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Division Spotlight
Robotics & Remote Systems
The Mission of the Robotics and Remote Systems Division is to promote the development and application of immersive simulation, robotics, and remote systems for hazardous environments for the purpose of reducing hazardous exposure to individuals, reducing environmental hazards and reducing the cost of performing work.
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
Argonne’s METL gears up to test more sodium fast reactor components
Argonne National Laboratory has successfully swapped out an aging cold trap in the sodium test loop called METL (Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop), the Department of Energy announced April 23. The upgrade is the first of its kind in the United States in more than 30 years, according to the DOE, and will help test components and operations for the sodium-cooled fast reactors being developed now.
Thomas H. Newton, Jr., Kent J. Riley, Peter J. Binns, Gordon E. Kohse, Lin-Wen Hu, Otto K. Harling
Nuclear Technology | Volume 139 | Number 2 | August 2002 | Pages 175-183
Technical Paper | Radiation Biology and Medicine | doi.org/10.13182/NT02-A3312
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A new epithermal neutron irradiation facility, based on a fission converter assembly placed in the thermal column outside the reactor core, has been put into operation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Research Reactor (MITR). This facility was constructed to provide a high-intensity, forward-directed beam for use in neutron capture therapy with an epithermal flux of [approximately equal to]1010 n/cm2s at the medical room entrance with negligible fast neutron and gamma-ray contamination. The fission converter assembly consists of 10 or 11 MITR fuel elements placed in an aluminum tank and cooled with D2O. Thermal-hydraulic criteria were established based on heat deposition calculations. Various startup tests were performed to verify expected neutronic and thermal-hydraulic behavior. Flow testing showed an almost flat flow distribution across the fuel elements with <5% bypass flow. The total reactivity change caused by operation of the facility was measured at 0.014 ± 0.002% K/K. Thermal power produced by the facility was measured to be 83.1 ± 4.2 kW. All of these test results satisfied the thermal-hydraulic safety criteria. In addition, radiation shielding design measurements were made that verified design calculations for the neutronic performance.