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 Criticality Safety
NCSD provides communication among nuclear criticality safety professionals through the development of standards, the evolution of training methods and materials, the presentation of technical data and procedures, and the creation of specialty publications. In these ways, the division furthers the exchange of technical information on nuclear criticality safety with the ultimate goal of promoting the safe handling of fissionable materials outside reactors.
Meeting Spotlight
ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
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
Feb 2025
Jul 2024
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
March 2025
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
February 2025
Latest News
Colin Judge: Testing structural materials in Idaho’s newest hot cell facility
Idaho National Laboratory’s newest facility—the Sample Preparation Laboratory (SPL)—sits across the road from the Hot Fuel Examination Facility (HFEF), which started operating in 1975. SPL will host the first new hot cells at INL’s Materials and Fuels Complex (MFC) in 50 years, giving INL researchers and partners new flexibility to test the structural properties of irradiated materials fresh from the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) or from a partner’s facility.
Materials meant to withstand extreme conditions in fission or fusion power plants must be tested under similar conditions and pushed past their breaking points so performance and limitations can be understood and improved. Once irradiated, materials samples can be cut down to size in SPL and packaged for testing in other facilities at INL or other national laboratories, commercial labs, or universities. But they can also be subjected to extreme thermal or corrosive conditions and mechanical testing right in SPL, explains Colin Judge, who, as INL’s division director for nuclear materials performance, oversees SPL and other facilities at the MFC.
SPL won’t go “hot” until January 2026, but Judge spoke with NN staff writer Susan Gallier about its capabilities as his team was moving instruments into the new facility.
Stanley Rosen, Richard D. Ivany, John F. Kapinos, Suk K. Sim
Nuclear Technology | Volume 91 | Number 1 | July 1990 | Pages 89-94
Technical Paper | Safety of Next Generation Power Reactor / Nuclear Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT90-A34444
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Combustion Engineering’s advanced light water reactor, System 80+, is an evolutionary upgrade of the proven System 80® nuclear steam supply system design. While both plants are rated at 3817 MW(thermal), System 80+ incorporates a number of design enhancements, including direct vessel injection for the safety injection (SI) system and other changes to the reactor cooling system. The results of a best-estimate small-break loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) study that addresses utility investment protection concerns is presented. Specifically, the size piping break that can be tolerated without the liquid or two-phase fluid level falling below the top of the active core is addressed. Using best-estimate analytical procedures, and assuming no single failure, the active core remains covered with substantial margin for breaks up to 0.254-m (10-in.) diameter. This reduces the possibility of core damage due to a small LOCA. A large-break, cold-leg LOCA licensing analysis is also presented that addresses the reflood capability after the end of SI tank discharge without credit for a low-pressure SI pump system. This analysis confirms that the improved high-pressure SI system provides adequate reflood capability to satisfy the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission LOCA licensing criteria.