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Human Factors, Instrumentation & Controls
Improving task performance, system reliability, system and personnel safety, efficiency, and effectiveness are the division's main objectives. Its major areas of interest include task design, procedures, training, instrument and control layout and placement, stress control, anthropometrics, psychological input, and motivation.
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2025 ANS Annual Conference
June 15–18, 2025
Chicago, IL|Chicago Marriott Downtown
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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
Amir Ali, Kerry J. Howe, Edward D. Blandford
Nuclear Technology | Volume 204 | Number 3 | December 2018 | Pages 318-329
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2018.1480212
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A series of experiments on vertical head loss modules or columns to measure conventional and chemical head loss was carried out to support the resolution of Generic Safety Issue 191 for the Vogtle nuclear power plant (NPP). The head loss (conventional and chemical) was measured on multi-constituent fibrous debris beds of different particulate-to-fiber ratios (η). The debris beds were generated on a horizontal screen following the new procedure developed at the University of New Mexico and are summarized herein. The generated debris beds have been shown to produce repeatable and stable conventional head loss (CHL) and have the ability to detect chemical surrogates. Prototypical Vogtle NPP containment debris materials were used to form three different particulate-to-fiber–ratio (η) debris beds: 6.89 (thin bed), 2 (intermediate bed), and 1.15 (thick bed). The particulates were presented as 90% epoxy paint, 5% inorganic zinc, and 5% latent debris dirt by mass. The obtained results show that the measured CHL increased as the particulate mass increased in the debris beds. The average measured CHL values were 9.37, 6.4, and 5.66 H2O'' for η = 1.15, 2, and 6.89 debris beds, respectively. The debris beds with η = 2 and 1.15 were selected for the chemical head loss experiments.
Standard aluminum (Al) chemical precipitates with specific batches were introduced to the head loss columns, and chemical head loss was measured. Precipitates prepared following the WCAP-16530-NP-A procedure [Lane et al., WCAP-16530-NP-A, “Evaluation of Post-Accident Chemical Effects in Containment Sump Fluids to Support GSI-191,” Westinghouse Electric Company (2008)] or formed in situ by injecting metal salts under two different rates (0.75 and 7.5 mL/min) were tested. The results show that the thin debris bed (~10 mm) was more sensitive to the chemical precipitates prepared following the WCAP procedure compared to the intermediate debris bed (~25 mm) and thick debris bed (~55 mm). The measured chemical head loss was 0.35, 0.1, and 0.02 H2O''/mg of Al filtered by the debris beds. The in situ injection method has shown higher measured chemical head loss per unit mass of filtered precipitates than the WCAP surrogates for the debris beds of η = 2 (intermediate bed) and 1.15 (thick bed). Also, the results show a nonconclusive effect on the injection rate of metal salt to form in situ chemical precipitates on the measured chemical head loss.