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
Decommissioning & Environmental Sciences
The mission of the Decommissioning and Environmental Sciences (DES) Division is to promote the development and use of those skills and technologies associated with the use of nuclear energy and the optimal management and stewardship of the environment, sustainable development, decommissioning, remediation, reutilization, and long-term surveillance and maintenance of nuclear-related installations, and sites. The target audience for this effort is the membership of the Division, the Society, and the public at large.
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
Apr 2024
Jan 2024
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
May 2024
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
College students help develop waste-measuring device at Hanford
A partnership between Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS) and Washington State University has resulted in the development of a device to measure radioactive and chemical tank waste at the Hanford Site. WRPS is the contractor at Hanford for the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management.
Michael J. Gaeta, Brad J. Merrill, Hans-Werner Bartels, Carine Rachel Laval, Leonid Topilski
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 32 | Number 1 | August 1997 | Pages 23-34
Technical Paper | First-Wall Technology | doi.org/10.13182/FST97-A19877
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The possibility of a beryllium-steam reaction during severe accidents in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) is a safety concern because the hydrogen produced from this reaction could pose a flammability or detonation hazard. The physical mechanisms governing the production of hydrogen are examined, and the sequence of events during a postulated ex-vessel loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) are presented. A MELCOR simulation of an ex-vessel LOCA with simultaneous failure of the plasma shutdown system indicates that an in-vessel breach of the coolant system occurs because of first-wall melt-through. For the ITER interim first-wall/shield-blanket (FW/SB) design, this accident results in ∼67 kg of hydrogen being produced. A similar simulation for the divertor predicts only 0.3 kg of hydrogen because of additional cooling experienced by the divertor during the blowdown of coolant into the vacuum vessel. There is evidence to indicate that beryllium evaporation from the first wall at a surface temperature of 1100°C is enough to cause plasma termination through beryllium evaporation. This plasma termination occurs prior to first-wall melt-through and could minimize or eliminate significant hydrogen production. Sensitivity studies were performed by varying the first-wall temperature at which plasma termination and in-vessel breach occurs for an ex-vessel LOCA scenario. This study shows that if the plasma is terminated before 150 s (i.e., a maximum first-wall temperature of 777°C) after the ex-vessel LOCA, the amount of hydrogen generated is ∼1 kg, which is well below the flammability limit of 10 kg and gives a reasonable margin for model uncertainty. Other sensitivity studies using the FW/SB model indicated a relatively weak dependence of the hydrogen produced on in-vessel and ex-vessel breach size. In addition, a 60% reduction in coolant inventory resulted in only a one-third decrease in hydrogen production from the base case. Preliminary calculations for an in-vessel LOCA indicate that 100 kg of 50-µm dust in the vacuum vessel could generate 2 kg of hydrogen.