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Division Spotlight
Thermal Hydraulics
The division provides a forum for focused technical dialogue on thermal hydraulic technology in the nuclear industry. Specifically, this will include heat transfer and fluid mechanics involved in the utilization of nuclear energy. It is intended to attract the highest quality of theoretical and experimental work to ANS, including research on basic phenomena and application to nuclear system design.
Meeting Spotlight
Conference on Nuclear Training and Education: A Biennial International Forum (CONTE 2025)
February 3–6, 2025
Amelia Island, FL|Omni Amelia Island Resort
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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Latest News
Uranium spot price closes out 2024 at $72.63/lb
The uranium market closed out 2024 with a spot price of $72.63 per pound and a long-term price of $80.50 per pound, according to global uranium provider Cameco.
M. E. Rivarola, P. C. Florido, D. O. Brasnarof, K. H. Kyung, L. Juanicó, J. Bergallo, J. Gonzalez, H. Daverio
Nuclear Technology | Volume 154 | Number 3 | June 2006 | Pages 361-373
Technical Paper | Enrichment | doi.org/10.13182/NT06-A3740
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The SIGMA technology, a patented new concept for uranium enrichment based on the well-known gaseous diffusion (GD) method, has been developed by the Comisión Nacional de Energia Atómica in Argentina to be an alternative to compete in the uranium enrichment market. The SIGMA engineering approach stands on the integration of several GD stages in one module, with all the stages sharing one single multiflux compressor, one vessel, and a gas turbine. This arrangement, together with the use of the double-diffuser cascade configuration to increase the separative gain, leads to a breakthrough in the capital cost structure of the GD technology and a significant reduction in the energetic and operation costs. With the SIGMA concept, a leveled separative work unit cost that could be almost half the price of the present enrichment market level can be achieved. The SIGMA technology has also been conceived to incorporate proliferation-resistant features, and it has a very small overall proliferation risk. In this work we present the main features of the SIGMA technology, and we formulate a calculation scheme for the overall design analysis. We present some of the results of this investigation, including the SIGMA scale economy, and its comparison with others enrichment technologies.