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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
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
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
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.
Rudi Van De Graaf, T. H. J. J. Van Der Hagen, Robert F. Mudde
Nuclear Technology | Volume 105 | Number 2 | February 1994 | Pages 190-200
Technical Paper | Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow | doi.org/10.13182/NT94-A34922
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In order to study the thermohydraulic behavior of a natural-circulation-cooled boiling water reactor (BWR) fuel assembly, such as void drift, flow pattern distribution, and stability, a scaled loop geometry is designed. For modeling the steam/water flow in a BWR fuel assembly, scaling criteria are derived using the onedimensional drift-flux model. Thermal equilibrium and subcooled boiling conditions are treated separately, resulting in one overall set of criteria. Scaling on all flow regimes that can be present in a normal fuel assembly leads to fixing both the assembly mass flux and the geometric dimensions. When Freon-12 is used as a modeling fluid, model assembly dimensions must be 0.46 of the prototype. Total power consumption must be reduced by a factor 50. To sustain cooling by natural circulation, a modeled chimney and downcomer are included.