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.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
Latest Magazine Issues
Mar 2026
Jan 2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
April 2026
Nuclear Technology
February 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
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.
J. H. Kim, B. T. Min, I. K. Park, S. W. Hong
Nuclear Technology | Volume 169 | Number 3 | March 2010 | Pages 239-251
Technical Paper | Thermal Hydraulics | doi.org/10.13182/NT169-239
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Three triggered steam explosion experiments using corium melts of various compositions were performed in the TROI facility. The interaction vessel was 0.3 m in diameter. The melt compositions were 70:30 (UO2:ZrO2) corium, pure zirconia, and partially oxidized corium (UO2:ZrO2:Zr:SS = 53.91:23.09:12.00:11.00 in weight percent). The test with 70:30 corium was performed with a 0.95-m-deep water pool under an elevated pressure of 0.205 MPa, while the others were performed with a 1.3-m-deep water pool under atmospheric pressure. The water temperature was maintained at room temperature. The melt mass released to the water pool was [approximately]10 kg for each test. The test with 70:30 corium resulted in a triggered steam explosion, considering the long duration of the dynamic pressure and the large amount of fine debris. The dynamic pressure trace from the steam explosion seemed to be superimposed on that from the external trigger. The test with pure zirconia led to multiple spontaneous steam explosions before any external triggering. The zirconia melt confirmed its explosivity. The spontaneous steam explosion with pure zirconia seems not to be affected by the water depth and diameter of the interaction vessel. The test with partially oxidized corium also resulted in a spontaneous steam explosion before an external triggering. These results are different from the previous TROI tests with 80:20 corium in a narrow interaction vessel of 0.3-m diameter, in which no spontaneous steam explosions occurred. The geometry of the interaction vessel used in these tests does not seem to influence the occurrence of a steam explosion, but the corium composition does affect the triggerability of it.