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Advancements in Nuclear Energy Technology

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "B4: Nuclear Energy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 22 February 2025 | Viewed by 4009

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100871, China
Interests: nuclear reactor safety; advanced nuclear systems; monte carlo; radiation transport; radiation protection
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
School of Nuclear Science and Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China
Interests: advanced nuclear systems; monte carlo; particle transport; fusion neutronics; radiation protection; multi-physical coupling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Department of Engineering Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100871, China
Interests: monte carlo; nuclear reactor physics; high performance computing; machine learning; applied mathematics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nuclear energy has been one of the key low-carbon-emission sources of energy. As the world continues to grapple with climate change, it is imperative that we explore and develop new advancements in nuclear energy technology to provide efficient, clean, and safe energy solutions. In this context, we invite researchers, scientists, and industry experts to contribute to our upcoming Special Issue on the "Advancements in Nuclear Energy Technology".

This Special Issue aims to showcase the latest breakthroughs, innovations, and technological advancements in the field of nuclear energy, covering various topics, such as nuclear reactor design, modeling and simulation, operation and maintenance, nuclear fuel cycle optimization, safety and security, waste management, the integration of nuclear with other renewable energy sources, and so on.

We welcome the submission of original research articles, review papers, and case studies that can provide valuable insights into the current state and future prospects of nuclear energy technology.

The development and deployment of advanced nuclear energy technologies will play a crucial role in the global transition towards a carbon neutrality and sustainable energy future. Join us in this effort to promote the advancement of nuclear energy technology and contribute to a greener and more sustainable future for all.

Dr. Jingang Liang
Dr. Shichang Liu
Dr. Zhaoyuan Liu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • advanced nuclear reactors
  • hybrid nuclear systems
  • design and operation
  • nuclear artificial intelligence
  • modeling and simulation
  • nuclear reactor physics
  • thermal hydraulics
  • multiphysics analysis
  • nuclear safety and security
  • nuclear fuels
  • radioactive waste management

