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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.
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ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
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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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General Kenneth Nichols and the Manhattan Project
Nichols
The Oak Ridger has published the latest in a series of articles about General Kenneth D. Nichols, the Manhattan Project, and the 1954 Atomic Energy Act. The series has been produced by Nichols’ grandniece Barbara Rogers Scollin and Oak Ridge (Tenn.) city historian David Ray Smith. Gen. Nichols (1907–2000) was the district engineer for the Manhattan Engineer District during the Manhattan Project.
As Smith and Scollin explain, Nichols “had supervision of the research and development connected with, and the design, construction, and operation of, all plants required to produce plutonium-239 and uranium-235, including the construction of the towns of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Richland, Washington. The responsibility of his position was massive as he oversaw a workforce of both military and civilian personnel of approximately 125,000; his Oak Ridge office became the center of the wartime atomic energy’s activities.”
T. D. Bohm, M. E. Sawan, P. P. H. Wilson
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 64 | Number 3 | September 2013 | Pages 587-591
Nuclear Systems: Analysis and Experiments | Proceedings of the Twentieth Topical Meeting on the Technology of Fusion Energy (TOFE-2012) (Part 2) Nashville, Tennessee, August 27-31, 2012 | doi.org/10.13182/FST13-A19156
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
ITER blanket modules (BMs) are arranged around the plasma to provide thermal and nuclear shielding for the vacuum vessel, magnets and other external components. Detailed mapping of nuclear heating, radiation damage, and helium production is an essential input to the design process. During initial investigation of a BM design, some simplifications of the BM may be needed. Nuclear heating was determined for four CAD based models of the BM04 region (located at the inboard mid-plane) including 1) a detailed 3-D geometry with a detailed 3-D source, 2) a detailed 3-D geometry with a uniformly distributed source, 3) a homogenized 3-D geometry with a detailed 3-D source, and, 4) a homogenized 3-D geometry with a uniformly distributed source. The results show that the impact of using homogenized models is larger than that of using a uniformly distributed source. These results are being incorporated into the BM design process by using more detail in homogenized models when detailed CAD based models are not available.
