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
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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
Sep 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
September 2025
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
October 2025
Latest News
Wright officially sworn in for third term at the NRC
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission recently announced that David Wright, after being nominated by President Trump and confirmed by the Senate, was ceremonially sworn in as NRC chair on September 8.
This swearing in comes more than a month after Wright began his third term on the commission; he began leading as chair July 31. His term will conclude on June 30, 2030.
Yoshitaka Chikazawa, Yasushi Okano, Mamoru Konomura, Naoki Sawa, Yoshio Shimakawa, Toshihiko Tanaka
Nuclear Technology | Volume 157 | Number 2 | February 2007 | Pages 120-131
Technical Paper | Fission Reactors | doi.org/10.13182/NT07-A3807
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A small reactor has the potential to be utilized as a power source to meet diverse social needs and reduce capital risks. In remote areas, populations tend to be small, and an economic power grid may not be available. In such situations, a small power source with a capacity of less than 50 MW(electric) without refueling is attractive since the costs for fuel transfer to such a site are expensive. In the present study, a metal fuel core with a lifetime of 30 yr and a simple reactor plant design has been proposed. The local burnup reactivity change in every core region is minimized by adjusting the zirconium content and the smear density of the three-core region to achieve a 550°C core outlet temperature. At the end of the cycle, the burnup reactivity is evaluated to be 1.1% of (dk/kk'), achieving a 30-yr core life. The reactor vessel is dramatically simplified by eliminating a fuel-handling system. The number of main cooling loops is reduced to one by installing dual electromagnetic pumps in the primary sodium circuit. The nuclear steam supply system mass, at 309 tonnes, shows that the present loop-type concept can more dramatically reduce material mass than that of the previous pool-type concept of 484 tonnes. The rough estimation of the electricity cost shows that this concept will be competitive for remote sites. Transient analyses show that a self-actuated shutdown system enhances the passive safety features, thus ensuring reactor integrity in anticipated transient without scram events.