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Division Spotlight
Fusion Energy
This division promotes the development and timely introduction of fusion energy as a sustainable energy source with favorable economic, environmental, and safety attributes. The division cooperates with other organizations on common issues of multidisciplinary fusion science and technology, conducts professional meetings, and disseminates technical information in support of these goals. Members focus on the assessment and resolution of critical developmental issues for practical fusion energy applications.
Meeting Spotlight
International Conference on Mathematics and Computational Methods Applied to Nuclear Science and Engineering (M&C 2025)
April 27–30, 2025
Denver, CO|The Westin Denver Downtown
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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May 2025
Latest News
Argonne’s METL gears up to test more sodium fast reactor components
Argonne National Laboratory has successfully swapped out an aging cold trap in the sodium test loop called METL (Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop), the Department of Energy announced April 23. The upgrade is the first of its kind in the United States in more than 30 years, according to the DOE, and will help test components and operations for the sodium-cooled fast reactors being developed now.
G. Kennedy, K. Van Tichelen (SCK-CEN), J. Pacio (KIT), I. Di Piazza (ENEA), H. Uitslag-Doolaard (NRG)
Proceedings | Advances in Thermal Hydraulics 2018 | Orlando, FL, November 11-15, 2018 | Pages 505-519
In recent years, extensive thermal-hydraulic experimental tests have been performed on the LBE-cooled, wire-wrapped fuel assembly of MYRRHA. These thermal-hydraulic tests were performed using fuel assembly mock-ups, in large-scale LBE experimental test facilities at SCK•CEN (Belgium), ENEA (Italy) and KIT (Germany). The fuel assembly pressure drop characteristics and flow induced vibration characteristics were tested with a full-scale 127-pin mock-up test section. The existing pressure drop correlations of Rehme and Cheng and Todreas (simplified model) predict the experimental pressure drop data very well and are considered suitable for use in the design and safety analysis of the MYRRHA system. Flow induced vibrations are very limited in the wire-wrapped bundle and fuel pin fatigue damage from vibration during operation is not expected. Further analysis and testing is required to determine if damage from fretting corrosion could be expected.
Heat transfer characteristics of the fuel assembly were investigated experimentally in two separate 19-pin heated rod test sections, cooled by LBE. The existing Kazimi-Carelli correlation predicts the global average Nusselt numbers very well, but the correlation is not developed to capture local hot-spots. For the fuel assembly safety analysis, a hot-spot factor is defined and analysed to determine the hot-spot temperature penalty, to further determine operational safety margins.
