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Division Spotlight
Fusion Energy
This division promotes the development and timely introduction of fusion energy as a sustainable energy source with favorable economic, environmental, and safety attributes. The division cooperates with other organizations on common issues of multidisciplinary fusion science and technology, conducts professional meetings, and disseminates technical information in support of these goals. Members focus on the assessment and resolution of critical developmental issues for practical fusion energy applications.
Meeting Spotlight
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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Latest News
New laws offer nuclear industry incentives for existing power plant uprates
This year, the U.S. nuclear industry received a much-needed economic boost that could help preserve operating nuclear power plants and incentivize upgrades that extend their lifespan and power output.
Signed into law in 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act offers production tax credits (PTCs) for existing nuclear power plants and either PTCs or investment tax credits (ITCs) for new carbon-free generation. These credits could make power uprates—increasing the maximum power level at which a commercial plant may operate—a much more appealing option for utilities.
J. A. Bonnet, Jr., R. K. Osborn
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 45 | Number 3 | September 1971 | Pages 314-320
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE71-A19083
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A method is proposed to determine the initiation of bulk boiling in a sodium-cooled fast reactor. The technique could also be used to study two-phase single-component fluid behavior. The method consists of introducing a standing acoustic wave in a coolant channel of the core. This changes the coolant density, fission rate, and gamma-ray production by fission. The gamma rays leaking out of that region of the core are monitored with and without the acoustic waves. It is shown that this ratio is strongly coupled to the acoustic velocity, and this depends sensitively on the average void fraction in the channel. A drastic reduction in the acoustic velocity (by a factor of the order of one hundredth for sodium at 1830 °F) with the formation of the first sodium voids makes this ratio very sensitive to the initiation of bulk boiling.