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
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
Latest Magazine Issues
Mar 2026
Jan 2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
April 2026
Nuclear Technology
February 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Going Nuclear: Notes from the officially unofficial book tour
I work in the analytical labs at one of Europe’s oldest and largest nuclear sites: Sellafield, in northwestern England. I spend my days at the fume hood front, pipette in one hand and radiation probe in the other (and dosimeter pinned to my chest, of course). Outside the lab, I have a second job: I moonlight as a writer and public speaker. My new popular science book—Going Nuclear: How the Atom Will Save the World—came out last summer, and it feels like my life has been running at full power ever since.
Allen C. Smith, James E. Blake, Michael T. Childerson, Ted R. Ohrn, Robert M. Privette
Nuclear Technology | Volume 106 | Number 2 | May 1994 | Pages 254-260
Technical Note | Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow | doi.org/10.13182/NT94-A34980
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Analytical studies of the effects of power on flow instability in parallel channels with upward flow of coolant have predicted that the Ledinegg flow instability, encountered as flow is decreased for typical operating power levels, would not be experienced at low-power levels. For a system in which the flow of coolant is upward, the increased buoyancy enhances flow in the channel, so that as the void increases, the overall pressure loss decreases. Under this condition, flow instability does not occur. Testing was performed to confirm the predicted behavior and to provide data for benchmarking of computer codes used for predicting the performance of reactor fuel elements. The demand curves traced in these tests are part of the multidimensional demand surface for the test apparatus. The basic coordinates of this surface are flow rate, pressure drop, and power. A fourth significant independent variable is system pressure, so that the behavior of the system is represented by a family of Δp-flow-power surfaces for each pressure level. This testing confirmed that, at low power levels comparable to decay heat removal power, the buoyancy effects may become dominant so that the demand curve for the fuel assembly turns downward and flow instability will not occur.