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
2026 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
Latest Magazine Issues
Aug 2026
Jan 2026
2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
October 2026
Nuclear Technology
September 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
August 2026
Latest News
Center for Used Fuel Research: Building confidence in storage and transport
Used nuclear fuel storage and transportation have reached a critical juncture.
Dozens of utilities need reliable data on how used nuclear fuel performs in dry storage casks and canisters to extend regulatory licenses at sites across the United States. Likewise, the Department of Energy expects to take ownership of the used nuclear fuel—termed “spent nuclear fuel” in the laws and regulations governing its stewardship—and transfer it to one or more federal staging facilities for management and disposition.
Meanwhile, dozens of reactor companies are testing prototypes of advanced reactors and advanced reactor fuels. Eventually, regulators and industry must also verify the safety and security of storage methods for these advanced fuel types.
To help address these challenges, the DOE established the Center for Used Fuel Research (CUFR) in January 2026 for work related to the long-term storage and transport of used nuclear fuel.
A. Nava Dominguez, Y. F. Rao
Nuclear Technology | Volume 203 | Number 2 | August 2018 | Pages 173-193
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2018.1442085
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) is developing the technologies to enable the use of thorium-based fuels in pressure tube–heavy water reactors (PT-HWRs). One of the key stages in developing the thorium-based fuels for PT-HWRs is the reactor core configuration. Currently at CNL there are 20 core configurations under investigation, which involve several types of thorium-based fuels that could be implemented in a 700-MW(electric)-class PT-HWR. Among these core configurations, four fuel bundle concepts are being considered: (1) the reference (or nominal) 37-element bundle; (2) a 37-element modified bundle, with the center element using a different fuel material; (3) a 35-element bundle; and (4) an 18-element internally cooled annular fuel bundle. This study presents the steady-state subchannel thermal-hydraulic assessment of the 20 core configurations under investigation. The hottest channel approach is used in this study, as it represents the upper limit of a feasible design. The axial and element power distributions used in the analysis correspond to those of the discharge burnup. Three mass flows are considered in this study: 13.5, 21, and 24 kg/s. Five parameters are used to evaluate the fuel channel/bundle performance, namely, minimum critical heat flux ratio, channel pressure drop, enthalpy distribution, void fraction, and core power.