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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.
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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
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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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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.
Takashi Takata, Akira Yamaguchi, Kaori Fukuzawa, Kiyoshi Matsubara
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 150 | Number 2 | June 2005 | Pages 221-236
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE05-A2511
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A numerical methodology of sodium-water reaction (SWR) and a coupling method of SWR and multiphase flow analysis are proposed. Two SWR models are considered. One is a surface reaction model, which assumes that water vapor reacts with liquid sodium at the gas-liquid interface. The surface reaction is likely to be dominant in the initial phase of SWR. The analogy between mass and heat transfers is assumed to evaluate the diffusion-controlled reaction rate. The other is a gas-phase reaction model. If chemical reaction heating due to the surface reaction is large enough to vaporize the liquid sodium, it turns over in the gas-phase reaction. In the gas-phase reaction, water vapor reacts with sodium gas. The reaction mechanisms in the gas-phase reaction are investigated using an ab initio molecular orbital method. The reaction rate of the gas-phase reaction described by the Arrhenius law is obtained from the transition-state theory or the capture theory. The reaction models are employed in a compressible multifluid and one-pressure model using the Highly Simplified Marker and Cell method for multiphase flow analysis. As numerical examples, surface reaction with multiphase flow analysis and simplified gas-phase reaction analyses are carried out. It is confirmed that the present method is practically applicable to the coupling phenomena of SWR and multiphase flow.