ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
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Division Spotlight
Reactor Physics
The division's objectives are to promote the advancement of knowledge and understanding of the fundamental physical phenomena characterizing nuclear reactors and other nuclear systems. The division encourages research and disseminates information through meetings and publications. Areas of technical interest include nuclear data, particle interactions and transport, reactor and nuclear systems analysis, methods, design, validation and operating experience and standards. The Wigner Award heads the awards program.
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
El Salvador: Looking to nuclear
In 2022, El Salvador’s leadership decided to expand its modest, mostly hydro- and geothermal-based electricity system, which is supported by expensive imported natural gas and diesel generation. They chose to use advanced nuclear reactors, preferably fueled by thorium-based fuels, to power their civilian efforts. The choice of thorium was made to inform the world that the reactor program was for civilian purposes only, and so they chose a fuel that was plentiful, easy to source and work with, and not a proliferation risk.
Jordan A. Evans, Scott A. Anderson, Eric J. Faierson, Delia Perez-Nunez, Sean M. McDeavitt
Nuclear Technology | Volume 205 | Number 4 | April 2019 | Pages 563-581
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2018.1502001
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In this experiment, Type 316L stainless steel rods were fabricated through laser additive manufacturing (LAM) in three different orientations, and microstructural and mechanical changes induced by high dose ion irradiation were characterized based on orientation. The rods were irradiated with Fe2+ self-ions to a peak dose of 80 displacements per atom at 475°C. Results were compared to concurrently irradiated conventionally manufactured control specimens. Electron backscatter diffraction of the rods yielded statistically relevant information related to grain microstructure and texture. Transmission electron microscopy revealed a high density of elongated radiation-produced defects in the LAM specimens that were aligned with the major axes of the defects parallel to the build direction. Mechanical testing of LAM rods revealed anisotropic radiation-induced hardening, where hardening is greatest perpendicular to the build direction and least parallel to the build direction. Several radiation-induced hardening phenomena are considered that contribute to the observed anisotropic strengthening.
