1. Research Areas

The laboratory is built upon the key discipline of "Nuclear Science and Technology" recognized by the Ministry of Education, as well as the national key discipline of "Nuclear Energy Science and Engineering." It focuses on addressing key scientific challenges in reactor technology identified by the INET, engaging in both fundamental and applied research. The primary research areas include thermal-hydraulic design and experimentation for advanced nuclear energy systems. These efforts encompass a range of reactor types such as high-temperature gas-cooled reactors, low-temperature heating reactors, and high-flux reactors. Significant progress has been made in areas such as advanced reactor concepts and safety, thermofluid dynamics under extreme conditions, multiphase flow theory and its applications, and the fundamental physical processes involved in nuclear accidents.

2. Experimental Facilities

Established in 1964, the laboratory serves as a critical research and teaching base for the INET. It was designated a university-level laboratory by Tsinghua University in 1992, and in 2000, it was approved as the Key Laboratory of Advanced Reactor Engineering and Safety by the Ministry of Education, making it the only key laboratory in the nuclear energy field under the Ministry of Education.

The laboratory spans six experimental buildings, covering nearly 20,000 square meters, and houses close to a hundred experimental systems. These include over 20 thermal-hydraulic research platforms in the Reactor Thermal Engineering Laboratory, approximately 30 large-scale experimental systems in the Advanced Reactor Engineering Laboratory, and more than 20 large experimental loops in the Advanced Pressurized Water Reactor Laboratory, along with the world’s largest helium test loop. The laboratory has a strong research foundation and well-established scientific conditions, with fully equipped hardware and software facilities. It has the capability to conduct integrated research and development across multiple disciplines, such as reactor physics, thermal hydraulics, mechanical structures, electrical and control systems, and materials, to innovate new nuclear energy systems.

3. Achievements and Highlights

1）Awards

1999: Second Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress by the Ministry of Education for “Two-Phase Flow Stability Study of the DC Evaporator in the 10MW High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Experimental Reactor”

1999: Second Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress by China National Nuclear Corporation for “Helium Technology and Helium Loop”

1998: Second Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress by the Ministry of Education for “Design Criteria of the 10MW High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Experimental Reactor”

1998: Second Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress by China National Nuclear Corporation for “Gas Flow Experiments in the Bottom Structure of the Pebble Bed High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor”

1996: Third Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress by China National Nuclear Corporation for “Helium Gas Static Seal Experiment”

1995: Third Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress by China National Nuclear Corporation for “High Current Electrical Sealing Structure Design and Experiment”

1993: Third Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress by the State Education Commission for “Safety Experiment Research of Low-Temperature Nuclear Heating Reactor”

1991: First Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress by the State Education Commission for “Thermal-Hydraulic Stability Experiment of Natural Circulation Micro-Boiling”

2）Academic Journal

In 2019, the laboratory independently launched a new international journal, 《Experimental and Computational Multiphase Flow》, with Professor Shengyao Jiang as the Editor-in-Chief. Published jointly by Springer and Tsinghua University, the journal has been indexed by ESCI, Scopus, and EI. With an impact factor of 6.5, it ranks 9th out of 164 in Mechanics (Top 6%) and 7th out of 77 in Thermodynamics (Top 9%) in the Web of Science core categories, positioning it in the Q1 category. The journal has since become a new international platform for research in reactor thermal-hydraulics.

3) Representative Books

Nan Gui, Shengyao Jiang, Jiyuan Tu, Xingtuan Yang. Gas-Particle and Granular Flow Systems: Coupled Numerical Methods and Applications. Elsevier, 2020. (ISBN: 978-0-12-816398-6)

Shengyao Jiang, Jiyuan Tu, Xingtuan Yang, Nan Gui. Multiphase Flow and Heat Transfer in Pebble Bed Reactor Core. Springer, 2021. (ISBN 978-981-15-9564-6; E-ISBN 978-981-15-9565-3) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-9565-3

4. Contact Us

Nan Gui, guinan@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn

Huaqiang Yin, yinhuaqiang@tsinghua.edu.cn