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Division Spotlight
Fusion Energy
This division promotes the development and timely introduction of fusion energy as a sustainable energy source with favorable economic, environmental, and safety attributes. The division cooperates with other organizations on common issues of multidisciplinary fusion science and technology, conducts professional meetings, and disseminates technical information in support of these goals. Members focus on the assessment and resolution of critical developmental issues for practical fusion energy applications.
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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May 2025
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.
Michaël Petit
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 195 | Number 8 | August 2021 | Pages 864-876
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295639.2020.1867436
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Concrete plays a major role in nuclear facilities as protection against radiation. However, its chemical composition, which is fundamental, is often unknown. Several concrete samples, extracted from the AMANDE-MIRCOM Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) facility, were analyzed. Various simulations were performed in order to evaluate the neutron fluence behind a 40-cm-thick concrete wall. These simulations were compared to experimental measurements performed with a Bonner sphere spectrometer and a neutron survey meter. No set of parameters tested was able to produce a simulation accurately matching all the experimental results, but sensitivity studies on several parameters highlight that the three most sensitive parameters are the hydrogen content, the density, and the concrete inhomogeneity. To improve the agreement between the simulations and the measurements, the concrete inhomogeneity modeling should be studied further. Nevertheless, using concrete compositions that are close to reality, especially for hydrogen content, is crucial to correctly simulate neutron transport.