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
Mathematics & Computation
Division members promote the advancement of mathematical and computational methods for solving problems arising in all disciplines encompassed by the Society. They place particular emphasis on numerical techniques for efficient computer applications to aid in the dissemination, integration, and proper use of computer codes, including preparation of computational benchmark and development of standards for computing practices, and to encourage the development on new computer codes and broaden their use.
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
Apr 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
June 2025
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
May 2025
Latest News
Argonne’s METL gears up to test more sodium fast reactor components
Argonne National Laboratory has successfully swapped out an aging cold trap in the sodium test loop called METL (Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop), the Department of Energy announced April 23. The upgrade is the first of its kind in the United States in more than 30 years, according to the DOE, and will help test components and operations for the sodium-cooled fast reactors being developed now.
Lars Marklund, Anders Wörman, Joel Geier, Eva Simic, Björn Dverstorp
Nuclear Technology | Volume 163 | Number 1 | July 2008 | Pages 165-179
Technical Paper | High-Level Radioactive Waste Management | doi.org/10.13182/NT08-A3979
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The topographical driving forces for groundwater on different spatial scales in several ways influence the performance of a repository for nuclear waste located at large depth in crystalline bedrock. We show that the relation between local topographical characteristics (topographical steepness and wavelengths) in the area of a repository (kilometer scale) and the large-scale (hundreds of kilometers) surroundings, together with repository depth, are the primary controls of residence time distributions and the discharge pattern of radionuclides released from an underground repository. In addition, the topography affects the groundwater flow at repository depth and, therefore, influences the long-time degradation of the repository. In the areas studied, all located in Sweden, the local topography mainly controls the groundwater flow down to a depth of ~500 m, which is the suggested depth of the Swedish repository. The importance of the large-scale topography increases with depth but even at depth where local-scale topography is dominant, the continental-scale topography affects length and depth of flowpaths as well as groundwater velocities. The impact of large-scale topography is particularly clear in areas where the steepness of local-scale landforms is relatively small. The study also shows that quaternary deposits (bedrock overburden) may have a significant impact on the overall residence times in the underground because of their hydraulic and sorption properties. This effect is further enhanced by the fact that flow paths originating from repository depth generally emerge in topographical lows with relatively deep layers of quaternary deposits. The findings of this study underscore the need to consider multiscale topographical characteristics as well as bedrock overburden in assessments of radiological consequences of underground repositories.