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.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
Jul 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
September 2025
Nuclear Technology
August 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
The RAIN scale: A good intention that falls short
Radiation protection specialists agree that clear communication of radiation risks remains a vexing challenge that cannot be solved solely by finding new ways to convey technical information.
Earlier this year, an article in Nuclear News described a new radiation risk communication tool, known as the Radiation Index, or, RAIN (“Let it RAIN: A new approach to radiation communication,” NN, Jan. 2025, p. 36). The authors of the article created the RAIN scale to improve radiation risk communication to the general public who are not well-versed in important aspects of radiation exposures, including radiation dose quantities, units, and values; associated health consequences; and the benefits derived from radiation exposures.
John F. Geldard, Adolph L. Beyerlein, Houn-Lin Chiu
Nuclear Technology | Volume 78 | Number 2 | August 1987 | Pages 151-156
Technical Paper | Chemical Processing | doi.org/10.13182/NT87-A33993
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The mathematical basis for a computer code PUNE (Plutonium-Uranium-Non-Equilibrium) is described. The code simulates the steady-state concentration profiles of solvent extraction contactors used in the Purex process under conditions where material transfer between phases deviates from the equilibrium limit. The deviation is accounted for by a mass transfer area characteristic of the operating conditions of a contactor, and a mass transfer coefficient for the chemical species of interest. In the limit of infinite mass transfer rate, PUNE gives the same results as other codes that calculate equilibrium profiles. For 1A and IE contactors, the computational times are reduced between two- and fivefold over times required by other codes that generate the steady-state profiles via transient state conditions. For 1B or partitioning contactors, the reduction in time can be more than 20-fold. Since there is no loss of accuracy in these calculations, PUNE represents an important advance in the determination of steady-state profiles, especially for 1B contactors because it is with these that the greatest computational difficulties are encountered.