ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
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Division Spotlight
Young Members Group
The Young Members Group works to encourage and enable all young professional members to be actively involved in the efforts and endeavors of the Society at all levels (Professional Divisions, ANS Governance, Local Sections, etc.) as they transition from the role of a student to the role of a professional. It sponsors non-technical workshops and meetings that provide professional development and networking opportunities for young professionals, collaborates with other Divisions and Groups in developing technical and non-technical content for topical and national meetings, encourages its members to participate in the activities of the Groups and Divisions that are closely related to their professional interests as well as in their local sections, introduces young members to the rules and governance structure of the Society, and nominates young professionals for awards and leadership opportunities available to members.
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.
Stephen M. Bajorek
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 184 | Number 3 | November 2016 | Pages 305-311
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE16-21
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
An understanding of thermal hydraulics, its basic phenomena, and its application to nuclear power plants is vital to safe as well as efficient design and operation. Thermal hydraulics for two-phase flow and heat transfer with nuclear applications has been studied for roughly 50 years, and the current body of knowledge is extensive. Yet, there remain safety issues, and the licensing of new light water reactor designs or new analysis methodologies is rarely simple. This is due to the state of the art in reactor thermal hydraulics as well as the perspective that the regulator, in this case the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), has toward that field of study.
This paper discusses the state of the art in nuclear thermal hydraulics, the regulator’s unique role and perspective, and a view of current challenges. The discussion is meant to point out how the regulator’s perspective has been shaped and hopefully provide some guidance on fulfilling research needs for future applications that may need NRC review.
