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Mathematics & Computation
Division members promote the advancement of mathematical and computational methods for solving problems arising in all disciplines encompassed by the Society. They place particular emphasis on numerical techniques for efficient computer applications to aid in the dissemination, integration, and proper use of computer codes, including preparation of computational benchmark and development of standards for computing practices, and to encourage the development on new computer codes and broaden their use.
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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!
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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
Soon K. Lee, Maolong Liu, Nicholas R. Brown, Kurt A. Terrani, Youho Lee
Nuclear Technology | Volume 206 | Number 2 | February 2020 | Pages 339-346
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2019.1670010
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Steady-state internal flow boiling experiments were conducted on various materials, including accident tolerant fuel cladding material Fe–12Cr–6Al (C26M2) alloy, Zircaloy, and metal-based materials, at atmospheric pressure (84 kPa), 10°C inlet subcooling, and 200 kg/m2‧s mass flow entering the test tubes until critical heat flux (CHF) was reached. The clad thickness effects on flow boiling CHF were evaluated showing a negative relation between CHF and clad thickness up to 0.711 mm. An approach was established to mechanistically understand the measured CHF differences among the tested materials using thermal effusivity, activity, diffusivity, and surface thermal economy. No clear relations were observed within the range of thermal properties of the tested materials. Compared to past CHF data for a mass flux of 300 kg/m2‧s, the CHF data for 200 kg/m2‧s showed increased relative differences among materials. This result implies that higher mass flux may further decrease apparent material sensitivity to CHF.
