ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
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Division Spotlight
Reactor Physics
The division's objectives are to promote the advancement of knowledge and understanding of the fundamental physical phenomena characterizing nuclear reactors and other nuclear systems. The division encourages research and disseminates information through meetings and publications. Areas of technical interest include nuclear data, particle interactions and transport, reactor and nuclear systems analysis, methods, design, validation and operating experience and standards. The Wigner Award heads the awards program.
Meeting Spotlight
Conference on Nuclear Training and Education: A Biennial International Forum (CONTE 2025)
February 3–6, 2025
Amelia Island, FL|Omni Amelia Island Resort
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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Nuclear Science and Engineering
February 2025
Nuclear Technology
January 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
First GAIN vouchers of 2025 go to Curio, Deep Fission, Kairos, and NuCube Energy
The Department of Energy’s Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) has awarded four fiscal year 2025 vouchers to support the development of advanced nuclear technologies. Each company will get access to specific capabilities and expertise in the DOE’s national laboratory complex—in this round of awards both Idaho National Laboratory and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are named—and will be responsible for a minimum 20 percent cost share, which can be an in-kind contribution.
Gray S. Chang, John M. Ryskamp
Nuclear Technology | Volume 129 | Number 3 | March 2000 | Pages 326-337
Technical Paper | Fuel Cycle and Management | doi.org/10.13182/NT00-A3065
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
An experiment containing weapons-grade mixed-oxide (WG-MOX) fuel has been designed and is being irradiated in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL). The ability to accurately predict fuel pin performance is an essential requirement for the MOX fuel test assembly design. Detailed radial fission power and temperature profile effects and fission gas release in the fuel pin are a function of the fuel pin's temperature, fission power, and fission product and actinide concentration profiles. In addition, the burnup-dependent profile analyses in irradiated fuel pins is important for fuel performance analysis to support the potential licensing of the MOX fuel made from WG-plutonium and depleted uranium for use in U.S. reactors.The MCNP Coupling With ORIGEN2 burnup calculation code (MCWO) can analyze the detailed burnup profiles of WG-MOX and reactor-grade mixed-oxide (RG-MOX) fuel pins. The validated code MCWO can provide the best-estimate neutronic characteristics of fuel burnup performance analysis. Applying this capability with a new minicell method allows calculation of detailed nuclide concentration and power distributions within the MOX pins as a function of burnup. This methodology was applied to MOX fuel in a commercial pressurized water reactor and in an experiment currently being irradiated in the ATR. The prediction of nuclide concentration profiles and power distributions in irradiated MOX pins via this new methodology can provide insights into MOX fuel performance.
