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Division Spotlight
Human Factors, Instrumentation & Controls
Improving task performance, system reliability, system and personnel safety, efficiency, and effectiveness are the division's main objectives. Its major areas of interest include task design, procedures, training, instrument and control layout and placement, stress control, anthropometrics, psychological input, and motivation.
Meeting Spotlight
Utility Working Conference and Vendor Technology Expo (UWC 2024)
August 4–7, 2024
Marco Island, FL|JW Marriott Marco Island
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
NRC engineers share their expertise at the University of Puerto Rico
Robert Roche-Rivera and Marcos Rolón-Acevedo are licensed professional engineers who work at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. They are also alumni of the University of Puerto Rico–Mayagüez (UPRM) and have been sharing their knowledge and experience with students at their alma mater since last year, serving as adjunct professors in the university’s Department of Mechanical Engineering. During the 2023–2024 school year, they each taught two courses: Fundamentals of Nuclear Science and Engineering, and Nuclear Power Plant Engineering.
Jae-Woo Ju, Sang-Moon Lee, Kwang-Yong Kim
Nuclear Technology | Volume 181 | Number 2 | February 2013 | Pages 274-281
Technical Paper | Fission Reactors/Thermal Hydraulics | doi.org/10.13182/NT13-A15783
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The outlet plenum of a pebble bed modular-type gas-cooled nuclear reactor was optimized using three-dimensional Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes analysis and optimization techniques. A shear stress transport turbulence model was used as a turbulence closure. Two design variables for the optimization were selected: dimensionless displacement on the horizontal line and the angle of rotation about the center of gravity of the roof support block. The objective function was defined as a pressure drop between the inlet and the outlet of the outlet plenum. Latin hypercube sampling was used for selecting experimental design points within the design space. The objective function value was obtained at each design point through numerical analysis. The results show that the optimal design significantly improved the performance of the outlet plenum with respect to pressure drop. Through optimization, the pressure drop decreased by 11.8% compared to the pressure drop under the reference geometry.