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
Isotopes & Radiation
Members are devoted to applying nuclear science and engineering technologies involving isotopes, radiation applications, and associated equipment in scientific research, development, and industrial processes. Their interests lie primarily in education, industrial uses, biology, medicine, and health physics. Division committees include Analytical Applications of Isotopes and Radiation, Biology and Medicine, Radiation Applications, Radiation Sources and Detection, and Thermal Power Sources.
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
Geological work begins on Poland’s first nuclear plant
Project management firm Bechtel started site geological surveys for Poland’s first nuclear power plant project, the company announced on Wednesday.
Bechtel will conduct in-depth geological surveys at the Lubiatowo-Kopalino site in the Pomeranian municipality of Choczewo, in northern Poland. This is a key milestone for the country’s entry into nuclear power production, as the surveys will inform the suitability of the planned site.
Chenglong Wang, Kaichao Sun, Lin-Wen Hu, Suizheng Qiu, G. H. Su
Nuclear Technology | Volume 196 | Number 1 | October 2016 | Pages 34-52
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NT15-42
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The technology for the 20-MW(thermal) Transportable Fluoride Salt–Cooled High-Temperature Reactor (TFHR) is proposed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology for off-grid applications such as Antarctic bases and remote mining sites. The preliminary thermal-hydraulic analyses and improvements based on a 1/12th full-core model were performed using three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD). A benchmark study was conducted by comparing the CFD results against empirical correlations and experimental data obtained by Cooke, Silverman, and Grele. In the 1/12th full-core analysis, three practical considerations that may challenge the TFHR temperature limits are evaluated as bounding analysis. These include (1) helium gap between fuel compact and graphite block, (2) thermal conductivity degradations of graphite matrix due to neutron irradiation, and (3) full-core scale power distribution obtained from neutronic calculations. These design considerations lead to insufficient margin between the normal operating condition and the predefined thermal limits. In this context, additional design features are implemented to improve the thermal-hydraulic safety of the TFHR. First, bypass flow in the interstitial gaps between the active core and the reflector is found capable of reducing the temperature peaks at the core periphery. Second, improvements of the flow distribution from the central downcomer to individual coolant channels enable a higher mass flow rate to the regions with compromised cooling access. Overall, thermal-hydraulic performance was significantly improved with a fuel temperature margin from 10 to 150 K and a coolant temperature margin from 16 to 160 K, as well as the more uniform temperature distribution across the reactor core. Furthermore, thermal-hydraulic safety can be maintained at a 20% overpower operating condition [i.e., 24 MW(thermal)]. Overall, this study provides an engineering basis for the TFHR thermal-hydraulic design to improve its safety margin.