Moiz I. Butt , Abdullah G. Weiss , Erik J. Pavlina , Thomas J. Nizolek , Michael A. Hahn , Caitlin A. Kohnert , Sean M. McDeavitt , Erik P. Luther
{"title":"Effect of hydrogen concentration on neutron moderation of hydrides at 900 K","authors":"Moiz I. Butt , Abdullah G. Weiss , Erik J. Pavlina , Thomas J. Nizolek , Michael A. Hahn , Caitlin A. Kohnert , Sean M. McDeavitt , Erik P. Luther","doi":"10.1016/j.anucene.2025.111852","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.anucene.2025.111852","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The neutron attenuation and permeation characteristics of several metal hydrides were studied to determine the efficacy of metal hydrides as neutron moderators and shields. These metal hydrides comprised yttrium, zirconium, and yttrium-chromium-based hydrides and deuterides. Neutron attenuation coefficients (<span><math><msub><mi>μ</mi><mi>n</mi></msub></math></span>) and neutron permeation coefficients (<span><math><msub><mi>ξ</mi><mi>n</mi></msub></math></span>) of these hydrides were determined using Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) transport simulations. The effect of impurities on the moderating efficacy of specific hydrides was evaluated by comparing ideal, or pure, hydride compositions with hydrides of metals containing impurity levels typical of commercially available metal alloys. The analysis showed that metal alloy hydrides, particularly those of a yttrium-5 wt% chromium and other impurity containing yttrium materials do not significantly decrease the moderating capability of the moderator when compared to pure yttrium. The analysis also compared the difference in moderating capabilities between the different hydrides of yttrium and zirconium, where zirconium performs better for neutron attenuation, but yttrium performs better with respect to neutron permeation over the range of energies investigated.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8006,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Nuclear Energy","volume":"226 ","pages":"Article 111852"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144996815","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Araceli Domínguez-Bugarín , Carlos Vázquez-Rodríguez , Luis Serra , Stephan Kelm , Ernst-Arndt Reinecke , Gonzalo Jiménez , Miguel Ángel Jiménez , Sanjeev Gupta
{"title":"Validation of the PARUPM and GOTHIC 8.3 code coupling using THAI hydrogen recombination tests","authors":"Araceli Domínguez-Bugarín , Carlos Vázquez-Rodríguez , Luis Serra , Stephan Kelm , Ernst-Arndt Reinecke , Gonzalo Jiménez , Miguel Ángel Jiménez , Sanjeev Gupta","doi":"10.1016/j.anucene.2025.111855","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.anucene.2025.111855","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In case of a severe accident in a nuclear power plant (NPP), large amounts of H<sub>2</sub> and CO could be generated, potentially leading to uncontrolled combustion if concentrations within the flammability thresholds are reached. To mitigate this hazard, many NPPs equipped their containment buildings with passive autocatalytic recombiners (PARs). Thus, there is an interest in the developing of mechanistic models capable of predicting the behaviour of these devices.</div><div>PARUPM is a code that simulates the behaviour of PARs using a physicochemical model approach. In the framework of the AMHYCO project (EU-funded Horizon 2020 project), the code has been validated as a standalone tool using experimental data. Nevertheless, the containment thermal hydraulics have a significant impact on the PAR behaviour, thus, in a next phase, PARUPM has been integrated as an add-on program within the thermohydraulic simulation code, GOTHIC.</div><div>The present paper provides an overview of the capabilities of the joint simulation with PARUPM – GOTHIC<!--> <!-->8.3. This coupling enables a detailed simulation of the recombination process under dynamically evolving conditions, allowing to represent the feedback between the PAR and the containment atmosphere. The validation was conducted based on a sequence of experiments on H<sub>2</sub> recombination by PARs performed at the THAI experimental facility. The results of these simulations confirm that the coupled PARUPM-GOTHIC model can predict the behaviour of PARs in full containment scenarios while maintaining low computational efforts, making the tool suitable for detailed safety analysis and scalable for full-containment simulations involving multiple recombiners.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8006,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Nuclear Energy","volume":"226 ","pages":"Article 111855"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144988276","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Chen Jiaqi , Tan Xuefeng , Li Xiangyu , Zhou Jinman , Guo Yun
