ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Division Spotlight
Thermal Hydraulics
The division provides a forum for focused technical dialogue on thermal hydraulic technology in the nuclear industry. Specifically, this will include heat transfer and fluid mechanics involved in the utilization of nuclear energy. It is intended to attract the highest quality of theoretical and experimental work to ANS, including research on basic phenomena and application to nuclear system design.
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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Nuclear Science and Engineering
February 2025
Nuclear Technology
January 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Is waste really waste?
Tim Tinsley
I’ve been reflecting on the recent American Nuclear Society Winter Conference and Expo, where I enjoyed the discussion on recycling used nuclear fuel to recover valuable minerals or products for future applications. I have spent more than 30 years focusing on dissolving and separating nuclear material, so it was refreshing to hear the case for new applications being made. However, I feel that these discussions could go further still.
Radiation is energy, something that our society seems to have an endless need for. A nuclear power station produces a lot of radiation that is mostly discarded. But once fuel has been used, it still produces significant levels of radiation and heat energy. The associated storage, processing, and eventual disposal of this used fuel requires careful management and investment to protect systems and people from the radiation. Should we really disregard—and discard—this energy source, along with all the valuable minerals in the used fuel, when we could instead use it to deliver significant value to society?
C. M. Cooling, M. M. R. Williams, E. T. Nygaard, M. D. Eaton
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 177 | Number 3 | July 2014 | Pages 233-259
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE13-55
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Previously, a point kinetics model of the Medical Isotope Production Reactor has been presented, which included representations of instantaneous power, delayed neutron precursors, fuel solution temperature, radiolytic gas content, and coolant temperature. This model has been extended to include the effects of a vertically discretized temperature profile with a mixing of heat energy by eddies, boiling, and condensation and an extended model of bubble velocity and radius. It is found that the most striking change to the behavior of the system is caused by the effects of steam, which provides a strong negative feedback that tends to depress average powers in cases where the fuel solution temperature rises above the saturation temperature but can also lead to large, sharp power peaks through steam exiting the system (which can remove a large amount of negative reactivity in a short amount of time). The overall effect, however, does not lead to any unbounded power excursions. Possibilities for further extension of the model include the modeling of the composition of the plenum gas and the modeling of global pressure and its effects.