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Materials Science & Technology
The objectives of MSTD are: promote the advancement of materials science in Nuclear Science Technology; support the multidisciplines which constitute it; encourage research by providing a forum for the presentation, exchange, and documentation of relevant information; promote the interaction and communication among its members; and recognize and reward its members for significant contributions to the field of materials science in nuclear technology.
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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!
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Latest News
First astatine-labeled compound shipped in the U.S.
The Department of Energy’s National Isotope Development Center (NIDC) on March 31 announced the successful long-distance shipment in the United States of a biologically active compound labeled with the medical radioisotope astatine-211 (At-211). Because previous shipments have included only the “bare” isotope, the NIDC has described the development as “unleashing medical innovation.”
Chi-Szu Lee, Chaung Lin
Nuclear Technology | Volume 159 | Number 3 | September 2007 | Pages 256-266
Technical Paper | Fission Reactors | doi.org/10.13182/NT07-A3874
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A method that includes a genetic algorithm (GA), principal component analysis (PCA), and an artificial neural network (ANN) is adopted in the search for the power ascension path of a boiling water reactor that used to rely solely on an operator's experiences. The power ascension path is formulated as an optimization problem with thermal limits, e.g., minimum critical power ratio, maximum linear heat generation rate, and maximum average planar linear heat generation rate, and with the stability requirement serving as a constraint. The Simulate-3 code is used to calculate the reactor core status, while the optimization problem is solved through the use of the GA. Since the search domain of the GA is relatively large, the ANN, which models the power ascension path, is developed in order to quickly select the candidate solutions for further Simulate-3 calculations, permitting the algorithm to converge effectively. Meanwhile, PCA is used to reduce the ANN input vector's dimension, which improves the ANN training efficiency and pattern recognition capability. The results show that this method efficiently obtains the proper power ascension path required for meeting all constraints at different fuel exposure levels.