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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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Conference on Nuclear Training and Education: A Biennial International Forum (CONTE 2025)
February 3–6, 2025
Amelia Island, FL|Omni Amelia Island Resort
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How to talk about nuclear
In your career as a professional in the nuclear community, chances are you will, at some point, be asked (or volunteer) to talk to at least one layperson about the technology you know and love. You might even be asked to present to a whole group of nonnuclear folks, perhaps as a pitch to some company tangential to your company’s business. So, without further ado, let me give you some pointers on the best way to approach this important and surprisingly complicated task.
Kunio Higashi, Akio Oya, Jun Oishi
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 32 | Number 2 | May 1968 | Pages 159-165
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE68-A19728
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Usually a number of separating stages have to be connected in series to attain the desired degree of isotope separation by gaseous diffusion. Such a series-connected group of stages is called a cascade. In this paper the differential equation describing the time-dependence of a tapered cascade in which the interstage flow changes stage by stage is derived and solved under some reasonable assumptions. On the basis of these analytical results, the static and dynamic characteristics of a tapered cascade are discussed. For the same total number of stages, the cascade requiring the largest equilibrium time to reach steady-state condition is described. Also shown is that the so-called ideal cascade is not recommended from the standpoint of dynamic characteristics, although its superiority in static characteristics is familiar. It is pointed out that by a slight reduction of the cut θ from that of the ideal cascade θideal the dynamic characteristics are improved to some extent, but the selection of θ greater than θideal results in both static and dynamic characteristics being unfavorable. It is also shown that the equilibrium time of a tapered cascade tends to increase with the total number of stages N in proportion to N2 as in a square cascade. The top stage is not always the last to reach the steady-state condition. A simple method is proposed to predict how the equilibrium time differs in each stage of the cascade.
