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Division Spotlight
Young Members Group
The Young Members Group works to encourage and enable all young professional members to be actively involved in the efforts and endeavors of the Society at all levels (Professional Divisions, ANS Governance, Local Sections, etc.) as they transition from the role of a student to the role of a professional. It sponsors non-technical workshops and meetings that provide professional development and networking opportunities for young professionals, collaborates with other Divisions and Groups in developing technical and non-technical content for topical and national meetings, encourages its members to participate in the activities of the Groups and Divisions that are closely related to their professional interests as well as in their local sections, introduces young members to the rules and governance structure of the Society, and nominates young professionals for awards and leadership opportunities available to members.
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!
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February 2024
Latest News
Can hydrogen be the transportation fuel in an otherwise nuclear economy?
Let’s face it: The global economy should be powered primarily by nuclear power. And it probably will by the end of this century, with a still-significant assist from renewables and hydro. Once nuclear systems are dominant, the costs come down to where gas is now; and when carbon emissions are reduced to a small portion of their present state, it will become obvious that most other sources are only good in niche settings. I mean, why use small modular reactors to load-follow when they can just produce that power instead of buffering it?
Colby Jensen, Austin Fleming
Nuclear Technology | Volume 205 | Number 10 | October 2019 | Pages 1354-1368
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2019.1627123
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A fuel safety research program centered on in-pile transient testing experiments is being developed to support assessment and qualification of advanced nuclear fuel systems using the recently restarted Transient Reactor Test (TREAT) facility at the Idaho National Laboratory. While resumption of transient testing at TREAT is crucial to enable these programs, full recovery and cutting-edge transient testing capability also require a well-coordinated and innovative instrumentation development and qualification program to support near-term and future objectives. This paper summarizes the experimental approach of transient testing to focus on measuring the response of nuclear fuel to off-normal (or power-cooling mismatch) conditions for modern and advanced reactor environments requiring capabilities extending over wide measurement and environment conditions. It also highlights unique attributes of transient testing of importance to in-pile instruments including relatively low total neutron fluence, high gamma heating, and the need for a well-defined and possibly short time response. Historical approaches to instrumentation for transient testing are also reviewed to provide context to the modern instrument strategy. The paper details the instrumentation needs of modern transient testing. It also summarizes several ongoing research and development (R&D) activities that support the development of state-of-the-art and advanced measurement technologies that will provide a baseline capability for light water reactor and sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) experiment objectives. This R&D will extend to other advanced reactor needs and advanced sensing technology opportunities. Examples of specific sensors planned for near-term deployment with ongoing development include prompt response self-powered neutron detectors, miniature fission chambers, optical fiber–coupled infrared pyrometers, cladding surface thermocouples, electrical impedance–based boiling detectors, and linear variable differential transformer–based sensors for fuel elongation and pressure measurement.