{"title":"Analysis of critical heat flux in vertically upward narrow rectangular channel under high pressure","authors":"Chen Jiaqi , Tan Xuefeng , Li Xiangyu , Zhou Jinman , Guo Yun","doi":"10.1016/j.anucene.2025.111850","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.anucene.2025.111850","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The investigation of heat flux under which physical burnout of a heat transfer surface occurs is of prime importance for boiling systems with forced circulation. To avoid physical burnout under the various abnormal conditions,the nuclear reactor must be designed to operate within a safety margin. Therefore,it is of great significance to conduct research on the prediction of critical heat flux (CHF). For narrow rectangular channel, heat exchange characteristics are obviously different from those in conventional flow channels. In this research, Euler’s two-fluid model is used to predict the CHF value in a narrow rectangular channel with a vertical upward pressure, and the predicted results are compared to the experimental data obtained at the Betties nuclear power plant, the error between the predicted results and the experimental data is less than 20%, which shows that the model has high accuracy in predicting the CHF of the narrow rectangular channel under high pressure. Besides the above, sensitive analysis of two-phase sub-model, width to diameter ratio of flow channel and various heating length are conducted in this research,which indicates that there are considerable impact on the predicting CHF value.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8006,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Nuclear Energy","volume":"226 ","pages":"Article 111850"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144988277","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Xing-Chao Shen , Yuan Fu , Jian-Yu Zhang , Jin Yang , Xiao-Yan Wang , Zhi-Jun Li
{"title":"Study on the effect of high temperature on the seismic performance and rotor dynamic characteristics of the molten salt pump for reactor","authors":"Xing-Chao Shen , Yuan Fu , Jian-Yu Zhang , Jin Yang , Xiao-Yan Wang , Zhi-Jun Li","doi":"10.1016/j.anucene.2025.111848","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.anucene.2025.111848","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The high-temperature molten salt pump is the crucial rotating equipment in the molten salt reactor and the first circuit’s pressure boundary. The pump belongs to safety class I equipment and seismic category I. Seismic response and rotor dynamics are essential for the stable operation of the pump, which is directly related to the entire reactor’s safety. The submerged temperature of the molten salt pump reaches as high as 700 °C, which is significantly higher than the design temperature of primary coolant pumps in pressurized water reactors. In order to investigate the effect of high temperature on the seismic performance and rotor dynamic characteristics of the molten salt pump, this study comparatively analyzed the modal characteristics, seismic response and stress, rotor critical speed, and rotational amplitude with the high-temperature effect and without high-temperature effect using thermal-vibration coupled numerical simulation. The analysis results showed that with the effect of high temperature, the molten salt pump’s first-order modal frequency has decreased by 6.2 %, the modal shape has not changed significantly, the displacement and stress under earthquake respectively have increased by 13.9 % and 9.2 %, the first-order critical speed of the rotor has decreased by 5.1 %, and the rotational amplitude has increased by 17.4 %. The primary factor of high temperature’s effect on the molten salt pump is the change of the elastic modulus, and the effect of the thermal stress is relatively minor. The research indicates that in the seismic and rotor analyses of molten salt pumps, the effect of high temperature needs to be considered; otherwise, it may cause specific safety hazards. The results of this paper can provide a valuable reference for the design and analysis of the molten salt pump for reactors and further ensure the pump’s stable operation and structural integrity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8006,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Nuclear Energy","volume":"226 ","pages":"Article 111848"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144932556","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Research on comprehensive heat transfer performance and structure optimization of swiftlet-type fin of printed circuit heat exchangers","authors":"Jinxing Wu, Peng Shao, Jiahui Yi, Shiwu Hou, Tianwei Gu, Dongyang Ding","doi":"10.1016/j.anucene.2025.111860","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.anucene.2025.111860","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In order to improve the comprehensive heat transfer performance of the PCHE, this paper took the swiftlet-type fin as the research object, the influence of different structural parameters on its flow and heat transfer of the fin was studied, and the influence rules of different structural parameters on comprehensive heat transfer performance were obtained. The swiftlet-type fin was optimized by response surface method under two working conditions of <em>Re</em> lower and higher than 15000, respectively, the optimal combination of structural parameters were obtained, and the <em>PEC</em> is improved by 22.09%. The optimal structure of Swiftlet-type fin was applied to the pseudocritical region, the variation law of surface heat transfer coefficient of SCO<sub>2</sub> increases first and then decreases along the flow direction near the pseudocritical point was obtained. A non-uniform arrangement method of fins was proposed by matching the cross distance at the tail of the fins with the magnitude of the local surface heat transfer coefficient of the flow channel.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8006,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Nuclear Energy","volume":"226 ","pages":"Article 111860"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144932564","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Weihua Liao , Wanzong Li , Longxiang Zhu , Zaiyong Ma
