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.
Division Spotlight
Thermal Hydraulics
The division provides a forum for focused technical dialogue on thermal hydraulic technology in the nuclear industry. Specifically, this will include heat transfer and fluid mechanics involved in the utilization of nuclear energy. It is intended to attract the highest quality of theoretical and experimental work to ANS, including research on basic phenomena and application to nuclear system design.
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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Jan 2025
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Nuclear Science and Engineering
February 2025
Nuclear Technology
January 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
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?
Eberhard Teuchert, Hans Joachim Rütten, Heinz Werner
Nuclear Technology | Volume 38 | Number 3 | May 1978 | Pages 374-383
Technical Paper | Fuel Cycle | doi.org/10.13182/NT78-A32035
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
For the pebble-bed high-temperature reactor, a wide choice is available for the design of the fuel elements and for the reactor fueling scheme. This flexibility has been utilized for the conception of different possibilities for the closure of the thorium fuel cycle. The easiest scheme is mixed-oxide recycling with repeated recycling of 236U. Loading recycle fuel into separate elements without thorium reduces the uranium ore demand by 13%. Entire separation of the feed and breed circuits brings another reduction of 5%. Furthermore, the feed-breed cycle allows the production of 233U for the near-breeder variant. This variant achieves a conversion ratio of 0.97, and it represents a possible choice for efficient protection of uranium ore resources. Within the span of uncertainties in the cost assumptions, fuel cycle costs are found to be comparable for all considered cycles, including the near-breeder.
