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Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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The RAIN scale: A good intention that falls short
Radiation protection specialists agree that clear communication of radiation risks remains a vexing challenge that cannot be solved solely by finding new ways to convey technical information.
Earlier this year, an article in Nuclear News described a new radiation risk communication tool, known as the Radiation Index, or, RAIN (“Let it RAIN: A new approach to radiation communication,” NN, Jan. 2025, p. 36). The authors of the article created the RAIN scale to improve radiation risk communication to the general public who are not well-versed in important aspects of radiation exposures, including radiation dose quantities, units, and values; associated health consequences; and the benefits derived from radiation exposures.
C. A. Brandon, G. J. Kidd, Jr.
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 32 | Number 1 | April 1968 | Pages 8-15
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE68-A18818
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
During a series of in-pile experiments designed to study irradiation effects on high-performance oxide fuel elements for advanced gas-cooled reactors, heat-transfer data were obtained from four specially instrumented fuel rods. An annular geometry was utilized with rods of 1.9- and 2.18-cm diam being contained in channels of 2.44- and 2.67-cm diam, respectively. The effects of wire-wrapped and machined square-thread surface roughness were measured and compared with the results obtained from a smooth rod. The fuel rods contained UO2 pellets of varying enrichment and were clad with type-304 stainless-steel tubing. The test parameters for the data reported are: 1) coolant flow rate from 45 to 150 kg/h of helium at 20 atm which corresponds to Reynolds numbers from 15 000 to 45 000; 2) cladding temperatures to 840°C; and 3) heat fluxes from 30 to 100 W/cm2. The smooth-rod data can be correlated with a standard deviation of ±10% by the expression Roughening the rods increased the heat transfer by approximately a factor of 2 with no significant difference between the wire-wrapped and machined roughnesses. The results are generally found to be in good agreement with the results of previous heat-transfer studies. Some consequences of using heat-transfer promoters in nuclear reactor fuel elements are discussed.