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Reactor Physics
The division's objectives are to promote the advancement of knowledge and understanding of the fundamental physical phenomena characterizing nuclear reactors and other nuclear systems. The division encourages research and disseminates information through meetings and publications. Areas of technical interest include nuclear data, particle interactions and transport, reactor and nuclear systems analysis, methods, design, validation and operating experience and standards. The Wigner Award heads the awards program.
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ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
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Norway’s Halden reactor takes first step toward decommissioning
The government of Norway has granted the transfer of the Halden research reactor from the Institute for Energy Technology (IFE) to the state agency Norwegian Nuclear Decommissioning (NND). The 25-MWt Halden boiling water reactor operated from 1958 to 2018 and was used in the research of nuclear fuel, reactor internals, plant procedures and monitoring, and human factors.
A. M. Christie, C. G. Poncelet
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 51 | Number 1 | May 1973 | Pages 10-24
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE73-A23253
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The control of spatial xenon-induced oscillations in large power reactors is considered from the point of view of practical operator manual control. A control strategy is developed based on control theory concepts and considerations of the physics of the problem. It is shown that oscillations can be eliminated by a simple control action consisting of positioning a control rod in a specified location for a specified length of time; upon retrieval of the control rod to its equilibrium position, the flux, xenon and iodine distributions will have returned to equilibrium conditions. A control equation is derived from which the control rod insertion time and the duration of control can be calculated. For large pressurized water reactors of current and anticipated designs, control rod insertion times are in the range from one to four hours before the peak in the oscillation, while control times vary from one-half to two hours. Digital diffusion theory simulations are described which tend to verify the control concepts developed in the paper. Constraints in local power peaking are introduced by considering control at off-optimal times. The study provides guidelines for operator control which is near optimal in the sense that control actions are minimized in number and are most effective in terms of eliminating the oscillation.