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Division Spotlight
Nuclear Criticality Safety
NCSD provides communication among nuclear criticality safety professionals through the development of standards, the evolution of training methods and materials, the presentation of technical data and procedures, and the creation of specialty publications. In these ways, the division furthers the exchange of technical information on nuclear criticality safety with the ultimate goal of promoting the safe handling of fissionable materials outside reactors.
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
TerraPower begins U.K. regulatory approval process
Seattle-based TerraPower signaled its interest this week in building its Natrium small modular reactor in the United Kingdom, the company announced.
TerraPower sent a letter to the U.K.’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, formally establishing its intention to enter the U.K. generic design assessment (GDA) process. This is TerraPower’s first step in deployment of its Natrium technology—a 345-MW sodium fast reactor coupled with a molten salt energy storage unit—on the international stage.
S. R. Bierman, L. E. Hansen, R. C. Lloyd, E. D. Clayton
Nuclear Technology | Volume 6 | Number 1 | January 1969 | Pages 23-26
Technical Papers and Note | doi.org/10.13182/NT69-A28264
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The results and analyses are presented from the latest series of experiments in a continuing program for determining the critical parameters of plutonium mixtures having concentrations that are typical of wet powders, precipitates, slurries, and polymers. The initial series of measurements in this program were made on 15 H/Pu fuel having 240Pu isotopic concentrations of 2.2 and 8.08 wt%. The latest experiments were conducted with fuel having a 240Pu isotopic concentration of 11.46 wt% and a H/Pu atom ratio of 5. Generally, these results indicate that the published values for the critical sizes and masses of plutonium should be increased for the highly concentrated systems. Additional data are needed, however, to better establish the criticality curves in this region. The 11.46 wt% 240Pu isotopic concentration caused an increase of ∼30% in the spherical critical mass of a bare 239Pu-water system at 5 H/Pu. In the reflected system the increase was ∼43%.