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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.
H. Huang, H. W. Xu, K. P. Youngblood, D. R. Wall, R. B. Stephens, K. A. Moreno, A. Nikroo, K. J. Wu, M. Wang, A. V. Hamza
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 63 | Number 2 | March-April 2013 | Pages 190-201
Technical Paper | Selected papers from 20th Target Fabrication Meeting, May 20-24, 2012, Santa Fe, NM, Guest Editor: Robert C. Cook | doi.org/10.13182/FST13-TFM20-24
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The National Ignition Facility point design uses a five-layer capsule to modify the X-ray absorption in order to achieve optimized shock timing. A stepwise copper dopant design defines the layer structure; however, the as-deposited Cu distribution is significantly altered during the CH mandrel removal by pyrolysis. The changes are significant: (a) Cu diffuses on average several microns, a distance more than an order of magnitude larger than predicted from the bulk diffusion data, and (b) the Cu distribution, as a result of diffusion, is highly heterogeneous, introducing a local variation of [approximately]0.06 at. % near the original layer interface. In this study, we developed quantitative techniques to measure Cu diffusion and explored its correlation to beryllium microstructures. Plausible diffusion mechanisms and mitigation methods will be discussed. These findings will enable more accurate evaluation of the expected target performance.