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
Accelerator Applications
The division was organized to promote the advancement of knowledge of the use of particle accelerator technologies for nuclear and other applications. It focuses on production of neutrons and other particles, utilization of these particles for scientific or industrial purposes, such as the production or destruction of radionuclides significant to energy, medicine, defense or other endeavors, as well as imaging and diagnostics.
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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Nuclear Science and Engineering
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Nuclear Technology
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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.
Wolfgang Goll, Hans-Peter Fuchs, Reiner Manzel, Fritz U. Schlemmer
Nuclear Technology | Volume 102 | Number 1 | April 1993 | Pages 29-46
Technical Paper | Mixed-Oxide Fuel / Nuclear Fuel Cycle | doi.org/10.13182/NT93-A34800
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Recycling of plutonium in light water reactors in the Federal Republic of Germany began in 1966, and through the subsequent years, has reached a commercial state. Irradiation programs and postirradiation examinations (PIEs) of modern, highly soluble mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel of the ammonium uranyl plutonyl carbonate/optimized co-milling type have been carried out since 1981 to evaluate fuel performance and to verify the data base for design. The results of PIEs on MOX fuel rods with burnups ranging from 6 to 47 G Wd/tonne heavy metal are described. The dimensional behavior of the MOX fuel rods is found to be almost identical to that of UO2 fuel rods. Densification and swelling of MOX fuel are governed by the behavior of the UO2 matrix as well as the porosity that develops in the MOX agglomerates. Little uranium-plutonium interdiffusion occurs in MOX fuel irradiated under normal power reactor conditions, but substantial redistribution is found in the high-temperature region of transient-tested fuel. Fission gas release from the MOX agglomerates occurs via the UO2 matrix, resulting in release behavior similar to that of UO2 fuel. A comparison of the relevant physical properties of UO2 and MOX fuel shows that no distinct difference in the fission product release behavior of defective MOX fuel is to be expected. The available data base does not indicate any MOX-specific characteristic that could limit the burnup potential of this fuel compared with UO2 fuel.
