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Division Spotlight
Operations & Power
Members focus on the dissemination of knowledge and information in the area of power reactors with particular application to the production of electric power and process heat. The division sponsors meetings on the coverage of applied nuclear science and engineering as related to power plants, non-power reactors, and other nuclear facilities. It encourages and assists with the dissemination of knowledge pertinent to the safe and efficient operation of nuclear facilities through professional staff development, information exchange, and supporting the generation of viable solutions to current issues.
Meeting Spotlight
ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
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
First astatine-labeled compound shipped in the U.S.
The Department of Energy’s National Isotope Development Center (NIDC) on March 31 announced the successful long-distance shipment in the United States of a biologically active compound labeled with the medical radioisotope astatine-211 (At-211). Because previous shipments have included only the “bare” isotope, the NIDC has described the development as “unleashing medical innovation.”
Raphael Craplet, Joonhong Ahn
Nuclear Technology | Volume 177 | Number 3 | March 2012 | Pages 314-335
Technical Paper | Fuel Cycle and Management | doi.org/10.13182/NT12-A13478
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A mathematical model for mass flow in a generic nuclear fuel cycle was developed. The model can describe various fuel cycle configurations (ranging from once-through to multiple recycling) and reactor types with several regions and batches. It can also be used as a submodel in a regional or global fuel cycle system. Recursive equations for the fuel composition at each point of the cycle were obtained. For specific simplified cases, nonrecursive and equilibrium equations were also derived for compositions, with which the waste reduction ratio was formulated as a function of the system parameters, to show usage of this model for theoretical understanding of the relationship between parameters and performances of the system. A numerical code for this mathematical model was developed. For a simplified equilibrium cycle, sensitivity and constrained optimization of the toxicity reduction ratio with respect to the system parameters were investigated by using the present model and code. It appears that the most important parameter to minimize waste toxicity is the separation efficiency at reprocessing. High fuel enrichment is beneficial because it expands the parametric space within the constraints. Also, depending on the constraints that apply, either the irradiation time or the fraction of core reprocessed at each cycle will be the second most important parameter.