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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
Utility Working Conference and Vendor Technology Expo (UWC 2024)
August 4–7, 2024
Marco Island, FL|JW Marriott Marco Island
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
NRC engineers share their expertise at the University of Puerto Rico
Robert Roche-Rivera and Marcos Rolón-Acevedo are licensed professional engineers who work at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. They are also alumni of the University of Puerto Rico–Mayagüez (UPRM) and have been sharing their knowledge and experience with students at their alma mater since last year, serving as adjunct professors in the university’s Department of Mechanical Engineering. During the 2023–2024 school year, they each taught two courses: Fundamentals of Nuclear Science and Engineering, and Nuclear Power Plant Engineering.
Indrajeet Singh, Anurag Gupta, Umasankari Kannan
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 191 | Number 2 | August 2018 | Pages 161-177
Technical Note | doi.org/10.1080/00295639.2018.1463745
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A combination of the neutronics features of gas-cooled high-temperature reactors by using the fuel in the form of ceramic-coated particles, called tristructural-isotropic, and the heat removal feature of molten salt reactors by using molten salt as a coolant is an attractive option in designing a reactor with a high-power density operation without compromising the safety aspects. Neutronics feasibility of such a combination of the molten salt (LiF-BeF2) as a coolant and thorium-based fuel, in particular (Th-233U)O2, in a graphite-moderated system is investigated. This technical note presents the influence of the heavy metal (HM) loading on neutronics features of a pebble lattice cell, that is, infinite multiplication factor (K-inf), temperature coefficients of reactivity (TCR), the void reactivity coefficient, etc. In addition, enriched uranium fuel has also been studied just to make a comparison with thorium-based fuel. Furthermore, the minimum HM loading of fuel per pebble that is needed to achieve negative coolant-temperature reactivity coefficients and void reactivity coefficients has been estimated for molten salt coolant.
The analyses show that Th2/U3 fuel gives a less negative fuel temperature reactivity coefficient as compared with that of uranium-based fuel. This study also shows that all the TCR of both fuel types improve, becoming less positive or more negative, by increasing HM loading per pebble. Further, the burnup dependence of K-inf and the reactivity coefficients are studied for limiting HM loadings, e.g., 30 g per pebble. The change in the spectrum and the four-factor formula are used to explain the behavior of the reactivity coefficients as a function of HM loading and burnup.