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.
Division Spotlight
Nuclear Criticality Safety
NCSD provides communication among nuclear criticality safety professionals through the development of standards, the evolution of training methods and materials, the presentation of technical data and procedures, and the creation of specialty publications. In these ways, the division furthers the exchange of technical information on nuclear criticality safety with the ultimate goal of promoting the safe handling of fissionable materials outside reactors.
Meeting Spotlight
Utility Working Conference and Vendor Technology Expo (UWC 2024)
August 4–7, 2024
Marco Island, FL|JW Marriott Marco Island
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
Jul 2024
Jan 2024
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
September 2024
Nuclear Technology
August 2024
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Taking shape: Fusion energy ecosystems built with public-private partnerships
It’s possible to describe fusion in simple terms: heat and squeeze small atoms to get abundant clean energy. But there’s nothing simple about getting fusion ready for the grid.
Private developers, national lab and university researchers, suppliers, and end users working toward that goal are developing a range of complex technologies to reach fusion temperatures and pressures, confounded by science and technology gaps linked to plasma behavior; materials, diagnostics, and electronics for extreme environments; fuel cycle sustainability; and economics.
K. Lisa Reed, Farzad Rahnema
Nuclear Technology | Volume 208 | Number 3 | March 2022 | Pages 562-574
Technical Note | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2021.1935166
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Previous work presented a set of stylized three-dimensional benchmark problems based on the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) preconceptual design of a fluoride-salt-cooled small modular advanced high-temperature reactor, or SmAHTR, with prismatic assemblies fueled by tri-isotropic (TRISO) particles. That previous work created a detailed description of the benchmark problems by closing several outstanding design gaps from the ORNL preconceptual design report, notably by addressing the lack of active control mechanisms, for which control rod “bundles” were implemented.
In this technical note, the creation of two additional stylized benchmark problem sets based on that past work is detailed, offering two new control rod configurations. The fluoride salt, small size, and highly heterogeneous TRISO-fueled pins make these additional benchmark problem sets useful numerical validation references in benchmarking neutronics tools against continuous-energy stochastic Monte Carlo results. Detailed reference results, including the eigenvalue (keff) and 1/11th assembly-averaged relative fission density distributions, are provided for both control rod configurations in full-core cases with all control rods withdrawn and all control rods fully inserted. A near-critical core benchmark problem and results are provided for one configuration. The provided results are calculated using the continuous-energy Monte Carlo code MCNP.