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Division Spotlight
Fuel Cycle & Waste Management
Devoted to all aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle including waste management, worldwide. Division specific areas of interest and involvement include uranium conversion and enrichment; fuel fabrication, management (in-core and ex-core) and recycle; transportation; safeguards; high-level, low-level and mixed waste management and disposal; public policy and program management; decontamination and decommissioning environmental restoration; and excess weapons materials disposition.
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.
Gregory E. Dale, John M. Gahl
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 149 | Number 3 | March 2005 | Pages 288-297
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE05-A2495
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
There are several potential uses for a high-flux thermal neutron source in both industrial and clinical applications. The viable commercial implementation of these applications requires a low-cost, high-flux thermal neutron generator suitable for installation in industrial and clinical environments. This paper describes the Monte Carlo for N-Particle modeling results of a high-flux thermal neutron source driven with an electron accelerator. An electron linear accelerator (linac), fitted with a standard X-ray converter, can produce high neutron yields in materials with low photonuclear threshold energies, such as D and 9Be. Results indicate that a 10-MeV, 10-kW electron linac can produce on the order of 1012 n/s in a heavy water photoneutron target. The thermal neutron flux in an unreflected heavy water target is calculated to be on the order of 1010 ncm-2s. The sensitivity of these answers to heavy water purity is also investigated, specifically the dilution of heavy water with light water. It is shown that the peak thermal neutron flux is not adversely effected by dilution up to a light water weight fraction of 35%.