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Division Spotlight
Reactor Physics
The division's objectives are to promote the advancement of knowledge and understanding of the fundamental physical phenomena characterizing nuclear reactors and other nuclear systems. The division encourages research and disseminates information through meetings and publications. Areas of technical interest include nuclear data, particle interactions and transport, reactor and nuclear systems analysis, methods, design, validation and operating experience and standards. The Wigner Award heads the awards program.
Meeting Spotlight
Conference on Nuclear Training and Education: A Biennial International Forum (CONTE 2025)
February 3–6, 2025
Amelia Island, FL|Omni Amelia Island Resort
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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Jan 2025
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Nuclear Science and Engineering
February 2025
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
A series of firsts delivers new Plant Vogtle units
Southern Nuclear was first when no one wanted to be.
The nuclear subsidiary of the century-old utility Southern Company, based in Atlanta, Ga., joined a pack of nuclear companies in the early 2000s—during what was then dubbed a “nuclear renaissance”—bullish on plans for new large nuclear facilities and adding thousands of new carbon-free megawatts to the grid.
In 2008, Southern Nuclear applied for a combined construction and operating license (COL), positioning the company to receive the first such license from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 2012. Also in 2008, Southern became the first U.S. company to sign an engineering, procurement, and construction contract for a Generation III+ reactor. Southern chose Westinghouse’s AP1000 pressurized water reactor, which was certified by the NRC in December 2011.
Fast forward a dozen years—which saw dozens of setbacks and hundreds of successes—and Southern Nuclear and its stakeholders celebrated the completion of Vogtle Units 3 and 4: the first new commercial nuclear power construction project completed in the U.S. in more than 30 years.
Technical Session|Sponsored by RPD
Wednesday, June 16, 2021|2:15–4:00PM EDT
Session Chair:
Jason Hearne (Texas A&M Univ.)
Alternate Chair:
Massimiliano Fratoni (Univ. of California Berkeley)
Session Organizer:
Pavel V. Tsvetkov
Staff Producer:
Susan Gallier (ANS)
This is a standing RPD session with papers on all reactor physics design, validation and operational experience topics of contemporary interest.
To access the session recording, you must be logged in and registered for the meeting.
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To access paper attachments, you must be logged in and registered for the meeting.
Reactor Physics Analyses of the Big-BUSTER Testing Environment in TREAT
John D. Bess (INL), Nicolas E. Woolstenhulme (INL), Matthew R. Ramirez (INL), Wesley T. Smith (INL), Aaron S. Epiney (INL)
Paper
Review: Monte Carlo Neutronics Validation Studies of Burned Nuclear Material
Sean P. Martinson (Texas A&M Univ.), Sunil S. Chirayath (Texas A&M Univ.)
nTRACER Solutions to C5G7-TD Neutron Noise Simulation Benchmark
Junsu Kang (Seoul Nat'l Univ.), Han Gyu Joo (Seoul Nat'l Univ.)
Presentation Video (Visible to Attendees)
Flexible Cross Section Generation in OpenMC with TOGA (Tool for Optimization and Group-Structure Analysis)
Miriam A. Kreher (MIT), Jack Galloway (LANL), Blake Wilkerson (ORNL), Joshua Richard (LANL)
Design and Heat Generation Rate Analysis of LEU-UAlx Dispersion Target Plates for Irradiation in the High Flux Isotope Reactor
Nolan Goth (ORNL), Trevor Howard (ORNL), Jorge Navarro (ORNL), Eliott Fountain (ORNL), Nesrin Cetiner (ORNL), Chris Bryan (ORNL)
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