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
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
Jul 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
September 2025
Nuclear Technology
August 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
The RAIN scale: A good intention that falls short
Radiation protection specialists agree that clear communication of radiation risks remains a vexing challenge that cannot be solved solely by finding new ways to convey technical information.
Earlier this year, an article in Nuclear News described a new radiation risk communication tool, known as the Radiation Index, or, RAIN (“Let it RAIN: A new approach to radiation communication,” NN, Jan. 2025, p. 36). The authors of the article created the RAIN scale to improve radiation risk communication to the general public who are not well-versed in important aspects of radiation exposures, including radiation dose quantities, units, and values; associated health consequences; and the benefits derived from radiation exposures.
Marco Cigarini, Mario Dalle Donne
Nuclear Technology | Volume 84 | Number 1 | January 1989 | Pages 33-53
Technical Paper | Nuclear Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT89-A34194
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Calculations of the reflooding phase during a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) have been performed for two homogeneous advanced pressurized water reactors (APWRs) with a wide [pitch-to-diameter (p/d) ratio = 1.2] and a tighter (p/d = 1.123) fuel rod lattice as well as for a reference 1300-MW(electric) pressurized water reactor (PWR). The FLUT computer code, developed by the Gesellschaft für Reaktorsicherheit in Garching for the reflooding phase of a PWR, has been improved: A new criterion for the determination of the onset of the upper quench front and a new water droplet model for the dispersed flow film boiling have been introduced in the code, as well as new friction factor correlations more suitable for the core geometry of an APWR. Finally, the interfacial drag coefficients between steam and water are not independent of the geometry as in FLUT, but rather the flow channel geometry is taken into account. The new version of the code (FLUT-FDWR) has been tested on the base of various reflooding experiments in PWR (FLECHT, FEBA, SEFLEX) as well as APWR (FLORESTAN) core geometries. In all the cases investigated, the FLUT-FDWR predictions are relatively good and generally better than with the original FLUT version. The reactor calculations with FLUT-FDWR indicate that the maximum cladding temperatures in the APWRs during the reflooding phase are lower than those for the PWR. This is due to the lower temperatures for the APWRs at the beginning of the reflooding phase and to the higher isostatic water pressure above the APWR cores, which are shorter and therefore placed in a lower position inside the reactor pressure vessel. The cladding temperatures calculated for the PWR and the two APWRs are quite acceptable and considerably lower than those calculated during the blowdown phase of the LOCA.