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 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
Latest Magazine Issues
Aug 2026
Jan 2026
2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
October 2026
Nuclear Technology
September 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
August 2026
Latest News
Second round of Launch Pad selections includes eight newcomers
The National Reactor Innovation Center at Idaho National Laboratory has announced 13 project selections across 12 companies for the Nuclear Energy Launch Pad, a Department of Energy–led program that integrates reactor and fuel facility authorization, testing, and deployment support for private nuclear developers.
The Launch Pad emerged from the Reactor Pilot Program and Fuel Line Pilot Program.
According to INL, projects selected include reactor development and nuclear fuel cycle advancements, including fabrication, enrichment, and conversion technologies.
Shin-ya Chiba et al.
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 47 | Number 3 | April 2005 | Pages 569-573
Technical Paper | Fusion Energy - First Wall, Blanket, and Shield | doi.org/10.13182/FST05-A746
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The experimental research on heat-transfer enhancement for such high Prandtl-number fluid as Flibe has been performed with a large molten salt circulating experimental loop named as "TNT loop" (Tohoku-NIFS Thermofluid loop). Through the experiments, a packed-bed tube is employed as the enhancer for molten salt. It is clarified that the enhancement of packed-bed tube is superior to that of turbulent heat transfer from the viewpoint of the same flow rate. Also, the 1/4-diameter bed is superior to the 1/2-diameter one at the same flow rate. Furthermore, at low flow rate, a little differences of heat transfer performance can be seen between the stainless-steel bed and copper bed. At high flow rate, however, the heat-transfer coefficient ratio strongly depends on the flow rate in the case of the 1/4-diameter copper bed only. As a result, it is considered that the thermal energy is expanded from a heated wall deeply and fast through packed bed at low flow rate. On the contrary, it is also considered that the convective heat transfer in the vicinity of a heated wall is strong at high flow rate. The evaluation from the viewpoint of the pressure drop shows that the turbulent heat transfer is superior to that with packed bed. However, the ratio of heat transfer with bed to turbulent one is steeply improved at low flow rate. Taking account of MHD effect, avoidance of erosion and electrolysis of Flibe, the enhancement under low flow-rate condition can be suitable in a fusion reactor.