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
Nuclear Installations Safety
Devoted specifically to the safety of nuclear installations and the health and safety of the public, this division seeks a better understanding of the role of safety in the design, construction and operation of nuclear installation facilities. The division also promotes engineering and scientific technology advancement associated with the safety of such facilities.
Meeting Spotlight
Utility Working Conference and Vendor Technology Expo (UWC 2024)
August 4–7, 2024
Marco Island, FL|JW Marriott Marco Island
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
August 2024
Nuclear Technology
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Latest News
Four million nuclear jobs by 2050: Who will do them?
Industry leaders from around the globe met this month to discuss the talent development that will be necessary for the long-term success of the nuclear industry.
The International Conference on Nuclear Knowledge Management and Human Resources Development, hosted by the International Atomic Energy Agency, was held in Vienna earlier this month. Discussed there was the agency’s forecast for nuclear capacity to more than double—or hopefully triple—by 2050 and the requirement of more than four million professionals to support the industry.
Gregory H. Hobson, Paul J. Turinsky
Nuclear Technology | Volume 74 | Number 1 | July 1986 | Pages 5-13
Technical Paper | Fission Reactor | doi.org/10.13182/NT86-A33814
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Computational capability has been developed to automatically determine a good estimate of the core loading pattern, which minimizes fuel cycle costs for a pressurized water reactor (PWR). Equating fuel cycle cost minimization with core reactivity maximization, the objective is to determine the loading pattern that maximizes core reactivity while satisfying power peaking, discharge burnup, and other constraints. The method utilizes a two-dimensional, coarsemesh, finite difference scheme to evaluate core reactivity and fluxes for an initial reference loading pattern. First-order perturbation theory is applied to determine the effects of assembly shuffling on reactivity, power distribution, and end-of-cycle burnup. Monte Carlo integer programming is then used to determine a near-optimal loading pattern within a range of loading patterns near the reference pattern. The process then repeats with the new loading pattern as the reference loading pattern and terminates when no better loading pattern can be determined. The process was applied with both reactivity maximization and radial power-peaking minimization as objectives. Results on a typical large PWR indicate that the cost of obtaining an 8% improvement in radial power-peaking margin is ∼2% in fuel cycle costs, for the reload core loaded without burnable poisons that was studied.