Advances in Thermal-Hydraulics and Artificial Intelligence for Next-Generation Nuclear Energy
A special issue of Journal of Nuclear Engineering (ISSN 2673-4362).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026 | Viewed by 423
Editors
Interests: thermal hydraulics and reactor safety; two-phase flow and heat transfer; small modular reactors; compact heat exchangers; nuclear engineering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: advanced reactor design; thermal hydraulics; reactor safety analysis; nuclear engineering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: reactor thermal dynamics; two-phase flow and heat transfer; phase change phenomena; cryogenics fluids; advanced instrumentation development; nuclear engineering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The growing global demand for clean, efficient, and dispatchable energy has intensified interest in next-generation nuclear reactors, particularly Generation IV fission reactors and fusion reactors. These advanced reactors offer significant advantages, such as exceptional thermal efficiency through advanced power conversion cycles (i.e., Brayton cycle) and inherent safety characteristics that rely on passive mechanisms (i.e., natural circulation). Beyond electricity generation, these advanced reactors provide versatile energy solutions through cogeneration. The high-temperature process heat they generate supports industrial applications, such as hydrogen production and seawater desalination.
This Special Issue aims to showcase cutting-edge research in advanced reactor development, focusing on nuclear reactor thermal hydraulics and the emerging role of artificial intelligence in this domain. Thermal hydraulics govern heat transfer and fluid behavior within reactor systems, directly affecting both safety performance and operational efficiency. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence offers transformative potential for predictive modeling, anomaly detection, and design optimization, enabling new approaches to longstanding challenges in reactor analysis.
We invite contributions that advance the fundamental understanding and practical application of thermal-hydraulic phenomena in advanced reactor systems, fostering innovation toward safe and sustainable nuclear energy deployment.
Topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Thermal hydraulics and safety of advanced reactors (i.e., Generation IV and fusion reactors);
- Application of artificial intelligence and machine learning in nuclear reactor thermal hydraulics;
- Advanced modeling and simulation in thermal hydraulics, including computational fluid dynamics, system-code development, and multi-scale/multi-physics coupling;
- Experimental thermal hydraulics (separate- and integral-effect tests);
- Design and optimization of advanced reactors;
- Thermal-hydraulic aspects of advanced reactor fuel design and performance;
- Innovation in components and instrumentation, including heat exchangers and pumps.
You may choose our Joint Special Issue in Energies.
Prof. Dr. Xiaodong Sun
Dr. Sheng Zhang
Dr. Qingqing 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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
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-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Nuclear Engineering is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly 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 1200 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
- next-generation nuclear reactors
- reactor thermal hydraulics
- artificial intelligence
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