fuel and zirconium loading.