ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
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Division Spotlight
Radiation Protection & Shielding
The Radiation Protection and Shielding Division is developing and promoting radiation protection and shielding aspects of nuclear science and technology — including interaction of nuclear radiation with materials and biological systems, instruments and techniques for the measurement of nuclear radiation fields, and radiation shield design and evaluation.
Meeting Spotlight
2024 ANS Winter Conference and Expo
November 17–21, 2024
Orlando, FL|Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld
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
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.
M. L. Corradini
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 78 | Number 2 | June 1981 | Pages 154-170
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE81-A20101
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
During the past few years, over 300 small-scale experiments have been performed by Nelson at Sandia National Laboratories, investigating the triggering of steam explosions over a variety of initial conditions. The primary purpose of this paper is to present the results of phenomenological modeling and analyses that may explain the experimental observations. These three major conclusions are suggested by the analysis. Noncondensible gases generated by fuel oxidation appear to be the cause of steam explosion suppression for metallic fuel melts, causing a more stable film between the hot and cold liquids. Suppression of the explosion by high ambient pressure or high water temperature is caused by the initial coolant vapor film becoming more stable inhibiting film collapse. All the above effects appear to be trigger related. Therefore, an explosion can be generated if the trigger magnitude is sufficiently increased.