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Division Spotlight
Accelerator Applications
The division was organized to promote the advancement of knowledge of the use of particle accelerator technologies for nuclear and other applications. It focuses on production of neutrons and other particles, utilization of these particles for scientific or industrial purposes, such as the production or destruction of radionuclides significant to energy, medicine, defense or other endeavors, as well as imaging and diagnostics.
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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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Nuclear News 40 Under 40 discuss the future of nuclear
Seven members of the inaugural Nuclear News 40 Under 40 came together on March 4 to discuss the current state of nuclear energy and what the future might hold for science, industry, and the public in terms of nuclear development.
To hear more insights from this talented group of young professionals, watch the “40 Under 40 Roundtable: Perspectives from Nuclear’s Rising Stars” on the ANS website.
T. H. Newton, Jr., M. S. Kazimi, E. E. Pilat
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 157 | Number 3 | November 2007 | Pages 264-279
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE07-A2727
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Reactor II (MITR-II) is a 5-MW research reactor presently fueled with highly enriched uranium (HEU) in uranium-aluminum plate-type elements. A low-enriched uranium (LEU)-fueled core has been designed using 20% enriched monolithic uranium-molybdenum fuel that maintains high experimental neutron flux and increases flexibility in meeting the needs of experiments. The configuration of the new plate fuel elements was selected using a full-core MCNP model, with which different in-core materials were evaluated to optimize the neutron fluxes, reactivity, and experimental neutron spectrum. In-core materials were chosen to meet experimental flux level and spectrum needs. Of the designs evaluated, the most promising consisted of half-width fuel elements with nine U-7Mo LEU fuel plates.Results from the MCNP/ORIGEN linkage code MCODE depletion calculations showed that the refueling interval of the chosen LEU core would be twice as long as the HEU core at the same power level. Thermal-hydraulic analysis using the MULtiCHannel analysis code II (MULCH-II) indicated that the peak channel will remain below the onset of nucleate boiling under normal and loss-of-flow conditions. A thermal-hydraulic evaluation of the limiting channel using point kinetics showed that the LEU core could withstand a step reactivity insertion of 3.92 $, increasing by 60% the allowable reactivity for an in-core experiment. Finally, preliminary analyses show that it may be feasible to use the proposed design to double the core power, if the fuel cycle length is to be kept at its present length.