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.
Óscar Zurrón, Guillermo Sánchez, Carolina Álvaro
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 145 | Number 1 | September 2003 | Pages 153-159
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE03-A2371
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
As an example of the application of the International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project (ICSBEP) work to the nuclear industry, the validation of the control module CSAS26 of SCALE 4.4a for criticality calculations on a personal computer platform is presented. This work has been done using the models of critical experiments being compiled by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development/Nuclear Energy Agency (OECD/NEA) since 1992. The description and results of this compilation were first presented during the Fifth International Conference on Nuclear Criticality Safety (ICNC'95). Out of 2881 critical configurations included in the latest edition (September 2002) of the ICSBEP "International Handbook of Evaluated Criticality Safety Benchmark Experiments," NEA/NSC/DOC(95)03, OECD/NEA, 131 have been selected for the CSAS26 validation. The selected critical experiments have characteristics similar to the systems to be simulated with CSAS26 for low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel fabrication applications. They represent both homogeneous configurations and hexagonally pitched rod lattices of low-enriched (from 1.60 to 5.00 wt% 235U) UO2 with several absorbers. The statistical uncertainties related to the application of CSAS26 for criticality calculations are also evaluated. The great number of cases involved allows an exhaustive statistical treatment of the data, including the analysis of correlations related to the type of system being simulated. The statistical uncertainties found are very small. As a result, the module CSAS26 is considered as a quite suitable calculational method for application to criticality safety analysis at LEU facilities.