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
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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
Sep 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
September 2025
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
October 2025
Latest News
Wright officially sworn in for third term at the NRC
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission recently announced that David Wright, after being nominated by President Trump and confirmed by the Senate, was ceremonially sworn in as NRC chair on September 8.
This swearing in comes more than a month after Wright began his third term on the commission; he began leading as chair July 31. His term will conclude on June 30, 2030.
Jie Liu, Seiichi Koshizuka, Yoshiaki Oka
Nuclear Technology | Volume 144 | Number 3 | December 2003 | Pages 324-336
Technical Paper | Thermal Hydraulics | doi.org/10.13182/NT03-A3448
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A computer code PROVER-II is developed for the propagation phase of a sodium vapor explosion. A new thermal fragmentation model is proposed that includes three kinds of timescales for modeling the instant fragmentation, spontaneous nucleation fragmentation, and normal boiling fragmentation. The pressure wave propagation in a sodium vapor explosion is analyzed and compared with that in a steam explosion. The energy conversion ratio of an in-vessel sodium vapor explosion is calculated by using hydrodynamic and thermal fragmentation mechanisms, and sensitivity analyses are carried out for some parameters. The initial thermal conditions for energetic fuel-coolant interactions in a sodium system are examined. Results show that the high saturation temperature of sodium results in a much lower pressure peak in a sodium vapor explosion compared to a steam explosion, and the mechanical energy release is limited by the mass of melt participating in the explosion during the core disruptive accident in liquid-metal-cooled fast breeder reactors.