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
Accelerator Applications
The division was organized to promote the advancement of knowledge of the use of particle accelerator technologies for nuclear and other applications. It focuses on production of neutrons and other particles, utilization of these particles for scientific or industrial purposes, such as the production or destruction of radionuclides significant to energy, medicine, defense or other endeavors, as well as imaging and diagnostics.
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
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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?
H. Plitz
Nuclear Technology | Volume 37 | Number 1 | January 1978 | Pages 48-58
Technical Paper | Fuel | doi.org/10.13182/NT78-A32090
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Received December 21, 1976 Accepted for Publication September 7, 1977 Experience with continued operation of failed mixed-oxide fuel pins in liquid-metal-cooled reactors or in-pile sodium loops is available from a variety of beyond-fuel-failure experiments. The phenomena and effects on a large reactor system of continued beyond-fuel-failure operation are not well understood, but, except for the release and deposition of fission products and the chemical reaction of sodium coolant to oxide fuel, leading to pin swelling, no failure propagation due to continued operation of failed fuel pins has been observed. For economic reactor operation, further investigations are needed to establish a catalog of fuel failure types, sizes, and locations to describe the time-dependent effects of continued operation on reactor operation, shutdown requirements, instrumentation, surveillance, circuit systems, contamination, maintenance systems, and plant efficiency.
