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Division Spotlight
Operations & Power
Members focus on the dissemination of knowledge and information in the area of power reactors with particular application to the production of electric power and process heat. The division sponsors meetings on the coverage of applied nuclear science and engineering as related to power plants, non-power reactors, and other nuclear facilities. It encourages and assists with the dissemination of knowledge pertinent to the safe and efficient operation of nuclear facilities through professional staff development, information exchange, and supporting the generation of viable solutions to current issues.
Meeting Spotlight
2024 ANS Annual Conference
June 16–19, 2024
Las Vegas, NV|Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
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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May 2024
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Nuclear Science and Engineering
June 2024
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
G7 pledges support for nuclear at Italy meeting
The Group of Seven (G7) recommitted its support for nuclear energy in the countries that opt to use it at a Ministerial Meeting on Climate in Italy last month.
In a statement following the April meeting, the group committed to support multilateral efforts to strengthen the resilience of nuclear supply chains, referencing the goal set by 25 countries during last year’s COP28 climate conference in Dubai to triple global nuclear generating capacity by 2050.
Edgar Hernández-Palafox, Pablo Ruiz-López, Luis Héctor Hernández Gómez, Alejandra Armenta-Molina, Gilberto Soto-Mendoza, Juan Alfonso Beltrán-Fernández, Luis Alberto Arenas-Magos
Nuclear Technology | Volume 210 | Number 5 | May 2024 | Pages 781-794
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2023.2244314
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The evaluation of the structural integrity of a vertical cask that is used for spent nuclear fuel dry storage is reported. The cask diameter and height are 3.566 m (140 in.) and 5.28 m (207.75 in.), respectively. The analysis focuses on such a cask being impacted by a commercial airplane. The dry storage container standards, which are under evaluation and approval by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, are considered. The storage container inner basket is made of a stainless steel plate cylinder. It is located within an outer shell. The last one is manufactured with concrete and has internal and external steel liners. The commercial airplane considered in this analysis has a length of 40.39 m (132 ft, 6 in.). Its wingspan and height are 35.23 m (115 ft, 7 in.) and 11.98 m (39 ft, 4 in.), respectively. Its take-off weight is 81 090 kg (178 773 lb).
An explicit analysis with the finite element method is carried out. The impact angles were 0, 30, 45, and 60 deg with respect to the horizontal. The mesh of the domain has 1 104 229 hexahedral elements and 1 516 156 nodes. Initially, all the structures are considered without restrictions and free of stresses. The vertical container for dry storage is at rest on a rigid concrete base. The aircraft velocity is 234 m/s or 842 km/h (523 mph). The impact event is simulated in an interval of 0.03 s. The maximum principal stress fields show that there are points at the lid of the container that are above the elastic limit and the ultimate strength. Under these conditions, brittle failure is expected.