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.
Division Spotlight
Thermal Hydraulics
The division provides a forum for focused technical dialogue on thermal hydraulic technology in the nuclear industry. Specifically, this will include heat transfer and fluid mechanics involved in the utilization of nuclear energy. It is intended to attract the highest quality of theoretical and experimental work to ANS, including research on basic phenomena and application to nuclear system design.
Meeting Spotlight
2024 ANS Winter Conference and Expo
November 17–21, 2024
Orlando, FL|Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
Nov 2024
Jul 2024
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
December 2024
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
November 2024
Latest News
IAEA organizes and cohosts first World Fusion Energy Group meeting
Last week's inaugural ministerial meeting of the IAEA World Fusion Energy Group (WFEG), in Rome, Italy, drew government ministers and senior officials who represented “dozens of countries” interested in fusion energy technology.
A. J. Palmer, R. S. Skifton, D. C. Haggard, W. D. Swank (INL), M. Scervini (Univ of Cambridge)
Proceedings | Nuclear Plant Instrumentation, Control, and Human-Machine Interface Technolgies (NPIC&HMIT 2019) | Orlando, FL, February 9-14, 2019 | Pages 1013-1027
High-temperature gas reactor experiments create unique challenges for thermocouple-based temperature measurements. High-temperature industrial thermocouples suffer rapid decalibration due to transmutation of the thermoelements from neutron absorption. For lower temperature applications, Type K and Type N thermocouples are affected by neutron irradiation only to a limited extent. But until recently, the use of these nickel-based thermocouples was limited when the temperature exceeds 1050°C due to drift related to phenomena other than nuclear irradiation. Certain portions of the final Advanced Gas Reactor test (AGR-5/6/7) will experience temperatures higher than any of the previous AGR tests, up to 1450°C. Recognizing the limitations of existing thermometry to measure such high temperatures, the sponsor of the AGR-5/6/7 test supported a development and testing program for thermocouples capable of low-drift operation at temperatures above 1100°C. This program included additional development of high-temperature irradiation-resistant thermocouples (HTIR-TCs) based on molybdenum/niobium thermoelements, which have been studied at INL since circa 2004. A step change in accuracy and long-term stability of this thermocouple type has been achieved as part of the AGR-5/6/7 thermometry development program. Additionally, long term testing (7000+ hrs) at 1250°C of Type N thermocouples utilizing a customized sheath developed at the University of Cambridge has been completed with excellent low-drift results. The results of this testing as well as testing of the improved HTIR design are reported herein. Both the improved HTIR and the Cambridge Type N thermocouple types have been incorporated into the AGR-5/6/7 test, which began irradiation February 2018.