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Division Spotlight
Aerospace Nuclear Science & Technology
Organized to promote the advancement of knowledge in the use of nuclear science and technologies in the aerospace application. Specialized nuclear-based technologies and applications are needed to advance the state-of-the-art in aerospace design, engineering and operations to explore planetary bodies in our solar system and beyond, plus enhance the safety of air travel, especially high speed air travel. Areas of interest will include but are not limited to the creation of nuclear-based power and propulsion systems, multifunctional materials to protect humans and electronic components from atmospheric, space, and nuclear power system radiation, human factor strategies for the safety and reliable operation of nuclear power and propulsion plants by non-specialized personnel and more.
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!
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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.
Ryuji Yoshikawa, Yasutomo Imai, Norihiro Kikuchi, Masaaki Tanaka, Hiroyuki Ohshima
Nuclear Technology | Volume 210 | Number 5 | May 2024 | Pages 814-835
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2023.2249707
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In the study of safety enhancements on advanced sodium-cooled fast reactors (SFRs) by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), it has been essential to clarify the thermal hydraulics under various operating conditions at high and low flow rate conditions in a fuel assembly (FA) with wire-wrapped fuel pins to assess the structural integrity of the fuel pin that achieves a high-performance core with high burnup ratio and high power density. A finite element thermal-hydraulic analysis code named SPIRAL has been developed by JAEA to analyze the detailed thermal-hydraulic phenomena in the FA of a SFR.
In this study, numerical simulations of 37-pin bundle sodium experiments at different Reynolds (Re) number conditions, including a transitional condition between laminar and turbulent flows and turbulent flow conditions, were performed to validate the developed hybrid k-ε/kθ-εθ turbulence model equipped in SPIRAL to consider the low Re number effect near the wall in the flow and temperature fields. The temperature distributions predicted by SPIRAL were consistent with those measured in the sodium experiments at the Re number conditions. Through the validation study, the applicability of the hybrid turbulence model in SPIRAL to the thermal-hydraulic evaluation of sodium-cooled FAs in a wide range of Re numbers was confirmed.