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Reactor Physics
The division's objectives are to promote the advancement of knowledge and understanding of the fundamental physical phenomena characterizing nuclear reactors and other nuclear systems. The division encourages research and disseminates information through meetings and publications. Areas of technical interest include nuclear data, particle interactions and transport, reactor and nuclear systems analysis, methods, design, validation and operating experience and standards. The Wigner Award heads the awards program.
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ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
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General Kenneth Nichols and the Manhattan Project
Nichols
The Oak Ridger has published the latest in a series of articles about General Kenneth D. Nichols, the Manhattan Project, and the 1954 Atomic Energy Act. The series has been produced by Nichols’ grandniece Barbara Rogers Scollin and Oak Ridge (Tenn.) city historian David Ray Smith. Gen. Nichols (1907–2000) was the district engineer for the Manhattan Engineer District during the Manhattan Project.
As Smith and Scollin explain, Nichols “had supervision of the research and development connected with, and the design, construction, and operation of, all plants required to produce plutonium-239 and uranium-235, including the construction of the towns of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Richland, Washington. The responsibility of his position was massive as he oversaw a workforce of both military and civilian personnel of approximately 125,000; his Oak Ridge office became the center of the wartime atomic energy’s activities.”
M. García, J. Sanz, P. Sauvan, F. Ogando, D. López, A. Mayoral, V. Blideanu, C. Moreno
Nuclear Technology | Volume 168 | Number 1 | October 2009 | Pages 132-138
Dose/Dose Rate | Special Issue on the 11th International Conference on Radiation Shielding and the 15th Topical Meeting of the Radiation Protection and Shielding Division (Part 1) / Radiation Protection | doi.org/10.13182/NT09-A9113
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Before starting with the construction of the International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility, the objective of the Engineering Validation and Engineering Design Activities (EVEDA) phase will be to demonstrate feasibility of design. For this EVEDA prototype, analysis of the dose rate evolution during the beam-off phase is necessary for radioprotection and maintenance feasibility purposes. The key points for determining the dose rates of the beam-off phase are on one hand the neutron source produced along the accelerator beam line and on the other hand the deuteron losses giving rise to this neutron source.A new methodology to compute the neutron source coming from the deuteron interactions with the intercepting material as well as with the deuterium previously implanted has been developed. This new procedure consists of evaluation of the low-energy deuteron-induced neutron source that is not calculated by most transport codes and assessment of the deuterium concentration evolution in the material, which is generally not taken into account in this type of calculation. The impact of this new approach on the neutron source and dose rate results is very relevant.In addition, different sets of deuteron losses computed during the last 3 yr have been compared and used for neutron activation and dose rate calculations. The effect of the deuteron losses upon neutron source production and residual dose rates in the vicinity of the accelerator components is evaluated, and implications for hands-on maintenance activities are discussed. The impact of the differences in the sets of deuteron losses has been found to be very important for dose rate evaluations. Using the most recent deuteron loss information, we obtain dose rate values more than one order of magnitude lower than those obtained using the former data.
