Nuclear science research highlights from 2020
Frequently the three international research journals published by ANS dedicate issues to special topics or selected top papers presented at conferences. In celebration of Nuclear Science Week, here’s a recap of the research highlights published by Nuclear Science and Engineering (NSE), Nuclear Technology (NT), and Fusion Science and Technology (FST) in 2020 (ANS members get free subscriber access):
This topical meeting, held in November 2018 in Orlando, Fla., was organized by ANS’s Thermal Hydraulics Division and is the fourth in the series. Three plenary papers report research on interface-resolved simulations, advanced liquid-metal thermal hydraulics, and direct numerical simulation. The issue also includes 16 top papers chosen by the ATH 2018 conference and technical program committees.
Selected papers from the 12th International Conference on Tritium Science & Technology
Busan, Republic of Korea, hosted this April 2019 entry in the long-running series of meetings on tritium research. More than 60 papers published across two issues of FST cover the topics of tritium-related physics, chemistry, biology, environmental science, fission and fusion technology, isotopic applications, and more.
This issue follows up the 2019 special issue of NT on the restart of the Transient Reactor Test (TREAT) Facility at Idaho National Laboratory. The seven papers in this compilation align with the goals of a Department of Energy integrated research project for the purpose of benchmarking the TREAT Facility, which provides state-of-the-art materials testing capabilities.
Special issue on the Kilopower Project, Kilowatt Reactor Using Stirling TechnologY (KRUSTY) Test
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Kilopower Project is intended to develop a 1- to 10-kWe space reactor that is adaptable to planetary surface or deep space missions. Researchers based out of Los Alamos National Laboratory and NASA’s Glenn Research Center contributed to this special issue on the design and demonstration of the 1-kWe KRUSTY reactor.
NT showcased more space-related research with 11 top papers chosen from the NETS 2019 conference, held in February of that year in Richland, Wash. Topics include a critical review on nuclear security considerations for space nuclear power, the emergence of a commercial space nuclear enterprise, and several papers on materials and design for space nuclear technology.
Both NSE and NT devoted special issues to this conference, held August 18–23, 2019, in Portland, Ore. Highlights include papers on fundamental thermal hydraulics, computational thermal hydraulics, verification and validation, safety of existing reactors, severe accidents, and thermal hydraulics in advanced reactors.
The ANS Mathematics and Computation Division sponsors an annual meeting bringing together researchers with diverse areas of interest, including materials science, high-performance computing, reactor analysis, and transport methods. The 12 papers selected from this conference, held August 25–29, 2019, in Portland, Ore., represent scientific advances in numerical methods, Monte Carlo particle transport simulations, application of mathematical techniques to operating reactors, and uncertainty quantification.
Science never stops, and research papers are published daily on the Latest Articles pages for NSE, NT, and FST. Papers from the following upcoming special issues are available now to read online:
- Special issue on Salt-Cooled Reactors (NT)
- Selected papers from the Third IAEA Technical Meeting on Fusion Data, Validation, and Analysis (FST)
- Selected papers from the 2019 International Topical Meeting on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis (PSA 2019) (NT)
Help celebrate Nuclear Science Week by staying up-to-date on the technology advances in your area of the nuclear community.
