ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
Latest Magazine Issues
Mar 2026
Jan 2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
April 2026
Nuclear Technology
February 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Nuclear News accepting 2026 nominations for 40 Under 40
The nomination period for the 2026 Nuclear News 40 Under 40 list is now open. The list aims to highlight people in the nuclear community who are making significant, early-career achievements. All nominations must be submitted online by 11:59 p.m. (CDT) on May 1, 2026.
Yasushi Nomura, James L. Anderson
Nuclear Technology | Volume 87 | Number 4 | December 1989 | Pages 912-925
Technical Paper | TMI-2: Decontamination and Waste Management / Nuclear Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT89-A27685
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The refill phenomena occurring from 200 to 217 min of the Three Mile Island Unit 2 accident were analyzed by using measurement data including the reactor coolant system (RCS) pressure and the pressurizer level. At 200 min, the high-pressure injection (HPI) system began to inject water into the RCS, resulting in a primary system depressurization due to steam condensation; and the pressurizer water drained into the reactor vessel, increasing the liquid level at the core. It is believed that the core was completely covered by water by ∼207 min, when the pressurizer level decrease and the RCS depressurization stopped. Continued HPI resulted in increasing hot-leg water levels; and the pressurizer level began to increase at ∼210 min, when water reached the level of the surgeline entrance to the hot leg. Analysis of the refill assuming uniform liquid levels in the RCS fails to predict the observed phenomena. A set of equations describing the refill phenomena and accounting for compression of noncondensable gases has been derived from theoretical considerations, and solutions for water levels throughout the RCS have been obtained to correctly predict the phenomena occurring during the refill period.