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 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
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
Apr 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
May 2025
Nuclear Technology
April 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
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.”
Zeyun Wu, Jingang Liang, Xingjie Peng, Hany S. Abdel-Khalik
Nuclear Technology | Volume 205 | Number 7 | July 2019 | Pages 912-927
Regular Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2018.1556062
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
This paper extends the applicability of the generalized perturbation theory (GPT)–free methodology, earlier developed for deterministic models, to Monte Carlo stochastic models. The objective of the GPT-free method is to calculate nuclear data sensitivity coefficients for generalized responses without solving the GPT response-specific inhomogeneous adjoint eigenvalue problem. The GPT-free methodology requires the capability to generate the eigenvalue sensitivity coefficients. This capability is readily available in several of the state-of-the-art Monte Carlo codes. The eigenvalue sensitivity coefficients are sampled using a statistical approach to construct a subspace of small dimension that is subsequently sampled for sensitivity information using a forward sensitivity analysis. A boiling water reactor assembly model is developed using the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Monte Carlo code KENO to demonstrate the application of the GPT-free methodology in Monte Carlo models. The response variations estimated by the GPT-free agree with the exact variations calculated by direct forward perturbations. The GPT-free method is also implemented in OpenMC and tested with the Godiva model to show its capability and feasibility in the estimation of the energy-dependent sensitivity coefficients for generalized responses in Monte Carlo models. The sensitivity results are compared against the ones acquired by the standard GPT-based methodologies. A higher order of accuracy in the sensitivity estimation is observed in the GPT-free method.