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Isotopes & Radiation
Members are devoted to applying nuclear science and engineering technologies involving isotopes, radiation applications, and associated equipment in scientific research, development, and industrial processes. Their interests lie primarily in education, industrial uses, biology, medicine, and health physics. Division committees include Analytical Applications of Isotopes and Radiation, Biology and Medicine, Radiation Applications, Radiation Sources and Detection, and Thermal Power Sources.
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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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Latest News
Framatome signs contracts with Sizewell C
French nuclear developer Framatome is slated to deliver key equipment for Sizewell C Ltd.’s two large reactors planned for the United Kingdom’s Suffolk coast.
The agreement, reportedly worth multiple billions of euros, was announced this week and will involve Framatome from the design phase until commissioning. The company also agreed to a long-term fuel supply deal. Framatome is 80.5 percent owned by France’s EDF and 19.5 percent owned by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
H. Guo, T. Kooyman, P. Sciora, L. Buiron
Nuclear Technology | Volume 205 | Number 11 | November 2019 | Pages 1447-1459
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2019.1611304
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The reduction of the initial excess reactivity in fast reactor cores will enhance the inherent safety level of the cores as it does reduce the impact of control rod withdrawal (CRW) accidents. Compensation for burnup reactivity loss by means of burnable poison (BP) is considered as a possible solution to limit initial excess reactivity. Minor actinides (MAs) challenge long-term nuclear waste management, and they can be transmuted from absorber isotopes to fissile isotopes, which allows them to play the role of BPs.
Two loading modes of MAs as BPs are considered in this paper: The so-called homogeneous transmutation mode mixes MAs with the fuel, and the so-called hybrid transmutation mode packs MAs in independent pins in the fuel assemblies. The content of americium or neptunium in these two modes is considered with regard to current technological feasibility, including burnup, cladding stress, decay heat, and the neutron source of the assemblies considered here. Both of these modes are able to compensate for the reactivity loss of a 3600-MW(thermal) fast reactor and thus reduce excess reactivity at the beginning of cycle.
The impact of MA loading on the core characteristics, including power distribution, material balance, and feedback coefficient, is considered from the assembly level to the core level. The hybrid mode shows better management feasibility while the use of neptunium exhibits a lower impact on the current fuel recycling. Finally, the core behavior during a CRW transient is evaluated, which shows that the core loaded with BPs exhibits better safety performance in CRW transients due to their lower initial excess reactivity.