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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.
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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
Commercial nuclear innovation "new space" age
In early 2006, a start-up company launched a small rocket from a tiny island in the Pacific. It exploded, showering the island with debris. A year later, a second launch attempt sent a rocket to space but failed to make orbit, burning up in the atmosphere. Another year brought a third attempt—and a third failure. The following month, in September 2008, the company used the last of its funds to launch a fourth rocket. It reached orbit, making history as the first privately funded liquid-fueled rocket to do so.
Jonathan Scherr, Pavel Tsvetkov
Nuclear Technology | Volume 209 | Number 11 | November 2023 | Pages 1733-1746
Regular Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2023.2209229
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Abilene Christian University (ACU) is developing a 1-MW(thermal) molten salt research reactor that will be built on the ACU campus. A conceptual reactor core model was developed to facilitate the safety analysis required for a construction permit. A series of scoping studies were performed seeking to define the reactor core design parameters subject to a variety of design requirements. A Pareto curve identifying the tradeoff between uranium and LiF-BeF2 was determined. Within this curve, at least 250 kg of uranium and 700 kg of LiF-BeF2 are needed, albeit for different reactor configurations and fuel salt compositions. The cylindrical reactor vessel associated with the best-performing fuel salt composition is ~130 cm in diameter, ~170 cm tall, and contains ~2.5 tons of graphite. The conversion ratio of the reactor is low and will require regular refueling. The shift in neutron spectrum observed with the changing fuel salt composition does not significantly impact reactivity loss with respect to burnup.