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Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Division Spotlight
Human Factors, Instrumentation & Controls
Improving task performance, system reliability, system and personnel safety, efficiency, and effectiveness are the division's main objectives. Its major areas of interest include task design, procedures, training, instrument and control layout and placement, stress control, anthropometrics, psychological input, and motivation.
Meeting Spotlight
2025 ANS Annual Conference
June 15–18, 2025
Chicago, IL|Chicago Marriott Downtown
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
Jun 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
July 2025
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Smarter waste strategies: Helping deliver on the promise of advanced nuclear
At COP28, held in Dubai in 2023, a clear consensus emerged: Nuclear energy must be a cornerstone of the global clean energy transition. With electricity demand projected to soar as we decarbonize not just power but also industry, transport, and heat, the case for new nuclear is compelling. More than 20 countries committed to tripling global nuclear capacity by 2050. In the United States alone, the Department of Energy forecasts that the country’s current nuclear capacity could more than triple, adding 200 GW of new nuclear to the existing 95 GW by mid-century.
Hicham Satti, Otman El Hajjaji, Tarek El Bardouni, Mohamed Mira, Abdelhamid Nouayti
Nuclear Technology | Volume 211 | Number 6 | June 2025 | Pages 1229-1245
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2024.2385795
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
OpenNode, a new open-source Fortran code, enables the simulation of fixed-source reactors. Powered by the nodal expansion method (NEM) and seamless Python integration, OpenNode competes with existing nuclear reactor simulation tools. The fixed-source problem plays a crucial role in radioprotection, providing flux calculations and detailed insights into heating effects and dose rates. Users can define and configure reactor models via a JSON input file, specifying critical parameters like geometry, materials, cross-section data, boundary conditions, and fixed sources.
OpenNode further empowers users with a Python interface for preprocessing and postprocessing, streamlining result analysis. Distinguishing itself from conventional NEM codes, OpenNode supports three-dimensional (3D) Cartesian geometries, facilitating intricate reactor design simulations. Customization options, including mesh sizes, polynomial orders, and calculation modes, enhance precision and efficiency.
In our comprehensive study, we verified OpenNode’s fixed-source mode using the 3D-IAEA reactor, comparing it with the SANM code KOMODO. The results underscore OpenNode’s exceptional accuracy in computing critical parameters, like the effective multiplication factor, power distribution, and nodal flux, within fixed-source reactors. OpenNode stands as a reliable, user-friendly tool poised to advance nuclear reactor simulations.
