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 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
Latest Magazine Issues
Jun 2026
Jan 2026
2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
July 2026
Nuclear Technology
June 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
May 2026
Latest News
INL reports findings on unusual quantum behavior of plutonium
Scientists at Idaho National Laboratory have discovered that plutonium hexaboride (PuB6) displays a type of unusual quantum property called a topological Kondo insulating state. Materials with this property are neither typical electricity conductors nor regular insulators. Rather, they have exterior surfaces that strongly conduct electricity and interiors that block electricity.
Hyun-Jong Paik, Patrick Raymond
Nuclear Technology | Volume 107 | Number 1 | July 1994 | Pages 103-111
Technical Paper | Special on ANP ’92 Conference / Nuclear Reactor Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT94-A35002
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The steam line break (SLB) accident in pressurized water reactors is characterized by a large asymmetric cooling of the core, asymmetric stuck control rods, and large primary coolant flow variations. Because of these space- and time-dependent neutronic and thermal-hydraulic conditions in the core, former SLB analyses that used simplified core models were usually performed with many conservative assumptions. To clarify the complicated behavior of the core, the three-dimensional neutronic code CRONOS-2, the three-dimensional core thermal-hydraulic code FLICA-4, and the system code FLICA-S are completely coupled. The results obtained from the coupled codes indicate that the local thermal-hydraulic feedback effects are important in mitigating neutronic power excursions during SLBs.