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Division Spotlight
Nuclear Installations Safety
Devoted specifically to the safety of nuclear installations and the health and safety of the public, this division seeks a better understanding of the role of safety in the design, construction and operation of nuclear installation facilities. The division also promotes engineering and scientific technology advancement associated with the safety of such facilities.
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ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
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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
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.”
Hidehito Kinjo, Takeshi Kageyama, Akihiro Kitano, Shin Usami
Nuclear Technology | Volume 167 | Number 2 | August 2009 | Pages 254-267
Technical Paper | Fission Reactors | doi.org/10.13182/NT09-A8962
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A conceptual design study has been performed on upgrading the core performance of the Japanese fast breeder reactor (FBR) Monju. The main aim of this study is to investigate and demonstrate the feasibility of an upgraded core with an extended refueling interval of 365 equivalent full-power days and increased average fuel burnup of 150 GWd/t, which are expected in future commercial FBRs.Two main design measures have been taken to accommodate the largely increased burnup reactivity loss and the reactivity control characteristics for the 1-yr cycle operation: (a) A modified fuel pin specification with increased pin diameter, pellet density, and fissile height has been chosen to improve the burnup reactivity loss per extended cycle, and (b) the control rod specification has been modified to enhance the reactivity worth by increasing the 10B content to ensure sufficient shutdown margin.The major core characteristics that have been evaluated are the core power distribution, safety-related reactivities such as Doppler and sodium void effect, thermal hydraulics, and reactivity control characteristics. The results show that even a medium-sized upgraded core with a volume of [approximately]2.5 m3 could achieve the primary targeted performance of 1-yr cycle operation, without causing significant drawbacks to the core characteristics and safety aspects. The feasibility of the upgraded core concept has thus been demonstrated.