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Division Spotlight
Nuclear Installations Safety
Devoted specifically to the safety of nuclear installations and the health and safety of the public, this division seeks a better understanding of the role of safety in the design, construction and operation of nuclear installation facilities. The division also promotes engineering and scientific technology advancement associated with the safety of such facilities.
Meeting Spotlight
International Conference on Mathematics and Computational Methods Applied to Nuclear Science and Engineering (M&C 2025)
April 27–30, 2025
Denver, CO|The Westin Denver Downtown
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
Argonne’s METL gears up to test more sodium fast reactor components
Argonne National Laboratory has successfully swapped out an aging cold trap in the sodium test loop called METL (Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop), the Department of Energy announced April 23. The upgrade is the first of its kind in the United States in more than 30 years, according to the DOE, and will help test components and operations for the sodium-cooled fast reactors being developed now.
Michael L. Corradini, James P. Blanchard, Carl J. Martin
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 168 | Number 3 | July 2011 | Pages 185-196
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE10-24
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The occurrence of a steam explosion for advanced light water reactors (LWRs), whether within or below the reactor pressure vessel in the cavity, is analyzed to determine the possible hazard to structures as a result of dynamic explosion pressures. In current LWRs, in-vessel steam explosions have been determined not to pose a risk-significant threat, while ex-vessel explosions are considered in safety analyses. In advanced LWRs, such analyses are important to demonstrate that such structures will maintain their integrity so that core debris coolability is possible. This paper presents an approach to calculate the dynamic pressures from a steam explosion using the TEXAS-V model and evaluate its effects on surrounding structures using ANSYS. Scenarios for advanced LWRs are reviewed, and a severe accident scenario is used as an example to present our methodology. Such evaluation methods should be considered in future safety studies and be verified with direct comparison to data for energetic fuel-coolant interaction, such as those provided from past KROTOS tests or with current experiments in the international SERENA project.