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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.
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2025 ANS Annual Conference
June 15–18, 2025
Chicago, IL|Chicago Marriott Downtown
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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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Smarter waste strategies: Helping deliver on the promise of advanced nuclear
At COP28, held in Dubai in 2023, a clear consensus emerged: Nuclear energy must be a cornerstone of the global clean energy transition. With electricity demand projected to soar as we decarbonize not just power but also industry, transport, and heat, the case for new nuclear is compelling. More than 20 countries committed to tripling global nuclear capacity by 2050. In the United States alone, the Department of Energy forecasts that the country’s current nuclear capacity could more than triple, adding 200 GW of new nuclear to the existing 95 GW by mid-century.
M. A. Schultz, Wayne F. Eckley
Nuclear Technology | Volume 10 | Number 3 | March 1971 | Pages 380-390
Technical Paper | Education | doi.org/10.13182/NT71-A30971
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In teaching the theory and operation of a pressurized water reactor (PWR), a method is developed which makes use of an analog computer primary-loop simulation; however, the secondary loop consists of a real steam turbine-generator set. The analog is fitted with a reactor kinetics network and a transport delay unit with memory capacitors. Potentiometer settings at the analog originate at the real turbine as temperatures and pressures of the saturated steam at. 215 psia. Students consult steam tables, Mollier charts, etc. to obtain correct values for points at the interface, secondary side of the heat exchanger. The “pinch point” concept of heat transfer is used to transfer data across the heat exchanger to the primary loop. The proper potentiometer settings at the analog result from this pinch point and the design criteria for half-load or full-load operating condition existing at the turbine. Two dynamic variations are made from the “steady-statec” half-load run. One of these is a “sudden” throttle opening at the turbine; the other is a “step” reactivity insertion made at the reactor (analog). Students make adjustments for the revised settings in both loops. The educational benefits resulting from this “50% simulate + 50% real turbine” method of instruction have proved to be very meaningful to students as well as gratifying to the instructor.