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
International Conference on Mathematics and Computational Methods Applied to Nuclear Science and Engineering (M&C 2025)
April 27–30, 2025
Denver, CO|The Westin Denver Downtown
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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Latest News
TerraPower begins U.K. regulatory approval process
Seattle-based TerraPower signaled its interest this week in building its Natrium small modular reactor in the United Kingdom, the company announced.
TerraPower sent a letter to the U.K.’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, formally establishing its intention to enter the U.K. generic design assessment (GDA) process. This is TerraPower’s first step in deployment of its Natrium technology—a 345-MW sodium fast reactor coupled with a molten salt energy storage unit—on the international stage.
H. Carlsen, D. N. Sah
Nuclear Technology | Volume 55 | Number 3 | December 1981 | Pages 587-593
Technical Paper | Nuclear Fuel | doi.org/10.13182/NT81-A32803
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The distribution of 239Pu formed in uranium dioxide during irradiation is nonuniform and changes with burnup. This implicates a burnup effect on the fuel temperature distribution. The total 239Pu concentration during irradiation and its radial distribution at end-of-life has been calculated in low-enriched UO2 fuel pellets. The processes considered are 239Pu buildup by capture of thermal and resonance neutrons and 239Pu loss by thermal fissions and neutron capture. The calculated total 239Pu content is verified by chemical analysis, and the calculated 239Pu profile by comparison with results from quantitative alpha autoradiography for two fuel specimens. The effect of a nonuniform radial 239Pu distribution on the fuel temperature profile is evaluated. At a burnup level of 3560 GJ/kg U and a linear heat rating of 50 kW/m, the centerline temperature is calculated to be 245 K lower than that calculated on the assumption that the 239Pu is distributed uniformly.
