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Decommissioning & Environmental Sciences
The mission of the Decommissioning and Environmental Sciences (DES) Division is to promote the development and use of those skills and technologies associated with the use of nuclear energy and the optimal management and stewardship of the environment, sustainable development, decommissioning, remediation, reutilization, and long-term surveillance and maintenance of nuclear-related installations, and sites. The target audience for this effort is the membership of the Division, the Society, and the public at large.
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Utility Working Conference and Vendor Technology Expo (UWC 2024)
August 4–7, 2024
Marco Island, FL|JW Marriott Marco Island
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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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Latest News
The fire that powers the universe: Harnessing inertial fusion energy
It was a laser shot for the ages. By achieving fusion ignition on December 5, 2022, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory proved that recreating the “fire” that fuels the sun and the stars inside a laboratory on Earth was indeed scientifically possible.
Sergei Lemehov, Jinichi Nakamura, Motoe Suzuki
Nuclear Technology | Volume 133 | Number 2 | February 2001 | Pages 153-168
Technical Paper | Fuel Cycle and Management | doi.org/10.13182/NT01-A3166
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A three-group model (PLUTON) is described, which predicts the power density distribution, plutonium buildup, and burnup profiles across the fuel pellet radius as a function of in-pile time and parameters characterizing the type of reactor system with respect to fuel temperature and changes of density during the irradiation period. The PLUTON model is a part of two fuel performance codes (ASFAD and FEMAXI-V), which provide all necessary input for this model, mainly local temperatures and fuel matrix density across the radius. Comparisons between measurements and predictions of the PLUTON model are made on fuels with enrichments in the range 2.9 to 8.25% and with burnup between 21 000 and 64 000 MWd/t. It is shown that the PLUTON predictions are in good agreement with measurements as well as with predictions of the well-known TUBRNP model. The proposed model is flexibly applicable for all types of light water reactor (LWR) fuels, including mixed oxide, and for fuel tested in the Organization for Economic Corporation and Development's Halden heavy water reactor. The PLUTON three-group model is based on analytical (theoretical) consideration of neutron absorption in a resonant region of the fuel in its apparent form. It makes the model more flexible in comparison with the semi-empirical TUBRNP one-group model and allows the physically based model analysis of commercial LWR-type fuels at high burnup as well as analysis of experimental fuel rods tested in the Halden heavy water reactor, which is one of the main test reactors in the world. The differences in fuel behavior in the Halden reactor in terms of burnup distribution and plutonium buildup can be more clearly understood with the PLUTON model.