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Division Spotlight
Thermal Hydraulics
The division provides a forum for focused technical dialogue on thermal hydraulic technology in the nuclear industry. Specifically, this will include heat transfer and fluid mechanics involved in the utilization of nuclear energy. It is intended to attract the highest quality of theoretical and experimental work to ANS, including research on basic phenomena and application to nuclear system design.
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.
T. Q. Hua, S. J. Lee, J. Liao, A. Moisseytsev, P. Ferroni, A. Karahan, C. Y. Paik, A. M. Tentner, T. Sofu
Nuclear Technology | Volume 206 | Number 2 | February 2020 | Pages 206-217
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2019.1598715
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Fauske & Associates, LLC (FAI), Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), and Westinghouse Electric Company are collaborating within the program “Development of an Integrated Mechanistic Source Term Assessment Capability for Lead- and Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactors.” This program, partially funded by the U.S. Department of Energy through the Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear initiative, aims at developing a computational framework for predicting radionuclide release from a broad spectrum of accidents that can be postulated to occur at liquid metal cooled reactor (LMR) facilities. Specifically, the program couples the transient and severe accident analysis capability of the SAS4A/SASSYS-1 code developed by ANL with the radionuclide transport analysis capability of the Facility Flow, Aerosol, Thermal, and Explosion (FATE) code developed by FAI. The testing of both the individual codes and of the coupled system is performed on a generic lead cooled fast reactor (LFR) design that is intended to capture the key differences between the LFR and the sodium fast reactor (SFR), around which the SAS4A/SASSYS-1 code has historically been developed and from which the coupled code inherits some features requiring modification before application to LFR systems. By means of this approach, a computational framework applicable to both LFR and SFR systems will be obtained that will assist LMR developers in performing a realistic, scenario-dependent mechanistic source term (MST) assessment expected not only to strengthen their safety case but also to support easier siting and claims on reduced emergency planning zone requirements. This paper discusses the work being performed to adapt the SAS4A/SASSYS-1 and FATE codes to LFR technology; the code coupling method implemented; and some of the results of the LFR test case, with the latter aimed at demonstrating the progress made toward the development of the MST analysis capability that is ultimately targeted.