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.
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
2024 ANS Annual Conference
June 16–19, 2024
Las Vegas, NV|Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
May 2024
Jan 2024
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
June 2024
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Securing the advanced reactor fleet
Physical protection accounts for a significant portion of a nuclear power plant’s operational costs. As the U.S. moves toward smaller and safer advanced reactors, similar protection strategies could prove cost prohibitive. For tomorrow’s small modular reactors and microreactors, security costs must remain appropriate to the size of the reactor for economical operation.
Sang-Nyung Kim, Byung-Marn Koh, Joon-Suk Ji
Nuclear Technology | Volume 153 | Number 3 | March 2006 | Pages 304-314
Technical Paper | Thermal Hydraulics | doi.org/10.13182/NT06-A3709
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
When reactivity insertion such as refueling occurs in Canada deuterium uranium (CANDU) reactors, the power and the water level are tilted in the upper outer zone of the liquid zone control system (LZCS) and fluctuate unstably for a certain period of time (1 to 5 days). Such instability is observed in most of the CANDU reactors in service around the world, but neither its root cause has been identified nor have solutions against it been established. Therefore, this study experimentally and analytically attempted to prove that the root cause lies in the holdup of light water on the top of the tube support plate (TSP) due to the mismatch between the net volumetric flow rate of light water and helium crossing the narrowed porous TSP installed within the LZCS compartment by performing hydrodynamic simulation of the inflow/outflow of light water and helium. Two solutions against the aforementioned instability of LZCS were suggested. One is to regulate volumes of helium gas flowing into the compartment and light water flowing therefrom, and the other is to enlarge the flowing paths of helium and light water within the TSP. The former may be applicable to nuclear reactors in service and the latter to those planned to be constructed.