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Nuclear Criticality Safety
NCSD provides communication among nuclear criticality safety professionals through the development of standards, the evolution of training methods and materials, the presentation of technical data and procedures, and the creation of specialty publications. In these ways, the division furthers the exchange of technical information on nuclear criticality safety with the ultimate goal of promoting the safe handling of fissionable materials outside reactors.
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2024 ANS Winter Conference and Expo
November 17–21, 2024
Orlando, FL|Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld
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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Nuclear Science and Engineering
November 2024
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
A proactive approach to reactor vessel aging management
Unit 2 at the Prairie Island nuclear power plant near Red Wing, Minn., underwent an outage in fall 2023, which included extensive work on the reactor vessel using a novel approach to replace baffle-former bolts and lower radial clevis insert bolts. The work relied on extensive analysis beforehand to determine which bolts to replace such that only the new bolts were structurally credited for performance of their safety function. This proactive approach eliminated the need for costly contingencies associated with inspections.
Kedar Bhope, Vinay Menon, Sunil Belsare, Samir Khirwadkar, Rajamannar Swamy, Mayur Mehta, Premjit Singh Kongkham, Tushar Patel, Nikunj Patel, Prakash Mokariya
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 80 | Number 8 | November 2024 | Pages 931-940
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2023.2260536
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The Institute for Plasma Research (IPR) is involved in the development of various technologies for fabrication and testing/qualification of tungsten (W)–based plasma-facing components for ITER-like applications. As a part of these activities, a small-scale W/Cu/CuCrZr monoblock test mock-up is prepared by using a vacuum brazing process. Further, thermal fatigue testing of this test mock-up is performed using the High Heat Flux Test Facility at IPR under an absorbed heat flux of ~9.5 MW/m2 for 1200 thermal cycles. Thermal-hydraulic analysis and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations are also performed to understand the heat flux testing scenario. Nondestructive testing of the test mock-up after thermal cyclic heat flux testing indicates that there are no defects in the test mock-up except for minor cracks on the surface of W tiles. The results of thermal cyclic testing, finite element analysis, CFD analysis, and postanalysis of the High Heat Flux test are presented in the paper.