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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
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Latest News
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. L. Schuske, S. J. Altschuler
Nuclear Technology | Volume 18 | Number 3 | June 1973 | Pages 305-311
Technical Note | Chemical Processing | doi.org/10.13182/NT73-A31303
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A fissile solution storage vessel has been designed and analyzed which consists of a central column surrounded by intersecting arms resembling a tree with many branches. The intersecting arms are reduced at their junction with the central column to minimize the amount of surface area of an arm (which contains most of the stored liquid) in contact with the central column. Critical experiments and calculations done at Rocky Flats have shown that this area of intersection is very reactive. If this area of intersection is reduced, it is possible to increase the numbers and diameters of the arms, thus allowing more fissile material to be stored in this geometry. This method of solution storage is cost competitive with the use of borosilicate-raschig-ring-filled tanks for the storage of large quantities of fissile materials for special applications. Several such applications are storage of solutions corrosive to glass raschig rings, solutions where inorganic plutonium polymer (PuO2 × H2O) buildup is possible and plutonium solutions in excess of 220-g Pu/liter. The tree tank can safely store 400-g Pu/liter, whereas the limiting concentration for raschig ring tanks is 220-g Pu/liter. For this particular application, the initial cost per kilogram for Pu storage is ∼$53/kg for the tree versus ∼$ 56/kg for the raschig ring tank. If one considers the cost of maintenance of the two methods over a period of five to ten years, the tree tank is competitive over an even wider range of applications.