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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.
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ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
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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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Norway’s Halden reactor takes first step toward decommissioning
The government of Norway has granted the transfer of the Halden research reactor from the Institute for Energy Technology (IFE) to the state agency Norwegian Nuclear Decommissioning (NND). The 25-MWt Halden boiling water reactor operated from 1958 to 2018 and was used in the research of nuclear fuel, reactor internals, plant procedures and monitoring, and human factors.
Hiroshige Kumamaru, Yutaka Kukita, Hideaki Asaka, Ming Wang, Etsuo Ohtani
Nuclear Technology | Volume 126 | Number 3 | June 1999 | Pages 331-339
Technical Note | Thermal Hydraulics | doi.org/10.13182/NT99-A2978
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The effectiveness of intentional depressurization of a pressurized water reactor primary system as a means to maintain core cooling during a small-break loss-of-coolant accident (SBLOCA) was studied. The investigation was based on experiments conducted at the Rig of Safety Assessment-V (ROSA-V) Large Scale Test Facility (LSTF) and RELAP5/MOD3 code calculations performed for LSTF geometry, together with single lumped-volume model calculations - all simulating hypothetical total failure of the high-pressure-injection system. For cold-leg breaks ≶2.5% of the leg cross-sectional area, experimental and analytical results have shown that the break discharge depressurizes the primary system to the accumulator (ACC) and low-pressure-injection (LPI) system injection pressures, and thus the core cladding temperature would be maintained below ~1000 K. For break areas ≤1.0%, on the other hand, additional depressurization means are needed to initiate the ACC injection before the core is overheated. RELAP5/MOD3 calculations have shown that steam venting through the pressurizer power-operated relief valves would be effective in depressurizing the primary system to the ACC and LPI pressures. However, for break areas <0.5%, the peak cladding temperature would finally reach the safety criterion of 1473 K.