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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.
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ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
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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
First astatine-labeled compound shipped in the U.S.
The Department of Energy’s National Isotope Development Center (NIDC) on March 31 announced the successful long-distance shipment in the United States of a biologically active compound labeled with the medical radioisotope astatine-211 (At-211). Because previous shipments have included only the “bare” isotope, the NIDC has described the development as “unleashing medical innovation.”
Prasad Vegendla, Rui Hu, Aleksandr Obabko, Haomin Yuan (ANL), Richard Schultz (Idaho State Univ), Yassin Hassan (Texas A&M)
Proceedings | Advances in Thermal Hydraulics 2018 | Orlando, FL, November 11-15, 2018 | Pages 1169-1180
In High Temperature Gas Reactors (HTGR), gas flow patterns are very complex and reduced models (1D or 2D) may be too simplified to predict accurate reactor performance. 3D Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models can help provide the detailed information needed to optimize the reactor thermal performance. The main objective of this work is to verify and validate the CFD models with data for a 1/16th scaled Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) measured at Texas A&M University. The upper plenum is one of the main components in a VHTR where the hot and cold fluids mix with each other to determine the fluid temperature.
In this paper, jet flow characteristics are investigated in two different upper plenum configurations; (i) single coolant channel and (ii) multiple (five) coolant channel. First, CFD models are verified with two different codes, Nek5000 and STAR-CCM+, for the single coolant channel configuration. The predicted jet velocities are identical in both codes with a marginal deviation due to differences in turbulence modeling. Second, the STAR-CCM+ Reynolds Stress Model (RSM) is validated with a multiple coolant channel configuration. Good agreement between simulated results and measured data is obtained for jet peak velocities. Also, the predicted flow asymmetry is similar to experimental data. In contrast, significant deviations are observed in the off side peak velocities due to the assumption of a constant inlet mass flow rate.