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Going Nuclear: Notes from the officially unofficial book tour
I work in the analytical labs at one of Europe’s oldest and largest nuclear sites: Sellafield, in northwestern England. I spend my days at the fume hood front, pipette in one hand and radiation probe in the other (and dosimeter pinned to my chest, of course). Outside the lab, I have a second job: I moonlight as a writer and public speaker. My new popular science book—Going Nuclear: How the Atom Will Save the World—came out last summer, and it feels like my life has been running at full power ever since.
I. Di Piazza, D. Martelli, C. Carrelli, T. Rovai, V. Raschioni, M. Ramacciotti, A. Spezzaneve, D. Ferretti, G. Mongiardini
Nuclear Technology | Volume 210 | Number 4 | April 2024 | Pages 681-691
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2023.2203285
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The present paper describes the experimental setup for flow-induced vibration in a fuel pin bundle test section with flowing lead. The test section is a 37-pin mock-up representative of the GEN-IV ALFRED fuel assembly and is manufactured to investigate the turbulence-induced vibrations in the pins. The pins are instrumented with longitudinal strain gauges (SGs), and with three SGs per monitoring point, the displacement signal can be recovered in terms of amplitude and frequencies. To achieve this goal, a complex algorithm is implemented in the data acquisition control system of the test section. The test section will be installed in the Heavy Liquid metal Experimental loop for Nuclear Applications (HELENA) facility at the ENEA Brasimone R.C., in which a mechanical pump for lead circulation is present. The test matrix is proposed with the mass flow rate varying from 10 to 50 kg/s and a constant temperature of 450°C for all the tests. Briefly, the experimental procedure is presented to carry out the experimental campaign.