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Division Spotlight
Nuclear Installations Safety
Devoted specifically to the safety of nuclear installations and the health and safety of the public, this division seeks a better understanding of the role of safety in the design, construction and operation of nuclear installation facilities. The division also promotes engineering and scientific technology advancement associated with the safety of such facilities.
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
Senate committee hears from energy secretary nominee Chris Wright
Wright
Chris Wright, president-elect Trump’s pick to lead the U.S. Department of Energy, spent hours today fielding questions from members of the U.S. Senate’s committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
During the hearing, Wright—who’s spent most of his career in fossil fuels—made comments in support of nuclear energy and efforts to expand domestic generation in the near future. Asked what actions he would take as energy secretary to improve the development and deployment of SMRs, Wright said: “It’s a big challenge, and I’m new to government, so I can’t list off the five levers I can pull. But (I’ve been in discussions) about how to make it easier to research, to invest, to build things. The DOE has land at some of its facilities that can be helpful in this regard.”
Drew E. Kornreich
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 115 | Number 1 | September 1993 | Pages 50-61
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE93-1
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Solutions of fissile materials are often encountered during spent-fuel reprocessing. To estimate the hazards from accidental criticalities in these solutions, models have been developed to understand better the dynamics involved. Accurate representation of reactivity feedback mechanisms is a crucial part of such models. Reactivity feedback from uniform volumetric solution expansion is studied. For faster transients, density redistribution may also occur because of a variation of nuclear energy as a function of position in the assembly. Neutronic spectral temperature reactivity effects are studied by creating temperature-dependent cross sections from ENDF/B-VI data. The volumetric and temperature reactivity feedback coefficients are determined for the CRAC, KEWB-5, SILENE, and SHEBA solution assemblies. Spectral temperature coefficients are also calculated for poisoned, unpoisoned, and reflected plutonium solutions. Feedback coefficients are seen to be functions of geometry and isotopic contents of the assemblies. Results for plutonium solutions agree with other calculations, which confirms the possibility of autocatalytic excursions in large, dilute solutions.