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Aerospace Nuclear Science & Technology
Organized to promote the advancement of knowledge in the use of nuclear science and technologies in the aerospace application. Specialized nuclear-based technologies and applications are needed to advance the state-of-the-art in aerospace design, engineering and operations to explore planetary bodies in our solar system and beyond, plus enhance the safety of air travel, especially high speed air travel. Areas of interest will include but are not limited to the creation of nuclear-based power and propulsion systems, multifunctional materials to protect humans and electronic components from atmospheric, space, and nuclear power system radiation, human factor strategies for the safety and reliable operation of nuclear power and propulsion plants by non-specialized personnel and more.
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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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Fukiushima Daiichi: 10 years on
The Fukushima Daiichi site before the accident. All images are provided courtesy of TEPCO unless noted otherwise.
It was a rather normal day back on March 11, 2011, at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant before 2:45 p.m. That was the time when the Great Tohoku Earthquake struck, followed by a massive tsunami that caused three reactor meltdowns and forever changed the nuclear power industry in Japan and worldwide. Now, 10 years later, much has been learned and done to improve nuclear safety, and despite many challenges, significant progress is being made to decontaminate and defuel the extensively damaged Fukushima Daiichi reactor site. This is a summary of what happened, progress to date, current situation, and the outlook for the future there.
Zhanjie Xu, Rainer Meyder, Ulrich Fischer, Jörg Rey
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 52 | Number 1 | July 2007 | Pages 100-106
Technical Paper | dx.doi.org/10.13182/FST07-A1489
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Since the helium-cooled pebble bed (HCPB) breeding blanket was accepted as a reference blanket concept for a future DEMO reactor in the European Union almost 10 yr ago, research and development on the breeder unit (BU) has been conducted. As the basic module of the modular blanket segmentation, the BU is the key component to fulfill the prescribed functions of the breeding blanket. In the paper, two design schemes of the HCPB BU are discussed: (a) a design with double breeder beds confined by an m-shaped container and (b) a design with a single breeder bed confined by a simpler n-shaped container. The first design features a stack of parallel straightforward channels in the cooling plates, and the second design features a group of meandering channels. The two BU variants are analyzed numerically with regard to the performance of their neutronics, thermal hydraulics, and structural mechanics. Based on the numerical analyses, the two variants are compared in the three aspects. Finally, possible improvements on the HCPB BU designs are proposed.
