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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.
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ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
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General Kenneth Nichols and the Manhattan Project
Nichols
The Oak Ridger has published the latest in a series of articles about General Kenneth D. Nichols, the Manhattan Project, and the 1954 Atomic Energy Act. The series has been produced by Nichols’ grandniece Barbara Rogers Scollin and Oak Ridge (Tenn.) city historian David Ray Smith. Gen. Nichols (1907–2000) was the district engineer for the Manhattan Engineer District during the Manhattan Project.
As Smith and Scollin explain, Nichols “had supervision of the research and development connected with, and the design, construction, and operation of, all plants required to produce plutonium-239 and uranium-235, including the construction of the towns of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Richland, Washington. The responsibility of his position was massive as he oversaw a workforce of both military and civilian personnel of approximately 125,000; his Oak Ridge office became the center of the wartime atomic energy’s activities.”
Kyung Mo Kim, Seung Won Lee, In Cheol Bang
Nuclear Technology | Volume 190 | Number 3 | June 2015 | Pages 345-358
Technical Paper | Thermal Hydraulics | doi.org/10.13182/NT14-82
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Quenching experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of deposition of SiC and graphene oxide (GO) nanoparticles on heat transfer during rapid cooling in vertical tubes. Temperature histories during quenching were measured for each test section to confirm the effect of the nanoparticle-coated layer on quenching performance. Boiling curves for each test were obtained by using the inverse heat transfer method. Quenching performance was enhanced ∼20% to 31% for nanoparticle-coated tubes compared to the bare tube. Scanning electron microscope images of the inner surfaces of the tubes following the experiments were acquired, and the contact angles were measured to observe the effect of surface structures and wettability on quenching performance. In the case of tubes coated with GO nanoparticles for 900 s, quenching performance and critical heat flux (CHF) were enhanced although the contact angle increased. To confirm the surface effect on the enhanced quenching performance and CHF of GO nanoparticle–coated tubes, FC-72 refrigerant was used as the working fluid of the quenching experiment to reduce the wettability effect on the heat transfer.