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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
Conference on Nuclear Training and Education: A Biennial International Forum (CONTE 2023)
February 6–9, 2023
Amelia Island, FL|Omni Amelia Island Resort
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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Nuclear Science and Engineering
February 2023
Nuclear Technology
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Latest News
University of Florida-led consortium to research nuclear forensics
A 16-university team of 31 scientists and engineers, under the title Consortium for Nuclear Forensics and led by the University of Florida, has been selected by the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to develop the next generation of new technologies and insights in nuclear forensics.
Alberto Talamo, S. N. P. Vegendla, A. Bergeron, F. Heidet, B. Ade, B. R. Betzler
Nuclear Technology | Volume 208 | Number 9 | September 2022 | Pages 1433-1452
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2022.2033596
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
This work presents multiphysics analyses on the bottom components of the Transformational Challenge Reactor (TCR) facility. These components include the bottom axial reflector and the steel exit cone. The bottom axial reflector is made of pure silicon carbide elements hosting helium cooling channels. These elements are three-dimensional (3D) printed, and therefore can host any arbitrary shape of the helium cooling channels. The design of the bottom reflector considers the neutronics and thermofluid dynamics performances as well as the manufacturing process optimization. More precisely, the best design of the bottom reflector reduces neutron leakage by avoiding straight cylindrical helium channels that facilitate neutron leakage, minimizes the helium flow pressure drop, and reduces the number of 3D printed silicon carbide pieces. The exit cone steel structure collects the hot helium from the bottom fuel assemblies and channels the cold helium to the top of the fuel assemblies. The steel’s simultaneous contact with hot and cold helium flows sets a large thermal gradient. Different designs of the exit cone are proposed to reduce the steel equivalent stress from the helium thermal load. The multiphysics analyses have been performed using Ansys Fluent, Ansys Mechanical, STAR-CCM+, and Serpent computer programs.