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Operations & Power
Members focus on the dissemination of knowledge and information in the area of power reactors with particular application to the production of electric power and process heat. The division sponsors meetings on the coverage of applied nuclear science and engineering as related to power plants, non-power reactors, and other nuclear facilities. It encourages and assists with the dissemination of knowledge pertinent to the safe and efficient operation of nuclear facilities through professional staff development, information exchange, and supporting the generation of viable solutions to current issues.
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ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
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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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Fusion Science and Technology
February 2025
Latest News
WEST claims latest plasma confinement record
The French magnetic confinement fusion tokamak known as WEST maintained a plasma in February for more than 22 minutes—1,337 seconds, to be precise—and “smashed” the previous record plasma duration for a tokamak with a 25 percent improvement, according to the CEA, which operates the machine. The previous 1,006-second record was set by China’s EAST just a few weeks prior. Records are made to be broken, but this rapid progress illustrates a collective, global increase in plasma confinement expertise, aided by tungsten in key components.
Walter Meyer, J. W. Leighty, J. W. Thiesing, D. H. Timmons
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 60 | Number 4 | August 1976 | Pages 405-420
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE76-A26902
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Albedos were experimentally determined for a spectrum of fast fission neutrons incident on a 24- × 24- × 9-in. concrete slab and a 24- × 24- × 6-in. cold-rolled steel slab. The experimental dose albedos were compared with those from Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) 05R Monte Carlo calculations and with orders-of-scattering calculations performed using readily available multigroup cross sections. The source of fast neutrons for the experimental studies was the Kansas State University Triga Mark II reactor; the direct and reflected neutron spectra were detected using a 2- × 2-in. liquid-scintillation spectrometer system. A computer code has been developed to normalize the experimental reflected spectra to a reference direct neutron beam measurement, to calculate the experimental dose albedos, and to evaluate the Monte Carlo dose albedos in terms of the experimental conditions. A comparison of the Monte Carlo and experimental results showed similar trends and structure, but the experimental dose albedos were smaller than the calculated ones by an average of 70 to 80%. The large energy bin widths and inaccuracies in the cross sections (errors up to 65%) used in the Monte Carlo calculations have contributed to the differences between the calculated and experimental results. Orders-of-scattering calculations for steel were performed using the ORNL DLC-2B 99-group cross-section set and similar calculations were performed for concrete using the DLC-9/FARS group cross-section set. In general, the orders-of-scattering calculated reflected spectra compare well with the experimental fast-neutron reflection spectra. Discrepancies arise in the orders-of-scattering calculated results at particular energies and scattering angles due to deficiencies identified in the multigroup compilations.