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Division Spotlight
Young Members Group
The Young Members Group works to encourage and enable all young professional members to be actively involved in the efforts and endeavors of the Society at all levels (Professional Divisions, ANS Governance, Local Sections, etc.) as they transition from the role of a student to the role of a professional. It sponsors non-technical workshops and meetings that provide professional development and networking opportunities for young professionals, collaborates with other Divisions and Groups in developing technical and non-technical content for topical and national meetings, encourages its members to participate in the activities of the Groups and Divisions that are closely related to their professional interests as well as in their local sections, introduces young members to the rules and governance structure of the Society, and nominates young professionals for awards and leadership opportunities available to members.
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.
Hideaki Kuraishi, Tetsuo Sawada, Hisashi Ninokata, Hiroshi Endo
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 138 | Number 3 | July 2001 | Pages 205-232
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE01-A2210
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A self-consistent nuclear energy system (SCNES) can be a promising option as a future nuclear energy source. An SCNES should fulfill (a) efficient energy generation, (b) fuel production or breeding, (c) burning minor actinides with incinerating fission products, and (d) system safety. We focus on the system safety and present a simple evaluation model for the inherent and passive power stabilization capability of intact fast reactor cores under the conditions of an anticipated transient without scram (ATWS), i.e., self-controllability.The simple evaluation model is referred to as the "reactivity correlation model." The model assesses self-controllability of a core based on the capabilities of reactivity feedbacks to stabilize transient power and maintain temperatures within predefined safety limits. Here the safety limits are "no fuel failure" and "nonboiling of coolant."The reactivity correlation model was used to survey the self-controllability for metallic-fueled fast reactor cores. The survey was performed by selecting the core volume fractions of fuel, coolant, and structure; the arrangement of material compositions; and core configuration. A variety of reactor cores were examined, ranging from a standard 100-cm height to a flat 40-cm height. The effect of additions of sodium plena and channels, increased/decreased fuel volume fraction (Vf), loading 0 to 10 wt% minor actinides, and installing fission product-burning assemblies was also examined. The core performances were evaluated relative to tolerances against typical ATWSs, i.e., unprotected transient overpower and unprotected loss of flow. An optimum fast reactor core with the self-controllability as well as well-balanced tolerance against ATWSs resulted. The performance of this optimal core was examined for the other three prerequisites of a self-consistent nuclear energy system.