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Division Spotlight
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.
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.
M. Wimmers, P. Pohl
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 97 | Number 1 | September 1987 | Pages 53-57
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE87-A23495
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In collaboration with Kernforschungsanlage Jülich, Federal Republic of Germany, and other companies, dynamic experiments have been carried out with the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Versuchsreaktor (A VR) to test advanced dynamic computer models with the goal of using low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel in future high-temperature gas-cooled reactors. Since LEU fuel has been used for the AVR since 1982, both experimental and theoretical behavior has been studied during the changeover from highly enriched uranium to LEU. The experiments comprise fast power transients that are initiated by either a fast control rod movement or a fast change of coolant flow. The neutron flux and other important parameters are registered in suitable time expansion. To prevent the cantilevered segments of the carbon brick core ceiling from being exposed to unallowable high-temperature gradients, the rod movements are restricted to limit the reactivity variation to ∼ 60 mNile. For the coolant flow transients, the blower speed is usually reduced from 100 to 50%, and then elevated again to 80% after 30 min. A return to 100% is not possible because of the overshoot of the neutron flux. Also, in some experiments the speed is reduced to 80%, after which the core remains under the control of xenon influence for ≈1 day.