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Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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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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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.
M. F. Young, L. T. Pong
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 98 | Number 1 | January 1988 | Pages 1-15
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE88-A23521
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
During a severe nuclear plant accident, molten fuel can contact water in the core region, the lower plenum, or in the cavity below the reactor vessel. The interactions that take place can vary from benign boiling to explosive vaporization. If the fuel contains a metallic component, rapid oxidation of the metal can occur during the fuel/coolant interaction (FCI). The hydrogen generated from this reaction can increase the threat to containment integrity. Experiments have been conducted with 10 to 20 kg of two kinds of thermite-generated molten fuel simulants: corium and iron-aluminum oxide. Both saturated and subcooled water were employed as coolants. Explosive and nonexplosive FCIs were observed. Up to 30% of the metal was reacted in some cases. For some of the tests, the extent of reaction appeared to depend more on the water subcooling than on the degree of fragmentation as measured by posttest sieving. Models of hydrogen generation are proposed and compared to a broad range of experiments. Predictions agree qualitatively with many of the experimental observations. A more accurate model of hydrogen generation would have to be coupled to a dynamic thermal-hydraulic calculation of the important phases of an FCI: coarse mixing, fine fragmentation, explosion propagation, and vapor expansion.