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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24 pages, 16502 KiB  
Article
A Data-Driven Method for Calculating Neutron Flux Distribution Based on Deep Learning and the Discrete Ordinates Method
by Yanchao Li, Bin Zhang, Shouhai Yang and Yixue Chen
Energies 2024, 17(14), 3440; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17143440 - 12 Jul 2024
Viewed by 673
Abstract
The efficient and accurate calculation of neutron flux distribution is essential for evaluating the safety of nuclear facilities and the surrounding environment. While traditional numerical simulation methods such as the discrete ordinates (SN) method and Monte Carlo method have demonstrated excellent [...] Read more.
The efficient and accurate calculation of neutron flux distribution is essential for evaluating the safety of nuclear facilities and the surrounding environment. While traditional numerical simulation methods such as the discrete ordinates (SN) method and Monte Carlo method have demonstrated excellent performance in terms of accuracy, their complex solving process incurs significant computational costs. This paper explores a data-driven and efficient method for obtaining neutron flux distribution based on deep learning, specifically targeting shielding problems with constant geometry and varying material cross-sections in practical engineering. The proposed method bypasses the intricate numerical transport calculation process of the discrete ordinates method by constructing a surrogate model that captures the correlation between transport characteristics and neutron flux from data characteristics. Simulations were carried out using Kobayashi-1 and Kobayashi-2 geometric models for shielding problems with constant geometry and varying material cross-sections. A series of validations have proved that the data-driven surrogate model demonstrates high generalization ability and reliability, while reducing the time required to obtain neutron flux distribution to 0.1 s without compromising on calculation accuracy compared to the discrete ordinates method. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancements in Nuclear Energy Technology)
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13 pages, 16401 KiB  
Article
CFD Calculation of Natural Convection Heat Transmission in a Three-Dimensional Pool with Hemispherical Lower Head
by Zhangliang Mao, Yuqing Chen, Wei Wang, Qi Cai, Xianbao Yuan, Jianjun Zhou, Xiaochao Du, Binhang Zhang, Yonghong Zhang and Renzheng Xiao
Energies 2024, 17(13), 3113; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17133113 - 24 Jun 2024
Viewed by 515
Abstract
The integrity of a pressure vessel (PRV) is affected by the decay heat of the molten pool in the lower head, so it is very important to study the natural convection heat transmission in the lower head. Scholars from all over the world [...] Read more.
The integrity of a pressure vessel (PRV) is affected by the decay heat of the molten pool in the lower head, so it is very important to study the natural convection heat transmission in the lower head. Scholars from all over the world have carried out a lot of experimental studies and calculations to determine the convection mechanism and heat transmission characteristics of the molten pool. Most of them were based on the empirical formula of convective heat transmission on the wall of a hemispherical molten pool based on two-dimensional slice experiments and simulation calculations. In this study, FLUENT 2021R1 software was used to simulate the three-dimensional convective heat transmission process of the hemispherical molten pool, and the temperature, velocity and wall heat transmission coefficients of the flow field were analyzed. The results were in good agreement with experimental data from UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles). Through research on the heat transmission of the lower head, the results showed that in the region where the wall angle was θ between approximately 72 and 90 degrees, heat transmission coefficients had larger fluctuations, and a more reasonable empirical relation was proposed. Comparing between the simulation results of CFD and the two-dimensional empirical formula, it was found that the latter one was smaller under the same θ angle condition. Finally, the convection phenomena of different external temperatures were simulated, and the main factors affecting the flow field by temperature were analyzed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancements in Nuclear Energy Technology)
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13 pages, 6047 KiB  
Article
An Ultra-Throughput Boost Method for Gamma-Ray Spectrometers
by Wenhui Li, Qianqian Zhou, Yuzhong Zhang, Jianming Xie, Wei Zhao, Jinglun Li and Hui Cui
Energies 2024, 17(6), 1456; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17061456 - 18 Mar 2024
Viewed by 862
Abstract
(1) Background: Generally, in nuclear medicine and nuclear power plants, energy spectrum measurements and radioactive nuclide identification are required for evaluation of strong radiation fields to ensure nuclear safety and security; thereby, damage is prevented to nuclear facilities caused by natural disasters or [...] Read more.
(1) Background: Generally, in nuclear medicine and nuclear power plants, energy spectrum measurements and radioactive nuclide identification are required for evaluation of strong radiation fields to ensure nuclear safety and security; thereby, damage is prevented to nuclear facilities caused by natural disasters or the criminal smuggling of nuclear materials. High count rates can lead to signal accumulation, negatively affecting the performance of gamma spectrometers, and in severe cases, even damaging the detectors. Higher pulse throughput with better energy resolution is the ultimate goal of a gamma-ray spectrometer. Traditionally, pileup pulses, which cause dead time and affect throughput, are rejected to maintain good energy resolution. (2) Method: In this paper, an ultra-throughput boost (UTB) off-line processing method was used to improve the throughput and reduce the pileup effect of the spectrometer. Firstly, by fitting the impulse signal of the detector, the response matrix was built by the functional model of a dual exponential tail convolved with the Gaussian kernel; then, a quadratic programming method based on a non-negative least squares (NNLS) algorithm was adopted to solve the constrained optimization problem for the inversion. (3) Results: Both the simulated and experimental results of the UTB method show that most of the impulses in the pulse sequence from the scintillator detector were restored to δ-like pulses, and the throughput of the UTB method for the NaI(Tl) spectrometer reached 207 kcps with a resolution of 7.71% @661.7 keV. A reduction was also seen in the high energy pileup phenomenon. (4) Conclusions: We conclude that the UTB method can restore individual and piled-up pulses to δ-like sequences, effectively boosting pulse throughput and suppressing high-energy tailing and sum peaks caused by the pileup effect at the cost of a slight loss in energy resolution. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancements in Nuclear Energy Technology)
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Review

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35 pages, 7751 KiB  
Review
Emergency Decision Support Techniques for Nuclear Power Plants: Current State, Challenges, and Future Trends
by Xingyu Xiao, Jingang Liang, Jiejuan Tong and Haitao Wang
Energies 2024, 17(10), 2439; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17102439 - 20 May 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1127
Abstract
Emergency decision support techniques play an important role in complex and safety-critical systems such as nuclear power plants (NPPs). Emergency decision-making is not a single method but a framework comprising a combination of various technologies. This paper presents a review of various methods [...] Read more.
Emergency decision support techniques play an important role in complex and safety-critical systems such as nuclear power plants (NPPs). Emergency decision-making is not a single method but a framework comprising a combination of various technologies. This paper presents a review of various methods for emergency decision support systems in NPPs. We first discuss the theoretical foundations of nuclear power plant emergency decision support technologies. Based on this exposition, the key technologies of emergency decision support systems in NPPs are presented, including training operators in emergency management, risk assessment, fault detection and diagnosis, multi-criteria decision support, and accident consequence assessment. The principles, application, and comparative analysis of these methods are systematically described. Additionally, we present an overview of emergency decision support systems in NPPs across different countries and feature profiles of prominent systems like the Real-Time Online Decision Support System for Nuclear Emergencies (RODOS), the Accident Reporting and Guiding Operational System (ARGOS), and the Decision Support Tool for Severe Accidents (Severa). Then, the existing challenges and issues in this field are summarized, including the need for better integration of risk assessment, methods to enhance education and training, the acceleration of simulation calculations, the application of large language models, and international cooperation. Finally, we propose a new decision support system that integrates Level 1, 2, and 3 probabilistic safety assessment for emergency management in NPPs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancements in Nuclear Energy Technology)
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