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Division Spotlight
Nuclear Criticality Safety
NCSD provides communication among nuclear criticality safety professionals through the development of standards, the evolution of training methods and materials, the presentation of technical data and procedures, and the creation of specialty publications. In these ways, the division furthers the exchange of technical information on nuclear criticality safety with the ultimate goal of promoting the safe handling of fissionable materials outside reactors.
Meeting Spotlight
Conference on Nuclear Training and Education: A Biennial International Forum (CONTE 2025)
February 3–6, 2025
Amelia Island, FL|Omni Amelia Island Resort
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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Latest News
Westinghouse’s lunar microreactor concept gets a contract for continued R&D
Westinghouse Electric Company announced last week that NASA and the Department of Energy have awarded the company a contract to continue developing a lunar microreactor concept for the Fission Surface Power (FSP) project.
R. H. Chen, M. L. Corradini, G. H. Su, S. Z. Qiu
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 173 | Number 1 | January 2013 | Pages 1-14
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE12-10
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A molten fuel breakup model that considers solidification effects is proposed in this paper. Both the effect of a solid crust layer and the effect of thermal stresses on the fuel particle fragmentation are taken into account in this model. This solidification model predicts the transient temperature profile and crust layer thickness of the fuel particle by numerically solving the Fourier heat conduction equation under specific initial and boundary conditions. This fuel particle breakup model and transient temperature profile model were incorporated into the TEXAS fuel-coolant interaction (FCI) model; this revised TEXAS FCI model is called TEXAS-VI. This paper compares TEXAS-VI to the FARO L14 experiment (FARO L14), for which fuel-coolant mixing and quench data have been published. The FARO L14 pressure history, liquid water pool temperature, and vapor temperature were found to be in good agreement with the revised model predictions. This mixing behavior will also have an impact on FCI explosion energetics. The solidification effect is under investigation for energetics.