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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
ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
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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March 2025
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February 2025
Latest News
Colin Judge: Testing structural materials in Idaho’s newest hot cell facility
Idaho National Laboratory’s newest facility—the Sample Preparation Laboratory (SPL)—sits across the road from the Hot Fuel Examination Facility (HFEF), which started operating in 1975. SPL will host the first new hot cells at INL’s Materials and Fuels Complex (MFC) in 50 years, giving INL researchers and partners new flexibility to test the structural properties of irradiated materials fresh from the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) or from a partner’s facility.
Materials meant to withstand extreme conditions in fission or fusion power plants must be tested under similar conditions and pushed past their breaking points so performance and limitations can be understood and improved. Once irradiated, materials samples can be cut down to size in SPL and packaged for testing in other facilities at INL or other national laboratories, commercial labs, or universities. But they can also be subjected to extreme thermal or corrosive conditions and mechanical testing right in SPL, explains Colin Judge, who, as INL’s division director for nuclear materials performance, oversees SPL and other facilities at the MFC.
SPL won’t go “hot” until January 2026, but Judge spoke with NN staff writer Susan Gallier about its capabilities as his team was moving instruments into the new facility.
13th Nuclear Plant Instrumentation, Control & Human-Machine Interface Technologies (NPIC&HMIT 2023)
Technical Session|Panel
Monday, July 17, 2023|3:15–5:00PM EDT|301B
Session Chair:
Paul J. Hunton (INL)
Alternate Chair:
Mark Samselski (Constellation Energy)
Session Organizer:
Craig Primer (INL)
Constellation Energy and the United States Department of Energy have established a partnership through the Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program to implement a pilot safety-related digital instrumentation and control (DI&C) upgrade for industry benefit. This DI&C upgrade replaces legacy analog reactor protection and emergency safety feature actuation systems (RPS/ESFAS) with modern digital systems. It also implements related main control room modifications. This upgrade is occurring at Constellation's Limerick Generating Station. This project is being performed in accordance with industry processes that have been adapted to better support DI&C upgrades. These processes include IP-ENG-001, Standard Design Process, NISP-EN-04, Standard Digital Engineering Process, and Electric Power Research Institute Report 3002011816, Digital Engineering Guide. This effort is a large-scale demonstration of the application of the alternate review process provided in NRC DI&C interim staff guidance (DI&C-ISG-06), Licensing Process. The alternate review process supports more timely NRC processing of license amendment requests associated with safety-related DI&C equipment modifications in operating plants and in new plants once they become operational. This panel discussion will facilitate a dialog with regard to engineering (both I&C and HFE), licensing, and project activities as well as lessons learned during project execution to date. Constellation is also developing a systematic modernization roadmap for safety-related reactor I&C systems with Limerick as part of this pilot. This panel discussion follows the presentation of three related papers on the Safety-Related I&C Upgrade Pilot Project during the Control Room Modernization Technical Session: (1) Conceptual and Design Phase Lessons Learned, (2) NUREG-0711 Process Development, Planning and Analysis Activities, and Lessons Learned, and (3) 3D Main Control Room Modeling.
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