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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
Conference on Nuclear Training and Education: A Biennial International Forum (CONTE 2025)
February 3–6, 2025
Amelia Island, FL|Omni Amelia Island Resort
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
Three nations, three ways to recycle plastic waste with nuclear technology
Plastic waste pollutes oceans, streams, and bloodstreams. Nations in Asia and the Pacific are working with the International Atomic Energy Agency through the Nuclear Technology for Controlling Plastic Pollution (NUTEC Plastics) initiative to tackle the problem. Launched in 2020, NUTEC Plastics is focused on using nuclear technology to both track the flow of microplastics and improve upstream plastic recycling before discarded plastic can enter the ecosystem. Irradiation could target hard-to-recycle plastics and the development of bio-based plastics, offering sustainable alternatives to conventional plastic products and building a “circular economy” for plastics, according to the IAEA.
S. I. Chang, T. W. Kerlin
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 64 | Number 2 | October 1977 | Pages 673-683
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE77-A27399
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Large linear dynamic models for nuclear reactor systems are widely used for simulation and control system design. It is important to be able to verify these models and the parameters in them. Existing parameter identification techniques are very time consuming for use with large systems. In this study, identification is achieved by an optimization procedure that adjusts system parameters to minimize differences between experimental frequency responses and theoretical frequency responses obtained from the dynamic model. A new method that uses a partitioned martrix technique was developed. This technique constitutes a very efficient analysis algorithm for large models when implemented on the digital computer. The work included a study of methods for assessing the identifiability of parameters by fitting dynamic test data. The Fisher information matrix was found to be useful for this purpose. It was also found that the frequency dependency of the sensitivity function is important in determining identifiability. The measurements should include frequencies where the sensitivity to the parameter of interest is largest. Also, it was found that separate, unique identification of parameters with parallel curves of sensitivity versus frequency is impossible regardless of how large the magnitudes of the sensitivities are. The method was demonstrated in a test case. It used data (from the Oconee I pressurized water reactor) and a 29th-order model. The results demonstrated that the computational requirements are reasonable for large systems and that the procedure can identify parameters if all the necessary conditions are satisfied. In general, the work has provided a systematic method for parameter identification in systems described by large linear dynamic models.