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Decommissioning & Environmental Sciences
The mission of the Decommissioning and Environmental Sciences (DES) Division is to promote the development and use of those skills and technologies associated with the use of nuclear energy and the optimal management and stewardship of the environment, sustainable development, decommissioning, remediation, reutilization, and long-term surveillance and maintenance of nuclear-related installations, and sites. The target audience for this effort is the membership of the Division, the Society, and the public at large.
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International Conference on Mathematics and Computational Methods Applied to Nuclear Science and Engineering (M&C 2025)
April 27–30, 2025
Denver, CO|The Westin Denver Downtown
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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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Argonne’s METL gears up to test more sodium fast reactor components
Argonne National Laboratory has successfully swapped out an aging cold trap in the sodium test loop called METL (Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop), the Department of Energy announced April 23. The upgrade is the first of its kind in the United States in more than 30 years, according to the DOE, and will help test components and operations for the sodium-cooled fast reactors being developed now.
Lawrence E. Wiles, Thomas L. George
Nuclear Technology | Volume 142 | Number 1 | April 2003 | Pages 77-91
Technical Paper | RETRAN | doi.org/10.13182/NT03-A3375
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
GOTHIC version 7.0 was used to model five tests that were conducted in the Nuclear Power Engineering Corporation facility in Japan. The tests involved steam and helium injection into a preheated, spray-moderated, 1/4-scale model of a pressurized water reactor dry containment. Comparison of GOTHIC predictions to measured data for pressure, vapor temperatures, structure surface temperatures, and helium concentrations provided the opportunity to evaluate methods for modeling gas dispersion, drop heat and mass transfer, and surface heat transfer.The test facility includes three floors. The lower two floors are partitioned into a variety of rooms that simulate the lower regions of the modeled containment. On the upper floor, rooms that simulate the steam generator enclosures and the pressurizer enclosure extend into the dome, which represents about two-thirds of the total volume of the containment.The GOTHIC model was defined with 30 control volumes using a mix of lumped parameter volumes and subdivided volumes that employ a three-dimensional mesh. Each volume included several thermal conductors to model the various structures. More than 100 flow paths were used to model the hydraulic connections.Comparison of predictions to data showed that enhanced grid resolution in the vicinity of the steam-helium release point served to limit dispersion of the steam-helium plume. The data comparisons also suggested that spray effectiveness was reduced by drop impact with the containment wall and by the high drop concentration. The data comparisons further suggested that the presence of condensation, sprays, splashing, and other wetting mechanisms should be considered to obtain a reasonable estimate of the effect of liquid films on the structure surfaces.