ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
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Division Spotlight
Education, Training & Workforce Development
The Education, Training & Workforce Development Division provides communication among the academic, industrial, and governmental communities through the exchange of views and information on matters related to education, training and workforce development in nuclear and radiological science, engineering, and technology. Industry leaders, education and training professionals, and interested students work together through Society-sponsored meetings and publications, to enrich their professional development, to educate the general public, and to advance nuclear and radiological science and engineering.
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.
Udo Wehmann, Hidehito Kinjo, Takeshi Kageyama
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 140 | Number 3 | March 2002 | Pages 205-222
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE02-A2257
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Studies have been performed on plutonium burning in the Japanese prototype fast breeder reactor Monju. The main aims of these studies were to illustrate the plutonium-burning capabilities of fast reactors and to investigate the consequences of the related core design measures on the main core characteristics of Monju. Burner cores with diluting pins, with diluting subassemblies (also called diluents), and with an internal slice of inert material have been investigated; these require an increased average plutonium enrichment and thus offer an enhanced plutonium-burning rate. On the other hand, the consequences of the elimination of the radial and/or axial blanket have been investigated.Among the burner concepts, the B4C containing diluents have been found to be preferable because they cause the smallest maximum linear rating increase and offer the largest flexibility to adapt their reactivity via a modification of the B4C content. They also do not require a new fuel subassembly concept.For the case of the blanket elimination, the replacement of the blankets by steel reflectors has been found to be the best solution. The main consequence of the elimination of both blankets is the increase of the maximum linear rating by up to 11%. Whether this increase may lead to problems will depend on the actual linear power level of the core.