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Human Factors, Instrumentation & Controls
Improving task performance, system reliability, system and personnel safety, efficiency, and effectiveness are the division's main objectives. Its major areas of interest include task design, procedures, training, instrument and control layout and placement, stress control, anthropometrics, psychological input, and motivation.
Meeting Spotlight
International Conference on Mathematics and Computational Methods Applied to Nuclear Science and Engineering (M&C 2025)
April 27–30, 2025
Denver, CO|The Westin Denver Downtown
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
Argonne’s METL gears up to test more sodium fast reactor components
Argonne National Laboratory has successfully swapped out an aging cold trap in the sodium test loop called METL (Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop), the Department of Energy announced April 23. The upgrade is the first of its kind in the United States in more than 30 years, according to the DOE, and will help test components and operations for the sodium-cooled fast reactors being developed now.
M. M. R. Williams
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 193 | Number 4 | April 2019 | Pages 327-345
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295639.2018.1531620
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A number of approximate probability distribution functions (pdf’s) for the neutron density are examined with reference to low source startup. The most accurate method for determining the safe source strength, to reduce the likelihood of a rogue transient during startup, is that arising from the Pál-Bell equations. When these equations are extended to include space and energy dependence the numerical work becomes extensive. A pdf is developed which gives results that compare favorably with those from the exact solution but requires very much less numerical work. The method is applicable to space- and energy-dependent problems. Extensive numerical examples are given of the new method and of others which have been proposed over the years. In addition, we explore other approximations, unrelated to the generating function, that can lead to substantial computational savings. We have additionally described the principles behind, and provided a simple review of, the low source algorithm from which anyone unfamiliar with low source concepts can benefit.