ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
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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.
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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Nuclear Science and Engineering
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August 2024
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.
A. Stanley Thompson, Bruce R. Thompson
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 100 | Number 1 | September 1988 | Pages 83-88
Technical Note | doi.org/10.13182/NSE88-A29017
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The analytical model of nuclear reactor transients, incorporating both mechanical and nuclear effects, simulates reactor kinetics. Linear analysis shows the stability borderline for small power perturbations. In a stable system, initial power disturbances die out with time. With an unstable combination of nuclear and mechanical characteristics, initial disturbances persist and may increase with time. With large instability, oscillations of great magnitude occur. Stability requirements set limits on the power density at which particular reactors can operate. The limiting power density depends largely on the product of two terms: the fraction of delayed neutrons and the frictional damping of vibratory motion in reactor core components. As the fraction of delayed neutrons is essentially fixed, mechanical damping largely determines the maximum power density. A computer program, based on the analytical model, calculates and plots reactor power as a nonlinear function of time in response to assigned valuse of mechanical and nuclear characteristion.