{"title":"Study of cross-flow characteristics in sub-channels with numerical simulation","authors":"Weihua Liao , Wanzong Li , Longxiang Zhu , Zaiyong Ma","doi":"10.1016/j.anucene.2025.111856","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.anucene.2025.111856","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The study of the cross-flow mixing effects between adjacent sub-channels in an open channel is significant for quantifying the net mass transfer and the resulting momentum and energy exchange between channels in the fuel assembly. This paper investigates the local physical characteristics of cross-flow in a 1 × 2 rod bundle sub-channel without and with grids using numerical simulation. It focuses on analyzing the lateral flow under two scenarios: differences in inlet flow rates and differences in outlet flow rates. The analysis of the pressure differential across the channels and the distribution of cross-flow velocity reveals that the pressure differential exhibits an exponential variation trend along the axial direction in both scenarios. Additionally, this paper fits empirical relationships for the lateral cross-flow friction coefficient under different mainstream velocities. It compares the differences in friction coefficients between the two scenarios and the influence of various mainstream velocities on the friction coefficient. Moreover, the comparison of the total cross-flow between channels with and without a grid shows that the cross-flow with the grid is greater than the cross-flow without a grid under the same condition, indicating that the existence of a grid can enhance the cross-flow between sub-channels and balance the uneven flow between sub-channels.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8006,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Nuclear Energy","volume":"226 ","pages":"Article 111856"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144932553","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mumtaz Khan, Penghua HU, Jie NIU, Lechang XU, Jie GU, Yalan WANG
{"title":"Advancing electrochemical technology for tritium separation: an application for fission and fusion energy","authors":"Mumtaz Khan, Penghua HU, Jie NIU, Lechang XU, Jie GU, Yalan WANG","doi":"10.1016/j.anucene.2025.111857","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.anucene.2025.111857","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This comprehensive review delves into the critical domain of tritium enrichment and hydrogen production, essential for the advancement of nuclear fusion and sustainable energy systems. It highlights the significance of tritium in fusion reactors which rely on a closed D-T fuel cycle, and the environmental challenges posed by tritium from Nuclear Power Reactors. The manuscript meticulously explores diverse tritium separation methods with particular emphasis on electrochemical approaches, especially proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis. It examines advanced materials such as Nafion-graphene membranes, palladium membrane, and proton-conducting ceramics–while Pt, Ir, Au and their oxide as anode and Pt-C and Pt as cathode–elucidating their impact on separation factor. The advantages of electrolysis, including its simplicity, scalability, and ability to produce high-purity hydrogen while leveraging the Kinetic Isotope Effect (KIE) for tritium separation, are discussed in contrast to traditional, energy-intensive techniques like cryogenic distillation. Furthermore, the review covers separation mechanisms involving quantum sieving, chemical affinity, and isotope fractionation (IF), as well as the properties and potential of various separation materials like zeolites, metal–organic frameworks, and 2D materials. Tritium storage aspects, electrode materials, and PEM design and stability considerations are also addressed. Future research directions focus on enhancing material durability, optimizing separation efficiency, and reducing costs to meet the demands of large-scale fusion applications. This will lead to sustainable fusion energy development. Future advancements can significantly lower tritium enrichment cost due to coupling electrolysis with fuel cell and modern materials for electrodes and membrane. These efforts will increase the separation factor, enrichment factor and lower the cost due to optimization of KIE, IF and improved faraday efficiency.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8006,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Nuclear Energy","volume":"226 ","pages":"Article 111857"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144932554","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Muhammad Abdullah, Muhammad Nadeem, Arif, Adnan Hamid
