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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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2025 ANS Annual Conference
June 15–18, 2025
Chicago, IL|Chicago Marriott Downtown
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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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High-temperature plumbing and advanced reactors
The use of nuclear fission power and its role in impacting climate change is hotly debated. Fission advocates argue that short-term solutions would involve the rapid deployment of Gen III+ nuclear reactors, like Vogtle-3 and -4, while long-term climate change impact would rely on the creation and implementation of Gen IV reactors, “inherently safe” reactors that use passive laws of physics and chemistry rather than active controls such as valves and pumps to operate safely. While Gen IV reactors vary in many ways, one thing unites nearly all of them: the use of exotic, high-temperature coolants. These fluids, like molten salts and liquid metals, can enable reactor engineers to design much safer nuclear reactors—ultimately because the boiling point of each fluid is extremely high. Fluids that remain liquid over large temperature ranges can provide good heat transfer through many demanding conditions, all with minimal pressurization. Although the most apparent use for these fluids is advanced fission power, they have the potential to be applied to other power generation sources such as fusion, thermal storage, solar, or high-temperature process heat.1–3
M. A. Talarico, P. F. F. Frutuoso e Melo, I. B. Gomes
Nuclear Technology | Volume 209 | Number 5 | May 2023 | Pages 745-764
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2022.2155021
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
This study presents a method for inferring the potential variabilities that need to be computed in a model developed using the Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM) by means of adapting a questionnaire used in the Resilience Analysis Grid method. The proposed method, called in this study the indirect method, is compared to the technique prescribed in FRAM to acquire variabilities for each system’s functions in the specific case of a FRAM model for obtaining a nuclear-powered submarine and its land support facility, hereinafter called the Combined Nuclear Facility (CNF). It should be noted that this model encompasses the design, the nuclear licensing process, and the construction of the CNF and aims to help to point out weaknesses in nuclear safety. The results show that 55.17% of the variability data obtained from both methods was identical (by exploratory data analysis), and a chi-square test of independence, conducted between method type and variability category, displayed that there was not a statistically significant association between method type and variability category. Thus, the null hypothesis cannot be rejected, and variability category and method type are independent of each other. Additionally, a qualitative comparison of a FRAM instantiation is presented using variabilities from the two methods, which resulted in small differences that apparently do not affect the overall result of the FRAM analysis. Therefore, it is concluded that the indirect method used to obtain information on the variability of functions of the model for obtaining the CNF is adequate.