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Division Spotlight
Nuclear Criticality Safety
NCSD provides communication among nuclear criticality safety professionals through the development of standards, the evolution of training methods and materials, the presentation of technical data and procedures, and the creation of specialty publications. In these ways, the division furthers the exchange of technical information on nuclear criticality safety with the ultimate goal of promoting the safe handling of fissionable materials outside reactors.
Meeting Spotlight
Utility Working Conference and Vendor Technology Expo (UWC 2024)
August 4–7, 2024
Marco Island, FL|JW Marriott Marco Island
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
ARPA-E announces $40 million to develop transmutation technologies for UNF
The Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E) announced $40 million in funding to develop cutting-edge technologies to enable the transmutation of used nuclear fuel into less-radioactive substances. According to ARPA-E, the new initiative addresses one of the agency’s core goals as outlined by Congress: to provide transformative solutions to improve the management, cleanup, and disposal of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel.
Yu Liu, Michael Nishimura, Liqian Li, Karen Colins
Nuclear Technology | Volume 197 | Number 1 | January 2017 | Pages 75-87
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NT16-97
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
With the advancement of computer and communication technologies, wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are increasingly used in nuclear and space applications of radiation dose monitoring, earth observation, etc. In both cases, intensive radiation effects on electronic survivability are a concern. Gamma-ray damaging mechanisms in semiconductor devices are described as, and specifically linked to, semiconductor property changes in detectors, transistors, and integrated circuits. Radiation damage is cumulative and can result in the premature failure of WSN nodes. Thus, radiation-resistant electronics are commonly used for space and nuclear applications. However, these devices present a significant cost, especially when monitoring large areas. This paper focuses on studying a protocol stack that achieves an effective compromise in the cost and performance in a large-scale gamma radiation environment. The probability density function of a Weibull distribution is used to model failures of individual nodes in simulated WSNs. The distribution parameters are based on results of radiation-damage tests performed on semiconductor devices in the Gamma-220 facility (60Co source) at the Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL). The simulation of the protocol stack proposed in this paper through network simulator 2 (NS2) and the resulting performance analyses could provide useful design insights and considerations for nuclear and space applications. Our work is the first study on designing an environmentally adaptive protocol stack in a large-scale gamma radiation environment for nuclear and space applications.