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
Radiation Protection & Shielding
The Radiation Protection and Shielding Division is developing and promoting radiation protection and shielding aspects of nuclear science and technology — including interaction of nuclear radiation with materials and biological systems, instruments and techniques for the measurement of nuclear radiation fields, and radiation shield design and evaluation.
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
Jun 2024
Jan 2024
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
August 2024
Nuclear Technology
July 2024
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
NRC engineers share their expertise at the University of Puerto Rico
Robert Roche-Rivera and Marcos Rolón-Acevedo are licensed professional engineers who work at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. They are also alumni of the University of Puerto Rico–Mayagüez (UPRM) and have been sharing their knowledge and experience with students at their alma mater since last year, serving as adjunct professors in the university’s Department of Mechanical Engineering. During the 2023–2024 school year, they each taught two courses: Fundamentals of Nuclear Science and Engineering, and Nuclear Power Plant Engineering.
Francisco I. Valentín, Gregory Daines
Nuclear Technology | Volume 207 | Number 6 | June 2021 | Pages 801-814
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2020.1826271
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Creare is developing a miniature, low-power, free-piston energy conversion system. Our converter is designed to transform thermal energy from radioisotope heater units into on-demand electricity essential to space exploration probes, unmanned surface rovers, small landers, small satellites, and similar small-scale systems operating in darkness. We have achieved a simple system design with a single moving part that requires no recuperator and no regenerators or valves. Our converter technology promises a high-efficiency system in an extremely compact enclosure. This work describes preliminary design, analysis, and testing efforts for our miniaturized converter. We fabricated a laboratory-scale prototype and acquired experimental data at prototypical temperatures to validate our performance models. Our numerical model was able to accurately predict converter losses. In doing so, we also demonstrated the feasibility of our novel thermodynamic cycle through the generation of net positive pressure-volume work of the system at its design temperature (~873 K). These results have been used to guide subsequent converter design modifications. Future work includes the fabrication, testing, and detailed performance assessment of a complete prototype converter.