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
Jul 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
March 2026
Nuclear Technology
February 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
April 2026
Latest News
NRC approves TerraPower construction permit
Today, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced that it has approved TerraPower’s construction permit application for Kemmerer Unit 1, the company’s first deployment of Natrium, its flagship sodium fast reactor.
This approval is a significant milestone on three fronts. For TerraPower, it represents another step forward in demonstrating its technology. For the Department of Energy, it reflects progress (despite delays) for the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP). For the NRC, it is the first approval granted to a commercial reactor in nearly a decade—and the first approval of a commercial non–light water reactor in more than 40 years.
Pavel Kudinov, Aram Karbojian, Weimin Ma, Truc-Nam Dinh
Nuclear Technology | Volume 170 | Number 1 | April 2010 | Pages 219-230
Technical Paper | Special Issue on the 2008 International Congress on Advances in Nuclear Power Plants / Thermal Hydraulics | doi.org/10.13182/NT10-A9460
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Characteristics of corium debris beds formed in a severe core melt accident are studied in the Debris Bed Formation-Snapshot (DEFOR-S) test campaign, in which superheated binary-oxidic melts (both eutectic and noneutectic compositions) as the corium simulants are discharged into a water pool. Water subcooling and pool depth are found to significantly influence the debris fragments' morphology and agglomeration. When particle agglomeration is absent, the tests produced debris beds with porosity of [approximately]60 to 70%. This porosity is significantly higher than the [approximately]40% porosity broadly used in contemporary analysis of corium debris coolability in light water reactor severe accidents. The impact of debris formation on corium coolability is further complicated by debris fragments' sharp edges, roughened surfaces, and cavities that are partially or fully encapsulated within the debris fragments. These observations are made consistently in both the DEFOR-S experiments and other tests with prototypic and simulant corium melts. Synthesis of the debris fragments from the DEFOR-S tests conducted under different melt and coolant conditions reveal trends in particle size, particle sphericity, surface roughness, sharp edges, and internal porosity as functions of water subcooling and melt composition. Qualitative analysis and discussion reaffirm the complex interplay between contributing processes (droplet interfacial instability and breakup, droplet cooling and solidification, cavity formation and solid fracture) on particle morphology and, consequently, on the characteristics of the debris beds.