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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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Powering the future: How the DOE is fueling nuclear fuel cycle research and development
As global interest in nuclear energy surges, the United States must remain at the forefront of research and development to ensure national energy security, advance nuclear technologies, and promote international cooperation on safety and nonproliferation. A crucial step in achieving this is analyzing how funding and resources are allocated to better understand how to direct future research and development. The Department of Energy has spearheaded this effort by funding hundreds of research projects across the country through the Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP). This initiative has empowered dozens of universities to collaborate toward a nuclear-friendly future.
F. Payot, C. Journeau, C. Suteau, F. Serre (CEA), M. Gradeck, N. Rimbert, A. Lecoanet (Univ of Lorraine), A. Miassoedov (KIT)
Proceedings | 2018 International Congress on Advances in Nuclear Power Plants (ICAPP 2018) | Charlotte, NC, April 8-11, 2018 | Pages 657-666
The strategy used in ASTRID Sodium Fast Reactor Demonstrator to mitigate the consequences of a postulated severe accident relies on the presence of dedicated corium discharge tubes between the active core region and the lower plenum and an in-vessel core catcher in the lower plenum to collect and cool the molten fuel. In this situation, the corium progression from the core towards the core catcher could lead to jet impingement on the core catcher surface and a subsequent degradation of the core-catcher material(s). After a review of the existing experimental database, it appeared necessary to define a dedicated experimental R&D program related to the long-lasting jet impingement on thick material plates. A particular behaviour will be studied when a molten pool is created (named “pool effect”) at the impingement point that reduces the heat transfer at the jet-material interface. In this scope, experimental tests with simulants and prototypic materials will be carried out by using the most possible representative conditions (e.g. Reynolds and Prandtl numbers) for ESFR (European Sodium Fast Reactor) severe accident conditions. Three R&D program have been proposed:
(i) Ice-water jet impingement, the few results in the literature show a good agreement between ice-water jet system and metal wall/metal jet system which justifies the use of such simulant materials for investigating the impingement behaviour. The JOLO facility will be designed at LEMTA Nancy University.
(ii) Molten steel jet impingement on the thick wall. The MOCKA facility in the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology will be used.
(iii) Dedicated test section PLINIUS-2 IMPACT will be designed in future PLINIUS 2 large-mass prototypic-corium experimental platform at CEA Cadarache.
