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Human Factors, Instrumentation & Controls
Improving task performance, system reliability, system and personnel safety, efficiency, and effectiveness are the division's main objectives. Its major areas of interest include task design, procedures, training, instrument and control layout and placement, stress control, anthropometrics, psychological input, and motivation.
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International Conference on Mathematics and Computational Methods Applied to Nuclear Science and Engineering (M&C 2025)
April 27–30, 2025
Denver, CO|The Westin Denver Downtown
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Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
TerraPower begins U.K. regulatory approval process
Seattle-based TerraPower signaled its interest this week in building its Natrium small modular reactor in the United Kingdom, the company announced.
TerraPower sent a letter to the U.K.’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, formally establishing its intention to enter the U.K. generic design assessment (GDA) process. This is TerraPower’s first step in deployment of its Natrium technology—a 345-MW sodium fast reactor coupled with a molten salt energy storage unit—on the international stage.
A. Kumar, Y. Ikeda, M. A. Abdou, M. Z. Youssef, C. Konno, K. Kosako, Y. Oyama, T. Nakamura, H. Maekawa
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 28 | Number 1 | August 1995 | Pages 99-155
Technical Paper | Fusion Neutronics Integral Experiments — Part I / Blanket Engineering | doi.org/10.13182/FST95-A30403
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Deuterium-tritium (D-T) neutron-induced radioactivity constitutes one of the foremost issues infusion reactor design. Designers have been using radioactivity codes and associated nuclear data libraries for nucleonic designs of fusion reactors. However, in the past, there was hardly any experimental validation of these codes/libraries. An elaborate, experimental program was initiated in 1988 under a U.S. Department of Energy/Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute collaborative program to validate the radioactivity codes/libraries. Measurements of decay gamma spectra from irradiated, high-purity samples of Al, Si, Ti, V, Cr, Mn-Cu alloy, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, SS316/AISI316, Zn, Zr, Nb, Mo, In, Sn, Ta, W, and Pb, among others, have been carried out under D-T neutron fluences ranging from 1.6 × 1010 to 6.1 × 1013 n/cm2 and cooling times ranging from ∼10 min to ∼3 weeks. As many as 14 neutron energy spectra were covered for a number of materials. The analyses of the isotopic activities of the irradiated materials using the activation cross-section libraries of four leading radioactivity codes, i.e., ACT4/THIDA-2, REAC-3, DKR-ICF, and RACC, have shown large discrepancies among the calculations on one hand and between the calculations and the measurements, on the other. Vanadium, Co, Ni, Zn, Zr, Mo, In, Sn, and W each count the largest number of discrepant isotopic activities. It is strongly recommended to continue additional radioactivity experiments under additional neutron energy spectra and large neutron fluence on one hand and to improve activation cross sections related to the problematic isotopic activities on the other. A unique activation cross-section library and associated radioactivity code are also recommended for the best results. In addition to providing detailed results of the status of predictability of individual isotopic activities using the ACT4, REAC-3, DKR-ICF, and RACC activation cross-section libraries, safety factors cum quality factors characterizing each library are presented and discussed. The related issues of confidence level and associated uncertainty are also highlighted. These considerations are of direct practical importance to reactor designers.