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 Installations Safety
Devoted specifically to the safety of nuclear installations and the health and safety of the public, this division seeks a better understanding of the role of safety in the design, construction and operation of nuclear installation facilities. The division also promotes engineering and scientific technology advancement associated with the safety of such facilities.
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!
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Latest News
Norway’s Halden reactor takes first step toward decommissioning
The government of Norway has granted the transfer of the Halden research reactor from the Institute for Energy Technology (IFE) to the state agency Norwegian Nuclear Decommissioning (NND). The 25-MWt Halden boiling water reactor operated from 1958 to 2018 and was used in the research of nuclear fuel, reactor internals, plant procedures and monitoring, and human factors.
Pavel Hejzlar, Mujid S. Kazimi
Nuclear Technology | Volume 160 | Number 1 | October 2007 | Pages 2-15
Technical Paper | Annular Fuel | doi.org/10.13182/NT160-2-15
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Nuclear energy technology has to evolve continuously toward two goals: reduction of the cost of power plants and increasing their safety margins. One approach that can enhance both the economics and safety performance is the adoption of new fuel geometries that increase the fuel surface-to-volume ratio in the core. This will facilitate heat transfer to coolant at lower fuel temperatures. This paper reviews the methodology applied to develop an appropriate design of an innovative internally and externally cooled annular fuel for high-power-density pressurized water reactors (PWRs). It provides an overview of key results obtained during a U.S. Department of Energy-sponsored project that addressed thermal hydraulics, reactor physics, fuel manufacturing, and fuel performance characterization. Using this fuel, it is shown that power density uprates up to 150% can be achieved in PWRs while maintaining or improving the safety margins. If this is applied to future reactors, significant economic advantages can be realized. Even when the power level is maintained close to what it is in existing power reactors, the annular fuel will greatly enhance safety and facilitate higher burnup of the fuel.