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.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
Latest Magazine Issues
May 2026
Jan 2026
2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
June 2026
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
WIPP: Lessons in transportation safety
As part of a future consent-based approach by the federal government to site new deep geologic repositories for nuclear waste, local communities and states that are considering hosting such facilities are sure to have many questions. Currently, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico is the only example of such a repository in operation, and it offers the opportunity for state and local officials to visit and judge for themselves the risks and benefits of hosting a similar facility. But its history can also provide lessons for these officials, particularly the political process leading up to the opening of WIPP, the safety of WIPP operations and transportation of waste from generator facilities to the site, and the economic impacts the project has had on the local area of Carlsbad, as well as the rest of the state of New Mexico.
Ying T. Lee, Myron A. Hoffman, M. Hafez
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 30 | Number 3 | December 1996 | Pages 669-673
Divertor Design and Experiments | doi.org/10.13182/FST96-A11963013
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A subcooled nucleate boiling computer code (with 3D heat conduction in solid and 1D forced convection in fluid) that incorporates a good estimation of the single-phase and two-phase pressure drop was developed to evaluate a monoblock design of the divertor with smooth tubes as well as a wide variety of cooling designs. Using one of the monoblock divertor designs proposed by the European International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) team as of March 1995, it was found that under a normal steady state operating condition with a peak heat flux of about 5 MW/m2, the water flow remained in the single phase liquid regime. Under an abnormal operating condition with a peak heat flux of about 20 MW/m2, the partially developed boiling (PDB) regime occurred where the local critical heat flux safety factor, (SFCHF=CHF(z)/q“(0=0°)), was estimated to be about 1.4 using the Tong-75 CHF correlation. This indicates that further increases in the magnitude of the heat flux beyond 20 MW/m2 may raise safety concerns for the design. By increasing the mass flux, decreasing the inlet water temperature, or increasing the inlet water pressure, the CHF safety margin of the design can be increased without inserting twisted tapes inside cooling tubes.