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Fusion Energy
This division promotes the development and timely introduction of fusion energy as a sustainable energy source with favorable economic, environmental, and safety attributes. The division cooperates with other organizations on common issues of multidisciplinary fusion science and technology, conducts professional meetings, and disseminates technical information in support of these goals. Members focus on the assessment and resolution of critical developmental issues for practical fusion energy applications.
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2024 ANS Winter Conference and Expo
November 17–21, 2024
Orlando, FL|Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld
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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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New laws offer nuclear industry incentives for existing power plant uprates
This year, the U.S. nuclear industry received a much-needed economic boost that could help preserve operating nuclear power plants and incentivize upgrades that extend their lifespan and power output.
Signed into law in 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act offers production tax credits (PTCs) for existing nuclear power plants and either PTCs or investment tax credits (ITCs) for new carbon-free generation. These credits could make power uprates—increasing the maximum power level at which a commercial plant may operate—a much more appealing option for utilities.
Kune Y. Suh
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 116 | Number 4 | April 1994 | Pages 245-268
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE94-A18985
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
An integral, fast-running computational model is developed to simulate the thermal-hydraulic and melt progression behavior in a nuclear reactor rod bundle under severe fuel damage conditions. This consists of the submodels for calculating steaming from the core, hydrogen formation, heat transfer in and out of the core, cooling from core spray or injection, and, most importantly, fuel melting, relocation, and freezing with chemical interactions taking place among the material constituents in a degrading core. The integral model is applied to three German severe fuel damage tests to analyze the core thermal and melt behavior: CORA-16 (18-rod bundle and slow cooling), CORA-17 (18-rod bundle and quenching), and CORA-18 (48-rod bundle and slow cooling). Results of the temperature response of the fuel rods, the channel box, and the absorber blade; hydrogen generation from the fuel rod and the channel box; and core material eutectic formation, melt relocation, and blockage formation are discussed. Reasonable agreement is observed for component temperatures at midelevation where prediction and measurement uncertainties are minimal. However, discrepancies or uncertainties are noticed for hydrogen generation and core-melt progression. The experimentally observed peak generation of hydrogen upon reflooding is not able to be reproduced, and the total amount generated is generally underpredicted primarily because of the early relocation of the Zircaloy fuel channel box and cladding. Also, difficulties are encountered in the process of assessing the core-melt formation and the relocation model because of either modeling uncertainties or a lack of definitive metallurgical data as a function of time throughout the transient.