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Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Division Spotlight
Aerospace Nuclear Science & Technology
Organized to promote the advancement of knowledge in the use of nuclear science and technologies in the aerospace application. Specialized nuclear-based technologies and applications are needed to advance the state-of-the-art in aerospace design, engineering and operations to explore planetary bodies in our solar system and beyond, plus enhance the safety of air travel, especially high speed air travel. Areas of interest will include but are not limited to the creation of nuclear-based power and propulsion systems, multifunctional materials to protect humans and electronic components from atmospheric, space, and nuclear power system radiation, human factor strategies for the safety and reliable operation of nuclear power and propulsion plants by non-specialized personnel and more.
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.
Sylvie Aniel-Buchheit, André Puill, Richard Sanchez, Mireille Coste
Nuclear Technology | Volume 128 | Number 2 | November 1999 | Pages 245-256
Technical Paper | Fission Reactors | doi.org/10.13182/NT99-A3029
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The feasibility of 100% mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel recycling in a standard pressurized water reactor (PWR) is explored. The plutonium neutronic specificity is analyzed and compared with uranium. The objective is to identify the generic aspects that could lead to current PWR design modifications. The plutonium isotopic composition was taken as a parameter.Accidents dealing with a change of the moderator density are of particular interest (especially considering that control worth is significantly reduced with MOX fuel). Study of core global draining leads to the following conclusion: Only very poor quality plutonium fuel (low fissile content) cannot be used in a 900-MW(electric) PWR because of a positive global draining reactivity effect. Study of the cooling accident (increase of moderator density) proves that the spurious opening of a secondary side valve is the most penalizing scenario in the case of MOX fuel utilization. The core reactivity was controlled in this study by 57 control rod clusters made of B4C rods having a 90% 10B content and a hafnium clad. The hypothetical return to criticality depends on plutonium isotopic composition. But the core is kept subcritical for all isotopic compositions provided an increase of the soluble boron 10B content up to a value of 40%. No major obstacle to the 100% MOX 900-MW(electric) PWR feasibility was found.
