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Thermal Hydraulics
The division provides a forum for focused technical dialogue on thermal hydraulic technology in the nuclear industry. Specifically, this will include heat transfer and fluid mechanics involved in the utilization of nuclear energy. It is intended to attract the highest quality of theoretical and experimental work to ANS, including research on basic phenomena and application to nuclear system design.
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Securing the advanced reactor fleet
Physical protection accounts for a significant portion of a nuclear power plant’s operational costs. As the U.S. moves toward smaller and safer advanced reactors, similar protection strategies could prove cost prohibitive. For tomorrow’s small modular reactors and microreactors, security costs must remain appropriate to the size of the reactor for economical operation.
S. J. Pawel
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 61 | Number 1 | January 2012 | Pages 369-374
Materials | Proceedings of the Fifteenth International Conference on Emerging Nuclear Energy Systems | doi.org/10.13182/FST12-A13447
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Type 316L stainless steel capsules containing commercially pure sodium and miniature tensile specimens of HT-UPS (austenitic, 14Cr-16Ni), NF-616 (ferritic/martensitic, 9Cr-2W-0.5Mo), or 316L (austenitic, 17Cr-10Ni-2Mo) stainless steel were exposed at 600 and 700°C for 100 and 400 h as a screening test for compatibility. Specimen weight, tensile properties, and microstructure of HT-UPS and 316L were found to be largely immune to changes resulting from sodium exposure, but NF-616 was susceptible to substantial decarburization at 700°C. Subsequently, two thermal convection loops (TCLs) constructed of 316L and loaded with commercially pure sodium and miniature tensile specimens of HT-UPS and 316L were operated for 2000 h each - one between 500 and 650°C, the other between 565 and 725°C - at a flow rate of about 1.5 cm/s. Under these dynamic conditions, changes in specimen appearance, weight, and tensile properties were observed to be very minor in all cases, and there was no metallographic evidence of microstructural changes, composition gradients, or mass transfer resulting from prolonged exposure in a TCL. Thus, it appears that HT-UPS and 316L stainless steels are similarly compatible with commercially pure sodium under these conditions.