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 Winter Conference & Expo
November 15–18, 2026
Phoenix, AZ|Arizona Grand Resort & Spa
Latest Magazine Issues
Aug 2026
Jan 2026
2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
October 2026
Nuclear Technology
September 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
August 2026
Latest News
LLNL, Ampera partner to develop thorium-based TRISO fuel
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has formed a strategic partnership with Ampera to develop the company’s nuclear fuel concept through a project named THUNDER, for Thorium Unimodal Droplet Ejection for Reactors.
The focus of THUNDER is fabricating TRISO made with kernels of thorium rather than the usual uranium. LLNL and Ampera will evaluate and optimize liquid metal–jetting technology to produce highly uniform, spherical kernels of thorium-232 for later processing into TRISO fuel.
Mohamed S. El-Genk, Huimin Xue, Dmitry Paramonov
Nuclear Technology | Volume 105 | Number 1 | January 1994 | Pages 70-86
Technical Paper | Special on Nuclear Criticality Safety / Nuclear Reactor Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT94-A34912
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The thermionic transient analysis model is used to simulate the startup of the TOPAZ-II space nuclear power system in orbit. The simulated startup procedures are assumed for the purpose of demonstrating the capabilities of the model and may not represent an accurate account of the actual startup procedures of the TOPAZ-II system. The temperature reactivity feedback effects of the moderator, UO2 fuel, electrodes, coolant, and other components in the core are calculated, and their effects on the thermal and criticality conditions of the reactor are investigated. Also, estimates of the time constants of the temperature reactivity feedback for the UO2fuel and the ZrH moderator during startup, as well as of the total temperature reactivity feedback as a function of the reactor steady-state thermal power, are obtained.