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
Mathematics & Computation
Division members promote the advancement of mathematical and computational methods for solving problems arising in all disciplines encompassed by the Society. They place particular emphasis on numerical techniques for efficient computer applications to aid in the dissemination, integration, and proper use of computer codes, including preparation of computational benchmark and development of standards for computing practices, and to encourage the development on new computer codes and broaden their use.
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
Apr 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
May 2025
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
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.
Truong V. Vo, Patrick G. Heasler, Steven R. Doctor, Frederic A. Simonen, Bryan F. Gore
Nuclear Technology | Volume 96 | Number 3 | December 1991 | Pages 259-271
Technical Paper | Nuclear Reactor Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT91-A34588
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
As part of the nondestructive evaluation reliability program sponsored by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) developed a risk-based method for establishing inspection priorities for systems and components at nuclear power plants. In this method, the results of probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) are used to estimate the safety consequences of component failures. The method also requires estimates of the probabilities of structural failures. Since sufficient operating experience data and detailed fracture mechanics analyses are not available, an expert judgment elicitation is conducted to estimate component rupture probabilities. (An expert judgment process is generally adapted from the NRC severe accident risk program.) The plant selected for the detailed evaluation is the Surry nuclear power station Unit 1 (Surry-1). Systems selected for analysis are the reactor pressure vessel, the reactor coolant, the low-pressure injection including the accumulators, and the auxiliary feedwater. Additional technical information is gathered regarding the elicited issues. The data appear to be reasonable, and they generally agree with and reflect Surry-1 plant operating experience. Typical areas of concern correspond to such factors as high stresses (e.g., places where mixing of fluids with large temperature differences occurs) and places where erosion or corrosion effects are active. These results will be used by PNL in an ongoing pilot study based on the PRA results and other relevant information in determining the inspection priorities for systems and components at the Surry power plant.