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
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
Latest Magazine Issues
Mar 2026
Jan 2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
April 2026
Nuclear Technology
February 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Going Nuclear: Notes from the officially unofficial book tour
I work in the analytical labs at one of Europe’s oldest and largest nuclear sites: Sellafield, in northwestern England. I spend my days at the fume hood front, pipette in one hand and radiation probe in the other (and dosimeter pinned to my chest, of course). Outside the lab, I have a second job: I moonlight as a writer and public speaker. My new popular science book—Going Nuclear: How the Atom Will Save the World—came out last summer, and it feels like my life has been running at full power ever since.
Toshiya Takaki, Michio Murase, Kosuke Hayashi, Akio Tomiyama
Nuclear Technology | Volume 208 | Number 3 | March 2022 | Pages 503-519
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2021.1927616
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The objective of this study was to reduce the uncertainties of correlations for flow characteristics in vertical pipes under flooding at the top end. The void fraction α, pressure gradient dP/dz, and countercurrent flow limitation (CCFL) were previously measured with diameter D = 40 mm and working fluid of air and water. The wall friction and interfacial friction factors (fw and fi) were obtained based on the annular flow model, and CCFL and fw were evaluated in detail. Hence, attention was turned to detailed evaluations of α and fi. Liquid film thickness δ and interfacial friction factor fi for smooth film (SF) due to flooding at the top end were obtained using the previously derived fw correlation and existing dP/dz data with D = 20 to 50.8 mm and pressure P = 0.1 to 4.1 MPa, and empirical correlations for δ and fi were derived. The δ term was well expressed by a function of the liquid Reynolds number ReL, and the uncertainty of the δ correlation was ±0.0062 for α = 0.87 to 0.98. fi was expressed by a function of δ/L (where L is the Laplace length) or the Kutateladze parameter KG*, the dimensionless diameter D* (=D/L), and the density ratio of the gas and liquid phases ρG/ρL. The applicability of the derived correlations to conditions of D = 300 mm and P = 7 MPa was evaluated, and the fi correlation was modified based on fi values computed with the δ correlation. The drift-flux parameters for SF were also considered.