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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!
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On North Carolina's ratification of Senate Bill 266
I have been a North Carolinian for 62 years and involved in the state’s nuclear energy industry from my high school days to today. I have seen firsthand how North Carolina has flourished. This growth has been due to the state’s enterprising people and strong leaders. Clean, competitive, and always-on nuclear power has also played an important role.
Xiaole Wang, Leisheng Chen, Ruixiang Sun, Jaeyoung Lee
Nuclear Technology | Volume 211 | Number 8 | August 2025 | Pages 1662-1673
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2024.2425915
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Inserting small spheres of a fixed size into a pebble bed can enhance heat transfer, lower the surface temperature of fuel elements, and reduce the risk of local hot spots. However, does a multisized pebble bed outperform a double-sized pebble bed in terms of heat transfer? To address this question, numerical simulations were conducted to evaluate the heat transfer characteristics of face-centered-cubic-structured pebble beds with two and three types of small spheres, maintaining a constant solid volume. The results showed that the average heat transfer coefficients of the multisized pebble bed were nearly identical to those of the double-sized bed. This suggests that using two types of small spheres does not necessarily provide better heat transfer performance than using a double-sized bed. Additionally, the number, size, and placement of the spheres influenced the pressure drop. These findings offer insights into the heat transfer behavior of high-temperature reactor cores and provide a useful reference for the design of future pebble bed reactor cores.