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Division Spotlight
Nuclear Installations Safety
Devoted specifically to the safety of nuclear installations and the health and safety of the public, this division seeks a better understanding of the role of safety in the design, construction and operation of nuclear installation facilities. The division also promotes engineering and scientific technology advancement associated with the safety of such facilities.
Meeting Spotlight
2024 ANS Winter Conference and Expo
November 17–21, 2024
Orlando, FL|Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld
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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Keeping up with Kewaunee
In October 2012, Dominion Energy announced it was closing the Kewaunee nuclear power plant, a two-loop 574-MWe pressurized water reactor located about 27 miles southeast of Green Bay, Wis., on the western shore of Lake Michigan. At the time, Dominion said the plant was running well, but that low wholesale electricity prices in the region made it uneconomical to continue operation of the single-unit merchant power plant.
William M. Grim, Jr., Bruce B. Barrow, John C. Simons, Jr.
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 1 | Number 1 | March 1956 | Pages 80-91
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE56-A17660
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Measurement of reactor period at low power levels (from 10-10 to 10-5 of full power) during start-up is desirable to permit the full power level to be reached rapidly yet safely. At low flux levels, it is natural to attempt to obtain period information by differentiating the output of a logarithmic counting-rate meter. Because of the random arrival of pulses at the input of the system, however, the period indicated at the output will fluctuate about the correct value, the magnitude of the fluctuation depending upon the average counting rate and upon the system parameters. If the diode in the logarithmic circuit is replaced for incremental analysis by an appropriate linear resistor, the magnitude of the output fluctuations can be calculated by applying shot noise theory. These calculations are here carried out for the infinite-period case (constant counting rate), using the counting rate as an independent variable. Experiments were carried out, and the results agreed closely with theory. Although the present study is based on fluctuations occurring when flux is held constant, other work shows the results to be applicable also to flux transients.