ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
Latest Magazine Issues
Apr 2026
Jan 2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
May 2026
Nuclear Technology
February 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
DTRA’s advancements in nuclear and radiological detection
A new, more complex nuclear age has begun. Echoing the tensions of the Cold War amid rapidly evolving nuclear and radiological threats, preparedness in the modern age is a contest of scientific innovation. The Research and Development Directorate (RD) at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) is charged with winning this contest.
Josef Butsch, Franz-Hermann Schlüter, Josef Eibl
Nuclear Technology | Volume 111 | Number 3 | September 1995 | Pages 426-436
Technical Paper | A New Light Water Reactor Safety Concept Special / Nuclear Reactor Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT95-A15871
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A feasibility study has been performed for a light water reactor containment able to resist even severe accidents by passive means. Upper-bound design loads have been considered for all physically possible scenarios after a core-melt accident as determined by Kernforschungszentrum Karlsruhe. The essential layout of this containment is presented. Based on the main system features of a German 1300-MW Convoy reactor type, internal static pressure, hydrogen detonation, failure of the pressure vessel under high pressure, and steam explosion, respectively, have been regarded as well as such external loads as an airplane crash, earthquake, gas explosion, and so forth. The containment can remove the decay heat by purely passive means, and it is believed that the design can be realized at reasonable costs.