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Conference Spotlight
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
Standards Program
The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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AI at work: Southern Nuclear’s adoption of Copilot agents drives fleet forward
Southern Nuclear is leading the charge in artificial intelligence integration, with employee-developed applications driving efficiencies in maintenance, operations, safety, and performance.
The tools span all roles within the company, with thousands of documented uses throughout the fleet, including improved maintenance efficiency, risk awareness in maintenance activities, and better-informed decision-making. The data-intensive process of preparing for and executing maintenance operations is streamlined by leveraging AI to put the right information at the fingertips for maintenance leaders, planners, schedulers, engineers, and technicians.
Roderick D. MacDonald, Ian J. Hastings
Nuclear Technology | Volume 71 | Number 2 | November 1985 | Pages 430-444
Technical Paper | Nuclear Fuel | doi.org/10.13182/NT85-A33696
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Zircaloy-clad fuel elements containing UO2 pellets separated by thin graphite disks have been irradiated to maximum burnups of 800 MWh/kg U (33 000 MWd/tonne U) at a linear power range of 30 to 70 kW/m. Fission gas release and sheath strains were lower than experienced for conventional fuel under comparable conditions because of the lower bulk average fuel temperatures in disk elements. The irradiated disk elements also showed good internal stability, tolerance to power ramping, and acceptable defect behavior.