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.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
Latest Magazine Issues
Mar 2026
Jan 2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
April 2026
Nuclear Technology
February 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Swiss nuclear power and the case for long-term operation
Designed for 40 years but built to last far longer, Switzerland’s nuclear power plants have all entered long-term operation. Yet age alone says little about safety or performance. Through continuous upgrades, strict regulatory oversight, and extensive aging management, the country’s reactors are being prepared for decades of continued operation, in line with international practice.
S. F. Su, Y. Orechwa, H. Henryson II
Nuclear Technology | Volume 52 | Number 3 | March 1981 | Pages 370-382
Technical Paper | Fission Reactor | doi.org/10.13182/NT81-A32711
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Two-dimensional multigroup space-time kinetics calculations with thermal-hydraulic feedback were performed for 1000- and 1800-MW(electric) homogeneous and heterogeneous liquid-metal fast breeder reactors. The initiating transient was due to the asymmetric withdrawal of a single control rod. It was found that the point kinetics model can, in many cases, be used for predicting integral reactor characteristics. For accurate predictions of local reactor conditions, space-time kinetics calculations are needed. In the case of both homogeneous and heterogeneous cores, for design basis reactivity insertions with scram, smaller reactivity insertion rates will lead to a greater fuel and cladding temperature rise than large reactivity insertion rates. Heterogeneous cores, because of their inherently greater power shape sensitivity, show a larger temperature rise than the homogeneous cores despite the fact that the transient is of much shorter duration because of an earlier reactor trip due to a lower negative Doppler feedback.