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
Fusion Energy
This division promotes the development and timely introduction of fusion energy as a sustainable energy source with favorable economic, environmental, and safety attributes. The division cooperates with other organizations on common issues of multidisciplinary fusion science and technology, conducts professional meetings, and disseminates technical information in support of these goals. Members focus on the assessment and resolution of critical developmental issues for practical fusion energy applications.
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
Nicholas Tsoulfanidis—ANS member since 1969
As an undergraduate I studied physics at the University of Athens. I entered the university in 1955 after successfully passing a national exam (came up fourth in a field of about 700 candidates). Upon graduation and finishing my mandatory two-year military service, the plan was to teach physics either in a public high school or as a tutor for a private for-profit institution, preparing high school students for the national exam.
Kostadin N. Ivanov, Nadejda K. Todorova, Enrico Sartori
Nuclear Technology | Volume 142 | Number 2 | May 2003 | Pages 95-115
Technical Paper | OECD/NRC MSLB Benchmark | doi.org/10.13182/NT03-A3376
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Incorporating full three-dimensional (3-D) models of the reactor core into system transient codes allows for a "best-estimate" calculation of interactions between the core behavior and plant dynamics. Recent progress in computer technology has made the development of coupled thermal-hydraulic (T-H) and neutron kinetics code systems feasible. Considerable efforts have been made in various countries and organizations in this direction. Appropriate benchmarks need to be developed that will permit testing of two particular aspects. One is to verify the capability of the coupled codes to analyze complex transients with coupled core-plant interactions. The second is to test fully the neutronics/T-H coupling. One such benchmark is the Pressurized Water Reactor Main Steam Line Break (MSLB) Benchmark problem. It was sponsored by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and The Pennsylvania State University. The benchmark problem uses a 3-D neutronics core model that is based on real plant design and operational data for the Three Mile Island Unit 1 nuclear power plant. The purpose of this benchmark is threefold: to verify the capability of system codes for analyzing complex transients with coupled core-plant interactions; to test fully the 3-D neutronics/T-H coupling; and to evaluate discrepancies among the predictions of coupled codes in best-estimate transient simulations. The purposes of the benchmark are met through the application of three exercises: a point kinetics plant simulation (exercise 1), a coupled 3-D neutronics/core T-H evaluation of core response (exercise 2), and a best-estimate coupled core-plant transient model (exercise 3).In this paper we present the three exercises of the MSLB benchmark, and we summarize the findings of the participants with regard to the current numerical and computational issues of coupled calculations. In addition, this paper reviews in some detail the sensitivity studies on exercises 2 and 3 performed by the benchmark team using the coupled code TRAC-PF1/NEM. The purpose of these supporting studies was to aid participants in developing their models.