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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.
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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How to talk about nuclear
In your career as a professional in the nuclear community, chances are you will, at some point, be asked (or volunteer) to talk to at least one layperson about the technology you know and love. You might even be asked to present to a whole group of nonnuclear folks, perhaps as a pitch to some company tangential to your company’s business. So, without further ado, let me give you some pointers on the best way to approach this important and surprisingly complicated task.
Charles D. Scott
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 34 | Number 3 | December 1968 | Pages 214-223
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE68-A21087
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The cosorption of water and carbon dioxide by molecular sieves is a potential method of removing these contaminants from the helium coolant of a nuclear gas cooled reactor. This system was experimentally investigated by both differential- and deep-bed tests at a temperature of 25°C; at pressures of 1 to 30 atm for differential tests and 10 to 30 atm for deep-bed tests; with gas flow rates of 0.0010 to 0.0138 g/(cm2 sec); and with inlet water or carbon dioxide concentrations of 3.4 × 10−8 to 9.3 × 10−7 g moles/cm3. These tests showed that the system could be described by the rate limiting step of intracrystalline diffusion with diffusion coefficients at 25°C of 1.92 × 10−10 cm2/sec for water and 3.11 × 10−10 cm2/sec for CO2. Sorbed CO2 was found to be irreversibly replaced by sorbed water, and the CO2 loading was dependent on water concentration. Differential equations were derived to describe the system of the cosorption of two interacting fluid species with Freundlich-type isotherms in a flowing fluid by a fixed bed of solids in which the sorption rate is controlled by intracrystalline diffusion. The set of differential equations was solved by a finite difference method for the case of water and carbon dioxide cosorption by molecular sieves. Generalized breakthrough curves for both water and CO2 were determined, and their use for design purposes is demonstrated.
