ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Division Spotlight
Isotopes & Radiation
Members are devoted to applying nuclear science and engineering technologies involving isotopes, radiation applications, and associated equipment in scientific research, development, and industrial processes. Their interests lie primarily in education, industrial uses, biology, medicine, and health physics. Division committees include Analytical Applications of Isotopes and Radiation, Biology and Medicine, Radiation Applications, Radiation Sources and Detection, and Thermal Power Sources.
Meeting Spotlight
Utility Working Conference and Vendor Technology Expo (UWC 2024)
August 4–7, 2024
Marco Island, FL|JW Marriott Marco Island
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
Jun 2024
Jan 2024
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
August 2024
Nuclear Technology
July 2024
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
NRC engineers share their expertise at the University of Puerto Rico
Robert Roche-Rivera and Marcos Rolón-Acevedo are licensed professional engineers who work at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. They are also alumni of the University of Puerto Rico–Mayagüez (UPRM) and have been sharing their knowledge and experience with students at their alma mater since last year, serving as adjunct professors in the university’s Department of Mechanical Engineering. During the 2023–2024 school year, they each taught two courses: Fundamentals of Nuclear Science and Engineering, and Nuclear Power Plant Engineering.
Pietro Stefanini, Francesco Galleni, Ivan Di Piazza, Andrea Pucciarelli
Nuclear Technology | Volume 210 | Number 4 | April 2024 | Pages 629-643
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2023.2189892
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Liquid metal cooled reactors are among the design proposals accepted by the Generation IV International Forum for the fourth generation of nuclear power plants. During the last decade, many European Union (EU) projects started with the goal to pave the way for the development of this type of reactor. The present research work is performed in the framework of the EU Partitioning And Transmuter Research Initiative in a Collaborative Innovation Action (PATRICIA) project, supporting the development of the Multi-purpose hYbrid Research Reactor for High-tech Applications (MYRRHA). Among the cornerstones of the project are experimental and numerical analyses involving the CIRColazione Eutettico (CIRCE) facility set at the ENEA Brasimone Research Centre. The upcoming experimental campaign will address the new CIRCE-THETIS configuration, including a new kind of heat exchanger named THETIS: a helical coil steam generator (SG) whose heat transfer capabilities and impact on pool thermal hydraulics are to be investigated. The main goal of the present work is to provide numerical support to experimentalists to help them set up the CIRCE-THETIS experimental facility, the operating conditions test matrix, and postulated transients, providing information about potential needed updates or dangerous conditions. This paper reports on pretest computational fluid dynamics and system thermal-hydraulic analyses performed at the University of Pisa in the frame of the PATRICIA project. The new SG was first addressed assessing its heat transfer capabilities. Sensitivity analyses were performed; among the outcomes, the excellent heat transfer capabilities of the SG were highlighted. The pool and the reactor vessel auxiliary cooling system component were later investigated reporting valuable information concerning both postulated steady-state and transient conditions. The performed analyses had a relevant impact on the design of the facility, suggesting updates based on numerical calculations. After the experimental campaign, posttest analyses will be performed to draw lessons from the observed phenomena. This will also provide room for improvement of the adopted numerical tools.