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Thermal Hydraulics
The division provides a forum for focused technical dialogue on thermal hydraulic technology in the nuclear industry. Specifically, this will include heat transfer and fluid mechanics involved in the utilization of nuclear energy. It is intended to attract the highest quality of theoretical and experimental work to ANS, including research on basic phenomena and application to nuclear system design.
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ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
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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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General Kenneth Nichols and the Manhattan Project
Nichols
The Oak Ridger has published the latest in a series of articles about General Kenneth D. Nichols, the Manhattan Project, and the 1954 Atomic Energy Act. The series has been produced by Nichols’ grandniece Barbara Rogers Scollin and Oak Ridge (Tenn.) city historian David Ray Smith. Gen. Nichols (1907–2000) was the district engineer for the Manhattan Engineer District during the Manhattan Project.
As Smith and Scollin explain, Nichols “had supervision of the research and development connected with, and the design, construction, and operation of, all plants required to produce plutonium-239 and uranium-235, including the construction of the towns of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Richland, Washington. The responsibility of his position was massive as he oversaw a workforce of both military and civilian personnel of approximately 125,000; his Oak Ridge office became the center of the wartime atomic energy’s activities.”
A.M. McKay, C.H. Cheh
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 8 | Number 2 | September 1985 | Pages 2206-2212
Blanket and Process Engineering | Proceedings of the Second National Topical Meeting on Tritium Technology in Fission, Fusion and Isotopic Applications (Dayton, Ohio, April 30 to May 2, 1985) | doi.org/10.13182/FST85-A24610
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Catalytic reactors based on the water gas shift reaction were designed, built and tested to provide data for the design of a prototype reactor as an alternative to the uranium hot metal beds in a Fusion Fuel Clean Up (FCU) system. The reactor was designed so it could be implemented into a FCU using only existing technology. A closed loop system was chosen so that safety and net efficiency would not be compromised during upset conditions. The system uses only pure reactants thus eliminating the requirement for a carrier gas. The prototype reactor contains only 10 g of catalyst and is expected to last at least five years. The reactor is small and operates at ∼490 K. It will convert water to hydrogen, at a CO/H2O ratio of 1.5 with greater than 98% efficiency and with an estimated 95% efficiency for a tritiated stream of 90 000 Ci/day. This small decrease in efficiency is not expected to be a concern in the closed loop system proposed. Results show that the reactor performance is very stable even during upset conditions, wide ranges of flow, CO/H2O variance upward from 1.3, and the presence of various contaminants. The maximum tritium inventory during operation in a FCU system is calculated to be 10.4 Ci. The expected waste disposal inventory of the reactor is 3.2 Ci.