Nuclear Technology -- ANS / Publications / Journals / Nuclear Technology

About ANS
- ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
About Nuclear
- Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Communities
- Division Spotlight
  Fuel Cycle & Waste Management
  Devoted to all aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle including waste management, worldwide. Division specific areas of interest and involvement include uranium conversion and enrichment; fuel fabrication, management (in-core and ex-core) and recycle; transportation; safeguards; high-level, low-level and mixed waste management and disposal; public policy and program management; decontamination and decommissioning environmental restoration; and excess weapons materials disposition.
Events
- Meeting Spotlight
  ANS Student Conference 2025
  April 3–5, 2025
  Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
Standards
- 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!
Publications
- Latest Magazine Issues
  Apr 2025
  Jan 2025
  Latest Journal Issues
  Nuclear Science and Engineering
  May 2025
  Nuclear Technology
  April 2025
  Fusion Science and Technology
  April 2025
- Latest News
  Discovering, Making, and Testing New Materials: SRNL’s Center For Hierarchical Waste Form Materials
  Savannah River National Laboratory researchers are building on the laboratory’s legacy of using cutting-edge science to effectively immobilize nuclear waste in innovative ways. As part of the Center for Hierarchical Waste Form Materials, SRNL is leveraging its depth of experience in radiological waste management to explore new frontiers in the industry.
Search

The effect of material homogenization on the calculated gamma-ray dose rate was studied for several arrangements of typical pressurized water reactor (PWR) spent fuel pins in an air medium using the Monte Carlo code MCNP. The models analyzed increased in geometric complexity, beginning with a single fuel pin; progressing to small lattices, i.e., 3 × 3, 5 × 5, and 7 × 7 fuel pins; and culminating with a full 17 × 17 pin PWR bundle analysis. The fuel pin dimensions and compositions were taken directly from a previous study, and efforts were made to parallel this study by specifying identical flux-to-dose functions and gamma-ray source spectra.

The analysis shows two competing components to the overall effect of material homogenization on the calculated dose rate. Homogenization of pin lattices tends to lower the effect of radiation channeling but increase the effect of source redistribution. Depending on the size of the lattice and the location of the detectors, the net effect of material homogenization on the dose rate can be insignificant, or it can range from a 6% decrease to a 35% increase relative to the detailed geometry model.