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The busyness of the nuclear fuel supply chain
Ken Petersenpresident@ans.org
With all that is happening in the industry these days, the nuclear fuel supply chain is still a hot topic. The Russian assault in Ukraine continues to upend the “where” and “how” of attaining nuclear fuel—and it has also motivated U.S. legislators to act.
Two years into the Russian war with Ukraine, things are different. The Inflation Reduction Act was passed in 2022, authorizing $700 million in funding to support production of high-assay low-enriched uranium in the United States. Meanwhile, the Department of Energy this January issued a $500 million request for proposals to stimulate new HALEU production. The Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2024 includes $2.7 billion in funding for new uranium enrichment production. This funding was diverted from the Civil Nuclear Credits program and will only be released if there is a ban on importing Russian uranium into the United States—which could happen by the time this column is published, as legislation that bans Russian uranium has passed the House as of this writing and is headed for the Senate. Also being considered is legislation that would sanction Russian uranium. Alternatively, the Biden-Harris administration may choose to ban Russian uranium without legislation in order to obtain access to the $2.7 billion in funding.
Yuan Gao, Huai-En Hsieh, Huifang Miao, Zhe Zhou, Zhibo Zhang
Nuclear Technology | Volume 208 | Number 2 | February 2022 | Pages 222-231
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2021.1899552
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Critical heat flux (CHF) is an important heat transfer deterioration phenomenon during boiling heat transfer. It has been extensively studied, especially in the field of nuclear energy. Previous research has found that downward-facing heat transfer is worse than upward-facing and should be paid more attention. In this paper, the boiling heat transfer process under different flow rates and inlet distances is investigated. Seven experimental cases were made including a pool boiling case. The experiment studied the effect of inlet distances under small flow rates, which is not covered by previous research. Analysis of the CHF mechanism included surface temperature curves, boiling curves, bubble behaviors, and heat transfer coefficient. The fluctuation of the surface temperature of forced convention cases was observed due to the bubbles sliding along the heating surface. The phenomenon of vapor film fragmentation could also be found. The results show that even at small flow rates, CHF occurring time is postponed and the CHF value increases. Reducing inlet distance or increasing flow rate can both promote boiling heat transfer, thereby enhancing CHF.