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Division Spotlight
Thermal Hydraulics
The division provides a forum for focused technical dialogue on thermal hydraulic technology in the nuclear industry. Specifically, this will include heat transfer and fluid mechanics involved in the utilization of nuclear energy. It is intended to attract the highest quality of theoretical and experimental work to ANS, including research on basic phenomena and application to nuclear system design.
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
Vogtle-3 shuts down for valve issue
One of the new Vogtle units in Georgia was shut down unexpectedly on Monday last week for a valve issue that has since been investigated and repaired. According to multiple local news outlets, Georgia Power reported on July 17 that Unit 3 was back in service.
Southern Company spokesperson Jacob Hawkins confirmed that Vogtle-3 went off line at 9:25 p.m. local time on July 8 “due to lowering water levels in the steam generators caused by a valve issue on one of the three main feedwater pumps.”
Zoltán Hózer, Péter Windberg, Imre Nagy, László Maróti, Lajos Matus, Márta Horváth, Anna Pintér Csordás, Márton Balaskó, Aladár Czitrovszky, Péter Jani
Nuclear Technology | Volume 141 | Number 3 | March 2003 | Pages 244-256
Technical Paper | Thermal Hydraulics | doi.org/10.13182/NT03-A3365
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In the late phase of a severe reactor accident, the molten corium interacts with the vessel wall, and it can lead to the failure of the lower head. Through the failed bottom wall, part of the corium can flow into the cavity, and air can enter the primary circuit. The residual fuel in the core periphery will be further oxidized in air atmosphere. The degradation process will accelerate, and new chemical species will be formed, which can have an impact on the release of radioactive materials.Two experiments were carried out with electrically heated nine-rod pressurized water reactor-type bundles in the CODEX (COre Degradation EXperiment) facility to provide experimental data on the behavior of real fuel bundles under air oxidation conditions. The main objective of the tests was the investigation of oxidation phenomena, and some other important aspects (e.g., enhanced fission product release) were not addressed.The CODEX air ingress tests indicated the acceleration of oxidation phenomena and core degradation processes during the late phase of the vessel melt through accident, when air can have access to the residual fuel bundles in the reactor core. The degradation process was accompanied with zirconium-nitride formation and release of uranium-rich aerosols.