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
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
Latest Magazine Issues
Mar 2026
Jul 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
March 2026
Nuclear Technology
February 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
April 2026
Latest News
NRC approves TerraPower construction permit
Today, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced that it has approved TerraPower’s construction permit application for Kemmerer Unit 1, the company’s first deployment of Natrium, its flagship sodium fast reactor.
This approval is a significant milestone on three fronts. For TerraPower, it represents another step forward in demonstrating its technology. For the Department of Energy, it reflects progress (despite delays) for the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP). For the NRC, it is the first approval granted to a commercial reactor in nearly a decade—and the first approval of a commercial non–light water reactor in more than 40 years.
Li-Min Jin, Shuai Wu, Tong Li, Song Xue, Jia-Hua Chen, Wan-Qian Zhu
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 196 | Number 8 | August 2022 | Pages 1020-1029
Technical Note | doi.org/10.1080/00295639.2022.2029676
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
To study the influence of a helical wire coil on the convective heat transfer capacity of the cylindrical cooling tube, then to obtain the enhanced cooling characteristics, a comparative analysis is performed between the cases with and without the wire coil based on finite element analysis. In particular, a specific model of the cooling tube with both the smooth inner wall areas and helical wire coil area is established. By comparing the flow velocities, fluid pressures, and convective heat transfer coefficients, etc., the significant effect of a helical wire coil on improving the convective heat transfer capacity is explained quantitatively. In addition, the enhanced cooling mechanism can be described in three points, i.e., increasing the thermal contact area, thinning or destroying the boundary layer, and promoting the formation of turbulence.