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Reactor Physics
The division's objectives are to promote the advancement of knowledge and understanding of the fundamental physical phenomena characterizing nuclear reactors and other nuclear systems. The division encourages research and disseminates information through meetings and publications. Areas of technical interest include nuclear data, particle interactions and transport, reactor and nuclear systems analysis, methods, design, validation and operating experience and standards. The Wigner Award heads the awards program.
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ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
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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
Norway’s Halden reactor takes first step toward decommissioning
The government of Norway has granted the transfer of the Halden research reactor from the Institute for Energy Technology (IFE) to the state agency Norwegian Nuclear Decommissioning (NND). The 25-MWt Halden boiling water reactor operated from 1958 to 2018 and was used in the research of nuclear fuel, reactor internals, plant procedures and monitoring, and human factors.
David Bernard, Olivier Fabbris, Romain Gardet
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 179 | Number 3 | March 2015 | Pages 302-312
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE13-104
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Three similar experiments performed in the 8-MW(thermal) MELUSINE experimental power pool reactor aimed at analyzing 1 GWd/tonne HM spent fuel pellets doped with several actinides and fission products. The goal was to measure the energy-integrated neutron-induced capture cross section in three different neutron spectra (from pressurized water reactor–like to undermoderated ones). This paper summarizes the combined deterministic APOLLO2 and stochastic TRIPOLI4 analysis using the JEFF-3.1.1 European nuclear data library. Very good agreement is observed for most neutron-induced capture cross sections of actinides except for a clear underestimation of 241Am(n,γ). An accurate value of its associated isomeric branching ratio is also suggested. A resonant fluctuation (factor of 2.7 between the two available excited levels regarding the l = 0 total orbital momenta) is suggested for this isomeric branching capture ratio. Finally, a precise value (more accurate than the reported JEFF-3.1.1 one) of the decay branching ratio of 242gAm(β+/ε) is deduced: 0.171 ± 0.001.