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Division Spotlight
Reactor Physics
The division's objectives are to promote the advancement of knowledge and understanding of the fundamental physical phenomena characterizing nuclear reactors and other nuclear systems. The division encourages research and disseminates information through meetings and publications. Areas of technical interest include nuclear data, particle interactions and transport, reactor and nuclear systems analysis, methods, design, validation and operating experience and standards. The Wigner Award heads the awards program.
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2024 ANS Annual Conference
June 16–19, 2024
Las Vegas, NV|Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
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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Can hydrogen be the transportation fuel in an otherwise nuclear economy?
Let’s face it: The global economy should be powered primarily by nuclear power. And it probably will by the end of this century, with a still-significant assist from renewables and hydro. Once nuclear systems are dominant, the costs come down to where gas is now; and when carbon emissions are reduced to a small portion of their present state, it will become obvious that most other sources are only good in niche settings. I mean, why use small modular reactors to load-follow when they can just produce that power instead of buffering it?
Alexander W. Abboud, Donna P. Guillen (INL), Richard Pokorny (UCT Prague)
Proceedings | Advances in Thermal Hydraulics 2018 | Orlando, FL, November 11-15, 2018 | Pages 557-571
A computational fluid dynamics model was developed to support the testing of a laboratory-scale waste glass melter. This work focuses on providing an understanding of how the heat flux convected from the melt pool is affected by the forced bubbling and by the foam layer underneath the cold cap formed by reaction gases. Simulations were performed for high-level waste glass simulants with viscosities near the minimum and maximum values that are expected during the Hanford tank waste vitrification campaign. The model resolves the forced convection bubbling in the molten glass and bubbles in the foam that forms beneath the cold cap. The glass with higher viscosity shows the formation of significantly larger bubbles to overcome the higher viscous force. The foaming thickness under the cold cap in higher viscosity cases is cleared less easily than the low viscosity glass case. However, the percentage of foam in contact with the cold cap is decreased at higher viscosity since the higher viscous force tends to prevent direct contact. This trend is reversed when there is no forced convection supplied by the bubblers. The heat fluxes at the bottom of the cold cap are compared for cases with and without forced convection bubbling. As expected, the convective heat flux increases with bubbling, and the average values for heat transfer coefficients from the CFD show reasonable agreement with Nusselt number correlations for flat plates.