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Division Spotlight
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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2024 ANS Annual Conference
June 16–19, 2024
Las Vegas, NV|Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
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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ORAU, ANS, others to host workshops on nuclear academic programs
Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU), in partnership with the American Nuclear Society, the Nuclear Energy Institute, and the Institute for Nuclear Power Operators, has announced it will host an online workshop called “Shaping the Future of Nuclear Academic Programs.” The 90-minute program is designed for university department heads and faculty interested in enhancing nuclear science and technology programs through best practices.
Brian Mays, Lewis Lommers, Stacy Yoder, Farshid Shahrokhi
Nuclear Technology | Volume 208 | Number 8 | August 2022 | Pages 1311-1323
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2021.1947664
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The inherent passive heat removal characteristics of modular High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors (HTGRs) are well known. Modular HTGRs use a combination of coated-particle fuel, ceramic core materials, core geometry, and power level to maintain acceptable fuel temperatures for all credible operating and accident conditions. Heat from the reactor vessel is radiated to a passive reactor cavity cooling system (RCCS), which removes excess heat from the reactor cavity. The RCCS for Framatome’s Steam Cycle–High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor (SC-HTGR) is a highly reliable, redundant system. Similar to most other modular HTGR concepts, RCCS failure is not considered credible for any accident scenario. Nonetheless, reactor module performance with a compromised RCCS is still of interest. Evaluation of such beyond-design-basis scenarios supports safety assessment of extremely low probability beyond-design-basis events (BDBEs) as well as the development of RCCS design requirements and plant emergency procedures. This study evaluates the performance of the SC-HTGR during a long-term depressurized loss of forced circulation event without RCCS operation. Boundary conditions are varied to determine their effect on reactor temperatures. Safety and investment risk considerations are addressed. The results of this study indicate that the safety impact is modest since fuel temperatures remain within their limits. However, the investment risk is more significant since vessel temperatures could significantly exceed design limits for these hypothetical BDBEs.