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Division Spotlight
Mathematics & Computation
Division members promote the advancement of mathematical and computational methods for solving problems arising in all disciplines encompassed by the Society. They place particular emphasis on numerical techniques for efficient computer applications to aid in the dissemination, integration, and proper use of computer codes, including preparation of computational benchmark and development of standards for computing practices, and to encourage the development on new computer codes and broaden their use.
Meeting Spotlight
International Conference on Mathematics and Computational Methods Applied to Nuclear Science and Engineering (M&C 2025)
April 27–30, 2025
Denver, CO|The Westin Denver 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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Dragonfly, a Pu-fueled drone heading to Titan, gets key NASA approval
Curiosity landed on Mars sporting a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) in 2012, and a second NASA rover, Perseverance, landed in 2021. Both are still rolling across the red planet in the name of science. Another exploratory craft with a similar plutonium-238–fueled RTG but a very different mission—to fly between multiple test sites on Titan, Saturn’s largest moon—recently got one step closer to deployment.
On April 25, NASA and the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) announced that the Dragonfly mission to Saturn’s icy moon passed its critical design review. “Passing this mission milestone means that Dragonfly’s mission design, fabrication, integration, and test plans are all approved, and the mission can now turn its attention to the construction of the spacecraft itself,” according to NASA.
Man-Sung Yim, Scott A. Simonson, Terry M. Sullivan
Nuclear Technology | Volume 114 | Number 2 | May 1996 | Pages 254-271
Technical Paper | Radioactive Waste Management | doi.org/10.13182/NT96-A35254
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Atmospheric releases of I4C from a generic engineered low-level waste (LLW) disposal facility and its radiological impacts are investigated. A computer model that describes microbial gas generation and the transport has been developed and used to analyze the generation of l4C contaminated gases and subsequent migration in a facility. Models are based on a chemical kinetic description of aerobic and anaerobic decomposition of organic materials coupled with attending models of oxygen transport and consumption within waste containers in a facility. Effects of radiolysis on gas generation are addressed based on the estimated dose rate for class B and C wastes. Estimates predict that annual atmospheric release of l4C due to atmospheric pressure variations could range between ∼2.6 × 108 and 5.5 × 1011 Bq as a result of microbial gas generation based on a volume of 48 000 m3 LLW disposed in a facility. The associated dose to a maximally exposed individual is estimated to be dominated by ingestion pathway and strongly depends on the fraction of the food imported from an uncontaminated outside area. Dose rates are expected to be <0.04 mSv/yr, considering a reasonable distance between the facility and the exposed population. The depletion through airborne releases of l4C inventory that is available for transport through other pathways is not expected to be a significant issue.
