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Improving task performance, system reliability, system and personnel safety, efficiency, and effectiveness are the division's main objectives. Its major areas of interest include task design, procedures, training, instrument and control layout and placement, stress control, anthropometrics, psychological input, and motivation.
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2024 ANS Annual Conference
June 16–19, 2024
Las Vegas, NV|Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
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Latest News
DOE issues RFQ for clean-energy projects at WIPP
The Department of Energy has issued a request for qualifications (RFQ) for interested parties that are looking to establish carbon pollution–free electricity (CFE) projects at its Waste Isolation Pilot Plant site in New Mexico.
Sang Ji Kim, Pham Nhu Viet Ha, Jae Yong Lim, Won Sik Yang
Nuclear Technology | Volume 186 | Number 3 | June 2014 | Pages 390-402
Technical Paper | Fuel Cycle and Management | doi.org/10.13182/NT13-90
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A core design study to convert a breakeven core into a transuranic (TRU) burner is performed for a 600-MW(electric)–rated metal-fueled sodium-cooled fast reactor. No change in the core and subassembly layouts is assumed, which only allows geometry variations within the fuel rods. Investigated alternatives are to use variable cladding thicknesses (VCTs), smearing fraction (SF) adjustments, and annular fuel rod concepts with a central liner of a variable diameter consisting of void, Zr, B4C, Al, etc. The VCT concept could not be employed due to a too-high clad inner wall temperature. A SF adjustment below a typical fraction of 75% leads to moderate TRU burning and a reduced sodium void worth but also to a relatively high burnup swing. Placing a central nonfuel rod with the fuel arranged in an annular ring affects the core performance and reactivity coefficients, depending on whether it is a moderator or an absorber. In general, candidate materials of high atomic numbers contribute to large positive sodium void worths but also enhanced negative expansion effects. Among the light elements, vanadium reveals a favorable performance with comparable TRU burning and a reduced sodium void worth, suggesting this material can be regarded as a substitute for sodium in the solid state.