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Division Spotlight
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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Latest News
Article considers incorporation of AI into nuclear power plant operations
The potential application of artificial intelligence to the operation of nuclear power plants is explored in an article published in late December in the Washington Examiner. The article, written by energy and environment reporter Callie Patteson, presents the views of a number of experts, including Yavuz Arik, a strategic energy consultant.
Yasuo Koizumi, Hiroshige Kumamaru, Yuichi Mimura+, Yutaka Kukita, Kanji Tasaka†
Nuclear Technology | Volume 96 | Number 3 | December 1991 | Pages 290-301
Technical Paper | Nuclear Reactor Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT91-A34590
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Cold-leg small-break loss-of-coolant accident experiments were conducted for break areas ranging from 0.5 to 10% of the scaled cold-leg flow area using the Large-Scale Test Facility (LSTF). The LSTF is a volumetrically scaled simulator of a Westinghouse-type pressurized water reactor. For all the experiments, the core collapsed liquid level was temporarily depressed when liquid in the primary loop U-bend (crossover leg) was being cleared by steam. For scaled break areas <2.5%, the minimum core liquid level was equal to the lowest elevation of the crossover leg. For break areas >5%, the minimum core level was even lower because differential pressures created by the residual liquid holdup in the steam generator (SG) upflow side affected the core liquid level adversely. This influence of SG liquid holdup on the minimum core liquid level was larger for larger break sizes within the range of these experiments; thus, a more severe core level depression was seen for larger break sizes. Also, for the same break size, the core level depression was more severe when higher core power values were used for the simulation of the postscram core power decay. The RELAP5/MOD2 code reasonably well predicted the major phenomena observed in the experiments; however, several shortcomings were found in interfacial drag calculation for the SG U-tube inlet and the hot-leg outlet to the SG inlet plenum and core.