ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
Latest Magazine Issues
Jan 2026
Jul 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
February 2026
Nuclear Technology
December 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
November 2025
Latest News
Meta’s new nuclear deals with Oklo and TerraPower: The details
Tech giant Meta is making big bets on TerraPower and Oklo. With the former, the hyperscaler could support the deployment of up to eight new reactors. With the latter, it could be as many as sixteen.
For both start-ups, Meta hopes its demand bolsters supply chains, the workforce, and the nuclear industry generally. For itself, the company is aiming to secure more generation to cleanly power its AI ambitions.
Bo Kyun Seo, Jong Kyung Kim, Chang Ho Shin, Tae Je Kwon
Nuclear Technology | Volume 133 | Number 3 | March 2001 | Pages 325-337
Technical Paper | Fuel Cycle and Management | doi.org/10.13182/NT01-A3177
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The feasibility of nuclear power plant lifetime extension was examined by reducing the fast neutron fluence at the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) and relieving irradiation embrittlement of materials, and thus ensuring enough structural integrity beyond the design lifetime. Two fluence reduction options, peripheral assembly replacement and additional shield installation in the outer core structures, were applied to the Kori Unit-1 reactor, and the fluence reduction effect was carefully analyzed. For an accurate estimate of the neutron fluence at the RPV and a reasonable description of the modified peripheral assemblies, a full-scope explicit modeling of a Monte Carlo simulation was employed in all calculations throughout this study. The Kori Unit-1 cycle-16 core was modeled on a three-dimensional representation by using the MCNP4B code, and the fluence distribution was estimated at the inner wall beltline around the circumferential weld of the RPV. On the basis of fracture toughness requirements of the RPV, the two modified cases were predicted to have an additional life of 7 to 10 effective full-power years. Throughout the core nuclear characteristics analyses, it was confirmed that the critical peaking factors for safe reactor operation were satisfied with the design limits.