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Division Spotlight
Nuclear Nonproliferation Policy
The mission of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Policy Division (NNPD) is to promote the peaceful use of nuclear technology while simultaneously preventing the diversion and misuse of nuclear material and technology through appropriate safeguards and security, and promotion of nuclear nonproliferation policies. To achieve this mission, the objectives of the NNPD are to: Promote policy that discourages the proliferation of nuclear technology and material to inappropriate entities. Provide information to ANS members, the technical community at large, opinion leaders, and decision makers to improve their understanding of nuclear nonproliferation issues. Become a recognized technical resource on nuclear nonproliferation, safeguards, and security issues. Serve as the integration and coordination body for nuclear nonproliferation activities for the ANS. Work cooperatively with other ANS divisions to achieve these objective nonproliferation policies.
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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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.
J. G. Stevens, K. S. Smith, K. R. Rempe, T. J. Downar
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 121 | Number 1 | September 1995 | Pages 67-88
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE121-67
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Simulated-annealing optimization of reactor core loading patterns is implemented with support for design heuristics during candidate pattern generation. The SIMAN optimization module uses the advanced nodal method of SIMULATE-3 and the full cross-section detail of CASMO-3 to evaluate accurately the neutronic performance of each candidate, resulting in high-quality patterns. The use of heuristics within simulated annealing is explored. Heuristics improve the consistency of optimization results for both fast- and slow-annealing runs with no penalty from the exclusion of unusual candidates. Thus, the heuristic application of designer judgment during automated pattern generation is shown to be effective. The capability of the SIMAN module to find and evaluate families of loading patterns that satisfy design constraints and have good objective performance within practical run times is demonstrated. The use of automatic evaluations of successive cycles to explore multicycle effects of design decisions is discussed.