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Division Spotlight
Operations & Power
Members focus on the dissemination of knowledge and information in the area of power reactors with particular application to the production of electric power and process heat. The division sponsors meetings on the coverage of applied nuclear science and engineering as related to power plants, non-power reactors, and other nuclear facilities. It encourages and assists with the dissemination of knowledge pertinent to the safe and efficient operation of nuclear facilities through professional staff development, information exchange, and supporting the generation of viable solutions to current issues.
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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June 2025
Nuclear Technology
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May 2025
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.
Prathamesh N. Bilgunde, Leonard J. Bond
Nuclear Technology | Volume 202 | Number 2 | May-June 2018 | Pages 161-172
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2017.1419782
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Advanced piezoelectric-based ultrasonic transducers offer the potential for in-coolant nondestructive testing (NDT) measurements at high temperatures (HTs), including during hot standby (~260°C) for liquid-sodium–cooled advanced small modular reactors. The reliability of the NDT measurements is typically quantified by the probability of detection (POD) measured at the corresponding temperature. Obtaining such data in liquid sodium is challenging. Using a model-assisted POD approach, a transfer function is reported that enables data obtained on low carbon steel specimens at room temperature to give an estimated POD at an HT. A primary source of the difference in POD between room temperature and HT is due to the transducer material temperature-dependent performance. This paper demonstrates the transfer function approach using data for modified lead zirconium titanate (PZT-5A). A physics-based model was developed using a finite element method and used to quantify reduction in the scattering amplitude for standard reflectors, side drilled holes (SDHs), for a range of sizes, from 15°C to 195°C. Scattering amplitudes for the room-temperature–simulated data are compared with the experimental data measured at 2.25 MHz. A temperature correction and transfer functions were developed to transform the simulated temperature effect in the physics-based model to compare with the experimental data. The model-based approach was validated with experimental data. It was seen and validated for a PZT-5A ultrasonic transducer operating at 2.25 MHz that the 95% POD at 15°C was 0.58 λ, and due to variation in temperature-dependent properties of PZT-5A, the 95% POD was achieved only for a 1.41 λ SDH diameter.