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Division Spotlight
Mathematics & Computation
Division members promote the advancement of mathematical and computational methods for solving problems arising in all disciplines encompassed by the Society. They place particular emphasis on numerical techniques for efficient computer applications to aid in the dissemination, integration, and proper use of computer codes, including preparation of computational benchmark and development of standards for computing practices, and to encourage the development on new computer codes and broaden their use.
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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Reboot: Nuclear needs a success . . . anywhere
The media have gleefully resurrected the language of a past nuclear renaissance. Beyond the hype and PR, many people in the nuclear community are taking a more measured view of conditions that could lead to new construction: data center demand, the proliferation of new reactor designs and start-ups, and the sudden ascendance of nuclear energy as the power source everyone wants—or wants to talk about.
Once built, large nuclear reactors can provide clean power for at least 80 years—outlasting 10 to 20 presidential administrations. Smaller reactors can provide heat and power outputs tailored to an end user’s needs. With all the new attention, are we any closer to getting past persistent supply chain and workforce issues and building these new plants? And what will the election of Donald Trump to a second term as president mean for nuclear?
As usual, there are more questions than answers, and most come down to money. Several developers are engaging with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission or have already applied for a license, certification, or permit. But designs without paying customers won’t get built. So where are the customers, and what will it take for them to commit?
C. N. Kelber
Nuclear Technology | Volume 13 | Number 1 | January 1972 | Pages 95-98
Technical Paper | Technique | doi.org/10.13182/NT72-A31071
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The concept of a dual spectrum facility for the assay of reactor fuel is extended here to include the assay of thermal reactor fuel as well as LMFBR fuel, and the problems of neutron filter choice and moderator choice are examined. Finally, an estimate is made of the resistance of the concept to errors introduced by tampering with the plutonium distribution. The dual spectrum concept involves oscillating fuel against a standard in a hard spectrum in a dilute fast critical assembly, then softening the spectrum by introducing a moderator into the voids in the assembly, and oscillating the fuel inside various neutron absorbers or filters. The choice of moderator and of neutron filter is a set of design variables; the objective of this work is to determine that set of design variables which yields the lowest estimated bound on the error inherent in the fuel assay, and to extend these considerations to the assay of thermal reactor fuel. It is concluded that the filters hafnium, boron, and cadmium, together with water or graphite moderator, offer an optimal design set. The errors in the assay of fuel are, roughly, inversely proportional to the mass content of the fuel; the resistance to tampering is found to be high.