{"title":"Analysis of multiple blockages in a coolant channel of IAEA research reactor using CFD","authors":"Muhammad Abdullah, Muhammad Nadeem, Arif, Adnan Hamid","doi":"10.1016/j.anucene.2025.111839","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.anucene.2025.111839","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The aim of this study is to perform a design safety analysis of the IAEA 10 MW material testing reactor under flow blockage of coolant channels. Increased use of research reactors along with enhanced regulatory and operational safety standards set by the International Atomic Energy Agency has led to an increased reliance on more realistic simulations of plant phenomena under both steady-state and transient conditions. The study models the blockage as cuboids, having an 80% blockage ratio at the inlet and middle of the coolant channel with six different combinations. The velocity and temperature profiles for all the cases of blockage have been analyzed. The temperature in the no-blockage case is reported to be 348 K. Compared to this, the maximum temperature in the case of the blocked channel is increased by 11.12% to a value of 389 K in the case of inlet-bottom-middle-bottom blockage. Structural analysis due to the thermal stresses is also performed to ensure the integrity of the reactor as the blockages affect the cladding temperature. Moreover, <span><math><mrow><mn>1</mn><msup><mrow><mn>0</mn></mrow><mrow><mn>7</mn></mrow></msup></mrow></math></span> thermal cycles are required for the cladding material to fail.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8006,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Nuclear Energy","volume":"226 ","pages":"Article 111839"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144932565","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Radiological impact of two hypothetical severe accidents at Arak research reactor","authors":"Hamed Abdollahnejad , Seyyed Sajjad Mousavi , Dariush Rezaei Ochbelagh","doi":"10.1016/j.anucene.2025.111844","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.anucene.2025.111844","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In the context of nuclear safety and emergency preparedness, evaluating the potential radiological consequences of severe reactor accidents is essential. This study assesses the radiological impact of two hypothetical severe accident scenarios at the Arak Research Reactor using the ORIGEN code for source term calculations and the Hotspot model for atmospheric dispersion. The Total Effective Dose Equivalent, accounting for internal and external radiation exposure, was evaluated. Results show that with the reactor building intact, the maximum radiation dose is 2.0E-06 Sv at 350 m, decreasing to 3.0E-09 Sv at 100 km. However, if the building is compromised, the dose increases significantly to 5.0E + 02 Sv under stability class F, with safety thresholds set at 30 km for the public and 4 km for workers. These findings highlight the importance of containment integrity and inform the development of site-specific emergency response strategies for research reactors.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8006,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Nuclear Energy","volume":"226 ","pages":"Article 111844"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144926170","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Qi Zhang , Jiajun Huang , Wenhao Yu , Siqi Jin , Yulong Wang , Xinyu Wei , Peiwei Sun
{"title":"Research on optimization of steam generator level control in startup process based on intelligent algorithm","authors":"Qi Zhang , Jiajun Huang , Wenhao Yu , Siqi Jin , Yulong Wang , Xinyu Wei , Peiwei Sun","doi":"10.1016/j.anucene.2025.111835","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.anucene.2025.111835","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Automatic steam generator (SG) level control during pressurized water reactor (PWR) startup is crucial for safety. The poor adaptability of fixed-parameter SG level controllers of main feedwater system (TFM), the manual SG level control by auxiliary feedwater system (TFA), and the manual switching between TFA and TFM, have limitations for the startup process automation. An intelligent control scheme is proposed, integrating gain-scheduled proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller tuning via non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II and fuzzy logic-based switching scheme. Simulation results demonstrate that the optimized TFM level control scheme reduces the average settling time by 47.3% under load step disturbance conditions, and enhances disturbance rejection. The designed TFA level control system can maintain level stability during startup. The fuzzy controller achieves bumpless switching between systems. The approach reduces average maximum level deviation by 39.2% and average settling time by 13.4% in startup processes, offering a practical solution to enhance PWR automation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8006,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Nuclear Energy","volume":"226 ","pages":"Article 111835"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144932555","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}