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Division Spotlight
Nuclear Criticality Safety
NCSD provides communication among nuclear criticality safety professionals through the development of standards, the evolution of training methods and materials, the presentation of technical data and procedures, and the creation of specialty publications. In these ways, the division furthers the exchange of technical information on nuclear criticality safety with the ultimate goal of promoting the safe handling of fissionable materials outside reactors.
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.
André Puill, Jean Bergeron
Nuclear Technology | Volume 119 | Number 2 | August 1997 | Pages 123-140
Technical Paper | Nuclear Fuel Cycle | doi.org/10.13182/NT97-A35381
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
An objective is to enhance the use of plutonium in conventional or slightly modified pressurized water reactors, while minimizing minor actinide production. Having entirely mixed-oxide-fueled reactors reduces the number of reactors that are affected on plutonium recycling and avoids the need for fuel zoning. However, the overall consumption is <30%, and the mass of minor actinides produced is considerable, representing up to 25 % of the plutonium used. The Advanced Plutonium Fuel Assembly concept, based on a uranium-free plutonium fuel, which achieves high burnups and an increased moderation ratio, enables 60% of the second-generation plutonium to be consumed, while the minor actinides produced only represent 8% of this figure. The heterogeneous design of the fuel assembly, which includes natural uranium or low-enriched uranium fuel rods, guarantees values that suit the physical parameters of the core. The concept was analyzed from a thermo-hydraulic aspect in both rated and accident situations. Technological feasibility is yet to be demonstrated. This study is part of a medium-term strategy for the back end of the fuel cycle.