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Division Spotlight
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
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
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.
James J. Gumbleton, Farno L. Green, William J. Mayer
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 7 | Number 4 | April 1960 | Pages 313-319
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE60-A25722
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A single cylinder engine with a radioactive iron piston ring was used to observe transient wear during break-in, cold start-up, and changes in speed. Small changes in engine speed and load under some conditions produce more wear during a given time interval than steady-state operation at high speeds and loads. Our studies show that measuring transient wear is more difficult than measuring steady-state wear partially because of insufficient counting rates. Errors in measurements due to counting statistics were analyzed. High counting rates will be necessary for reproducible measurements of fast transient wear such as that which occurs with an automatic transmission during acceleration. When premium lubricating oils are used, the piston rings should have specific activities of 3.0 to 30.0 mc/gm of Fe59 which require irradiation in reactor fluxes of approximately 7 × 1012 to 7 × 1013 n/cm2/sec. Neutron fluxes of this order have not been available in existing reactors for parts as large as automotive piston rings. However, informative measurements of slow transient wear can be made uniquely with available specific activities.