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The Mission of the Robotics and Remote Systems Division is to promote the development and application of immersive simulation, robotics, and remote systems for hazardous environments for the purpose of reducing hazardous exposure to individuals, reducing environmental hazards and reducing the cost of performing work.
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ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
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Latest News
Norway’s Halden reactor takes first step toward decommissioning
The government of Norway has granted the transfer of the Halden research reactor from the Institute for Energy Technology (IFE) to the state agency Norwegian Nuclear Decommissioning (NND). The 25-MWt Halden boiling water reactor operated from 1958 to 2018 and was used in the research of nuclear fuel, reactor internals, plant procedures and monitoring, and human factors.
Mohamed S. El-Genk, Huimin Xue
Nuclear Technology | Volume 100 | Number 3 | December 1992 | Pages 271-286
Technical Paper | Fission Reactor | doi.org/10.13182/NT92-A34724
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The natural-circulation decay heat removal capability of a 550-kW(electric) SP-100 reactor power system for a lunar outpost is investigated. A transient thermal-hydraulic model of the decay heat removal loop (DHRL) is developed to investigate the effects of the radiator surface area, the dimensions and elevation of the decay heat exchanger (DHE), and the diameter of the rise and down pipes on the passive decay heat removal of the system. The effect of gravity is also investigated in order to examine the applicability of earth-based test results to the actual system on the lunar surface. Results show that natural circulation of lithium coolant in the DHRL would keep the SP-100 reactor safely coolable after shutdown. However, the lithium coolant in the adiabatic rise pipe, directly downstream from the reactor core, could overheat by as much as 175 K above its nominal operation value of 1355 K at ∼200 s after shutdown. This coolant temperature increase can be reduced by as much as 50 K by increasing the height of the DHE duct to 15 cm; a further increase in the duct height would have little effect on the decay heat removal. Increasing the elevation of the DHE slightly improves the decay heat removal. Results also show that the maximum coolant temperature in the DHRL and the maximum fuel temperature in the reactor core at 1 g could be as much as 140 and 50 to 100 K lower than their values on the lunar surface, respectively. Conversely, the coolant flow rate could be more than twice that occurring on the lunar surface after reactor shutdown.