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Division Spotlight
Operations & Power
Members focus on the dissemination of knowledge and information in the area of power reactors with particular application to the production of electric power and process heat. The division sponsors meetings on the coverage of applied nuclear science and engineering as related to power plants, non-power reactors, and other nuclear facilities. It encourages and assists with the dissemination of knowledge pertinent to the safe and efficient operation of nuclear facilities through professional staff development, information exchange, and supporting the generation of viable solutions to current issues.
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!
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Latest News
Commercial nuclear innovation "new space" age
In early 2006, a start-up company launched a small rocket from a tiny island in the Pacific. It exploded, showering the island with debris. A year later, a second launch attempt sent a rocket to space but failed to make orbit, burning up in the atmosphere. Another year brought a third attempt—and a third failure. The following month, in September 2008, the company used the last of its funds to launch a fourth rocket. It reached orbit, making history as the first privately funded liquid-fueled rocket to do so.
Sigitas Rimkevicius, Eugenijus Uspuras
Nuclear Technology | Volume 164 | Number 1 | October 2008 | Pages 97-102
Technical Paper | Icapp '06 | doi.org/10.13182/NT08-A4011
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The purpose of this paper is to present the results of the experimental investigation of the thermal-hydraulic characteristics for two types of test sections: thin annular pebble beds (i.e., spheres dumped in thin annular slots) and pebble beds placed between cylinders. The experimental results of heat transfer from the spheres and from a cylinder, as well as hydraulic drag for both types of test sections, are presented in this paper. The results of the thin annular pebble bed experiments demonstrate that the maximum heat transfer and hydraulic drag is at the annular slot with the relative width K equal to 1.07 and 1.75 of the sphere diameter. The heat transfer in the internal layers at these values of K is equal to the heat transfer in the internal layers of large (unlimited) rhombic packing. The results of the experimental investigation of pebble beds between cylinders demonstrate that the randomly arranged pebble bed is preferable to the regular rhombic structure from the viewpoints of design simplicity, heat transfer from the cylinder, and drag coefficient.