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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.
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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Reboot: Nuclear needs a success . . . anywhere
The media have gleefully resurrected the language of a past nuclear renaissance. Beyond the hype and PR, many people in the nuclear community are taking a more measured view of conditions that could lead to new construction: data center demand, the proliferation of new reactor designs and start-ups, and the sudden ascendance of nuclear energy as the power source everyone wants—or wants to talk about.
Once built, large nuclear reactors can provide clean power for at least 80 years—outlasting 10 to 20 presidential administrations. Smaller reactors can provide heat and power outputs tailored to an end user’s needs. With all the new attention, are we any closer to getting past persistent supply chain and workforce issues and building these new plants? And what will the election of Donald Trump to a second term as president mean for nuclear?
As usual, there are more questions than answers, and most come down to money. Several developers are engaging with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission or have already applied for a license, certification, or permit. But designs without paying customers won’t get built. So where are the customers, and what will it take for them to commit?
A. Segev, R. E. Henry, S. G. Bankoff
Nuclear Technology | Volume 46 | Number 3 | December 1979 | Pages 482-492
Technical Paper | Nuclear Power Reactor Safety / Reactor | doi.org/10.13182/NT79-A32356
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Shock tube experiments with a variety of liquids have been conducted in which large pressures were obtained for systems of water-Wood’s metal, butanol-Wood’s metal, and water-molten salt. With the water-Wood’s metal system, three separate regions were observed. When the hot liquid temperature was below 210°C (which can be identified as the spontaneous nucleation temperature), no thermal interaction occurred, and the cold liquid column only bounced if vapor were present initially (region A). When the hot liquid temperature was greater than the spontaneous nucleation temperature but the contact interface temperature was less than this value (region B), the low rate of vaporization resulted in bouncing of the liquid column, which in turn produced high pressures on the order of the theoretical “water hammer” pressure. Those hydrodynamic pressures are larger than the vapor pressure corresponding to the bulk temperature of the hot liquid and larger than the maximum pressure that may be generated from single-phase pressurization. The third region, observed when the hot liquid temperature was above the spontaneous nucleation temperature upon contact (region C), resulted in fast production of vapor and impulses larger than the theoretical impulse for stopping the liquid column. The mechanism for producing the high pressures in region C is a combination of hydrodynamic impact and thermal interaction. Since pressures produced in region C are also on the order of impact pressures, the only indication for thermal interaction is a considerable increase in the resulting impulse of pressure pulses with short rise time (<1.0 ms). When the initial pressure in the system was increased (by means of a thicker diaphragm), the bouncing behavior was suppressed. This was evident from the reduced number of bounces (if any at all), the low relative pressures and impulses, the temperature history, and the shape of pressure pulses. Experiments conducted with Freons and oils (mineral and silicon), which did not result in any explosive type of interaction, also fall in a high-pressure category and are in agreement with pouring experiments. As was shown in these experiments, the hydrodynamic effects may be very significant in any shock tube analyses, especially when multiple interactions are observed. However, this was not the case in the Wright et al. experiments, in which no bouncing was observed and the pressures generated on the first impact were much higher than the theoretical impact pressure. From mixing and heat transfer considerations, it is shown that a limited amount of hot liquid can transfer its energy to the cold liquid during the intermixing stage and produce the observed pressures.