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
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
Jul 2024
Jan 2024
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
August 2024
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
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.
H. Guo, T. Kooyman, P. Sciora, L. Buiron
Nuclear Technology | Volume 205 | Number 11 | November 2019 | Pages 1447-1459
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2019.1611304
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The reduction of the initial excess reactivity in fast reactor cores will enhance the inherent safety level of the cores as it does reduce the impact of control rod withdrawal (CRW) accidents. Compensation for burnup reactivity loss by means of burnable poison (BP) is considered as a possible solution to limit initial excess reactivity. Minor actinides (MAs) challenge long-term nuclear waste management, and they can be transmuted from absorber isotopes to fissile isotopes, which allows them to play the role of BPs.
Two loading modes of MAs as BPs are considered in this paper: The so-called homogeneous transmutation mode mixes MAs with the fuel, and the so-called hybrid transmutation mode packs MAs in independent pins in the fuel assemblies. The content of americium or neptunium in these two modes is considered with regard to current technological feasibility, including burnup, cladding stress, decay heat, and the neutron source of the assemblies considered here. Both of these modes are able to compensate for the reactivity loss of a 3600-MW(thermal) fast reactor and thus reduce excess reactivity at the beginning of cycle.
The impact of MA loading on the core characteristics, including power distribution, material balance, and feedback coefficient, is considered from the assembly level to the core level. The hybrid mode shows better management feasibility while the use of neptunium exhibits a lower impact on the current fuel recycling. Finally, the core behavior during a CRW transient is evaluated, which shows that the core loaded with BPs exhibits better safety performance in CRW transients due to their lower initial excess reactivity.