ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Division Spotlight
Nuclear Installations Safety
Devoted specifically to the safety of nuclear installations and the health and safety of the public, this division seeks a better understanding of the role of safety in the design, construction and operation of nuclear installation facilities. The division also promotes engineering and scientific technology advancement associated with the safety of such facilities.
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
Aug 2024
Jan 2024
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
October 2024
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
August 2024
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.
Gregory D. Wyss, Roy A. Axford
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 100 | Number 4 | December 1988 | Pages 458-466
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE88-A23579
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Physically realistic step function control rod models are shown to be unsolvable under traditional formulations of distributed parameter optimal control theory. Extensions to the theory are proposed and derived to allow these systems to be analyzed using straightforward optimality conditions. The extended theory is then applied to a xenon-iodine oscillation problem in two dimensions. The conditions of optimality are found, and analytical insights concerning the importance of the control rod tip for the optimality condition are obtained. The flux influence function is found by solving an eigenvalue problem, and the required normalization condition is found in one of the optimality conditions. The optimality and normalization conditions are solved numerically for a severe xenon transient, and the transient is stabilized by the intervention of the optimal control.