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Division Spotlight
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.
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!
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Nuclear Science and Engineering
August 2024
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Constellation seeks rezone for property adjacent to Illinois plant
While no development details have been released, Constellation is asking to rezone 658.8 acres of land it owns around the Byron nuclear plant in Illinois for possible long-term use.
Hao Wang, Zhiyao Xing, Eugene Shwageraus (Univ of Cambridge)
Proceedings | 2018 International Congress on Advances in Nuclear Power Plants (ICAPP 2018) | Charlotte, NC, April 8-11, 2018 | Pages 805-814
The availability of Tritium is a problem for the Deuterium-Tritium (D-T) fusion reactors since the element does not exist in nature and has to be bred from Li-6 through neuron capture. The goal of this paper is to explore a possibility of operating a symbiotic system consisting of fleets of fission reactors coupled with fusion reactors. It is proposed in this paper to use salt with high Li-6 content in Fluoride salt-cooled High-temperature Reactor (FHRs) to produce tritium as fuel for D-T fusion reactors. Tritium breeding blankets will therefore no longer be required, potentially making fusion reactors simpler and cheaper to construct and maintain. Two FHR designs, i.e. pebble bed and prismatic block, are studied in this work to investigate the feasibility of the proposed Fission-Fusion hybrid systems. An investigation into neutronics, tritium production, and potential safety issues in the proposed FHR designs are carried out. The tradeoffs between fission reactor performance, such as achievable burnup and fresh fuel enrichment, and tritium production rate are also discussed. Results have shown that such hybrid systems are attractive and potentially feasible. The maximum tritium production rate of the selected design options can reach up to approximately 4 kg per GW thermal power per year.