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Division Spotlight
Reactor Physics
The division's objectives are to promote the advancement of knowledge and understanding of the fundamental physical phenomena characterizing nuclear reactors and other nuclear systems. The division encourages research and disseminates information through meetings and publications. Areas of technical interest include nuclear data, particle interactions and transport, reactor and nuclear systems analysis, methods, design, validation and operating experience and standards. The Wigner Award heads the awards program.
Meeting Spotlight
2025 ANS Annual Conference
June 15–18, 2025
Chicago, IL|Chicago Marriott Downtown
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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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.
D. J. Murphy, Jr., W. M. Farr, B. D. Ganapol
Nuclear Technology | Volume 45 | Number 3 | October 1979 | Pages 299-306
Technical Paper | Radioactive Waste | doi.org/10.13182/NT79-A32298
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Elimination of long-lived transplutonium actinides by fissioning in a generic actinide burner reactor (a reactor fueled solely with waste actinides) was investigated. The results showed that actinide elimination by fissioning is enhanced by increasing the average energy of the neutron flux spectrum. In addition, the reactivity worths and the fission-to-capture rate ratios of the individual actinide nuclides increased with increasing flux spectrum energy. This suggests that specially designed fast reactors of relatively small size and having metal alloy fuel may effectively dispose of the waste actinides produced by several large light water reactors in a mixed reactor community. The fuel value of waste actinides was studied, and the replacement of at least some conventional mixed-oxide fast reactor fuel by waste actinides (to conserve a fuel resource) was proposed. It is calculated that the time required to reach equilibrium actinide concentrations in the reactor core, after many refueling periods, is shorter for reactors having higher neutron flux energies. Also, increasing the specific power density within the reactor core both decreases the equilibrium actinide concentrations in the core and increases the time required for equilibrium conditions.