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Nuclear Nonproliferation Policy
The mission of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Policy Division (NNPD) is to promote the peaceful use of nuclear technology while simultaneously preventing the diversion and misuse of nuclear material and technology through appropriate safeguards and security, and promotion of nuclear nonproliferation policies. To achieve this mission, the objectives of the NNPD are to: Promote policy that discourages the proliferation of nuclear technology and material to inappropriate entities. Provide information to ANS members, the technical community at large, opinion leaders, and decision makers to improve their understanding of nuclear nonproliferation issues. Become a recognized technical resource on nuclear nonproliferation, safeguards, and security issues. Serve as the integration and coordination body for nuclear nonproliferation activities for the ANS. Work cooperatively with other ANS divisions to achieve these objective nonproliferation policies.
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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Glass strategy: Hanford’s enhanced waste glass program
The mission of the Department of Energy’s Office of River Protection (ORP) is to complete the safe cleanup of waste resulting from decades of nuclear weapons development. One of the most technologically challenging responsibilities is the safe disposition of approximately 56 million gallons of radioactive waste historically stored in 177 tanks at the Hanford Site in Washington state.
ORP has a clear incentive to reduce the overall mission duration and cost. One pathway is to develop and deploy innovative technical solutions that can advance baseline flow sheets toward higher efficiency operations while reducing identified risks without compromising safety. Vitrification is the baseline process that will convert both high-level and low-level radioactive waste at Hanford into a stable glass waste form for long-term storage and disposal.
Although vitrification is a mature technology, there are key areas where technology can further reduce operational risks, advance baseline processes to maximize waste throughput, and provide the underpinning to enhance operational flexibility; all steps in reducing mission duration and cost.
Mingfu He, Youho Lee
Nuclear Technology | Volume 206 | Number 2 | February 2020 | Pages 358-374
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2019.1626177
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Considering the highly nonlinear behavior and phenomenological complexity of critical heat flux (CHF), this study proposes a novel method to predict CHF on microstructure surface using machine learning technologies. An extensive literature survey was conducted to collect experimental data on microstructure surfaces. Data on horizontal silicon specimens of cylindrical pillars with square arrangements were selected for both training and testing various machine learning methods, including ν-support vector machine, back-propagation neural network, radial basis function neural network, general regression neural network, and deep belief network (DBN). Among the tested machine learning methods, DBN is shown to provide the best accuracy for CHF prediction. The obtained parametric CHF behavior of DBN with respect to pillar diameter, spacing, and height agrees with the physical understanding of CHF on microstructure surfaces. The presented approach is expected to support the design optimization of microstructure for CHF maximization.