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
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
Aug 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
September 2025
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
August 2025
Latest News
Powering the future: How the DOE is fueling nuclear fuel cycle research and development
As global interest in nuclear energy surges, the United States must remain at the forefront of research and development to ensure national energy security, advance nuclear technologies, and promote international cooperation on safety and nonproliferation. A crucial step in achieving this is analyzing how funding and resources are allocated to better understand how to direct future research and development. The Department of Energy has spearheaded this effort by funding hundreds of research projects across the country through the Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP). This initiative has empowered dozens of universities to collaborate toward a nuclear-friendly future.
Bart J. Daly
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 72 | Number 1 | October 1979 | Pages 97-107
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE79-A19312
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A series of numerical calculations was performed to study the effect of apparatus scale size on the magnitude and duration of emergency core coolant (ECC) bypass and the time delay for refill of the lower plenum of a pressurized water reactor during a hypothetical loss-of-coolant accident. These results indicate that for certain idealized flow and thermal conditions, flow similarity can be obtained at all scale sizes, but that for more realistic conditions, the effects of apparatus scale size and lower plenum pressure on ECC bypass and lower plenum refill can be large. In particular, the duration of ECC bypass and the time delay for refill appear to be more sensitive to momentum exchange at full scale and high lower plenum pressure than they are at 2/15 scale and low pressure. The sensitivity to mass exchange, ECC subcooling, and wall heat transfer decreases with increasing scale and lower plenum pressure. The effect of introducing steam, rather than air, into the downcomer through the broken ECC injection port when the pressure in the downcomer falls below that in the containment vessel is to decrease the rate of lower plenum refill.