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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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2025 ANS Annual Conference
June 15–18, 2025
Chicago, IL|Chicago Marriott 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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High-temperature plumbing and advanced reactors
The use of nuclear fission power and its role in impacting climate change is hotly debated. Fission advocates argue that short-term solutions would involve the rapid deployment of Gen III+ nuclear reactors, like Vogtle-3 and -4, while long-term climate change impact would rely on the creation and implementation of Gen IV reactors, “inherently safe” reactors that use passive laws of physics and chemistry rather than active controls such as valves and pumps to operate safely. While Gen IV reactors vary in many ways, one thing unites nearly all of them: the use of exotic, high-temperature coolants. These fluids, like molten salts and liquid metals, can enable reactor engineers to design much safer nuclear reactors—ultimately because the boiling point of each fluid is extremely high. Fluids that remain liquid over large temperature ranges can provide good heat transfer through many demanding conditions, all with minimal pressurization. Although the most apparent use for these fluids is advanced fission power, they have the potential to be applied to other power generation sources such as fusion, thermal storage, solar, or high-temperature process heat.1–3
A. Ramesh, R. Balasubramanian
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 197 | Number 7 | July 2023 | Pages 1491-1505
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295639.2022.2147384
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
On the basis of the generalized van der Waals equations of state, the quasispinodal and the supercritical-point parameters of the Generation IV nuclear reactor coolant materials, namely, sodium, lead and bismuth, have been determined. To improve accuracy, the known van der Waals equation of state has been generalized in three different ways. That is, the attractive term in the van der Waals equation of state has been modified by introducing new substance-specific parameters. The parameters of the generalized van der Waals equations of state have been determined through vapor-liquid critical-point parameters. The mean percentage error in the determined quasispinodal for sodium, lead, and bismuth is less than 3% in comparison with the Semenchenko correlation. T he temperature correlation of the quasispinodal pressure for sodium, lead, and bismuth, formulated in this work, is statistically excellent with the mean correlation coefficient of 0.99995 and the coefficient of determination of 0.999895. The mean supercritical-point parameters of sodium, lead, and bismuth, based on the three-parameter generalized van der Waals equations of state, are found to be (28.80 MPa, 15.1563 10−5 m3/mol, and 2563 K), (207.2275 MPa, 8.876 10−5 m3/mol, and 5278 K) and (155.338 MPa, 10.5923 10−5 m3/mol, and 4788 K) respectively. The generalized van der Waals equations of state are presented in the reduced form from which follows the law of corresponding states.
