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.
Division Spotlight
Fusion Energy
This division promotes the development and timely introduction of fusion energy as a sustainable energy source with favorable economic, environmental, and safety attributes. The division cooperates with other organizations on common issues of multidisciplinary fusion science and technology, conducts professional meetings, and disseminates technical information in support of these goals. Members focus on the assessment and resolution of critical developmental issues for practical fusion energy applications.
Meeting Spotlight
2025 ANS Annual Conference
June 15–18, 2025
Chicago, IL|Chicago Marriott 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!
Latest Magazine Issues
May 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
July 2025
Nuclear Technology
June 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
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
Constantine P. Tzanos
Nuclear Technology | Volume 183 | Number 1 | July 2013 | Pages 88-100
Technical Paper | Thermal Hydraulics | doi.org/10.13182/NT13-A16994
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Heat transfer coefficients have been computed for flow in a pipe and flow between two plates with correlations and turbulence models based on Reynolds Averaging of the Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations. Predictions of the correlations and those of RANS turbulence models have been compared with experimental data of flow in a pipe. The correlations considered are those of Dittus-Boelter, Seider-Tate, Petukhov, and Sleicher-Rouse, while the turbulence models include the standard high Reynolds number, the Reynolds stress model, the low Reynolds number, and the v2f model. There are significant differences in the predictions of the correlations as well as in those of the turbulence models. Although computational fluid dynamics simulations have wider applicability and provide more information than simulations using correlations, the heat transfer coefficient predicted by the turbulence models is not always more accurate than that predicted by correlations. The discrepancy in the heat transfer coefficient predicted by the turbulence models is due mainly to discrepancies in the prediction of turbulence near the wall and to the uncertainty in the value of the turbulent Prandtl number.