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Division Spotlight
Operations & Power
Members focus on the dissemination of knowledge and information in the area of power reactors with particular application to the production of electric power and process heat. The division sponsors meetings on the coverage of applied nuclear science and engineering as related to power plants, non-power reactors, and other nuclear facilities. It encourages and assists with the dissemination of knowledge pertinent to the safe and efficient operation of nuclear facilities through professional staff development, information exchange, and supporting the generation of viable solutions to current issues.
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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August 2024
Latest News
New laws offer nuclear industry incentives for existing power plant uprates
This year, the U.S. nuclear industry received a much-needed economic boost that could help preserve operating nuclear power plants and incentivize upgrades that extend their lifespan and power output.
Signed into law in 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act offers production tax credits (PTCs) for existing nuclear power plants and either PTCs or investment tax credits (ITCs) for new carbon-free generation. These credits could make power uprates—increasing the maximum power level at which a commercial plant may operate—a much more appealing option for utilities.
J. C. Robinson, D. N. Fry
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 42 | Number 3 | December 1970 | Pages 397-405
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE70-A21226
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Small pressure perturbations were introduced into the primary fuel pump bowl of the Molten-Salt Reactor Experiment (MSRE) operating at its nominal power of 8 MW(th). The experimental neutron flux-to-pressure frequency response was then obtained from a cross-power and auto-power spectral density analysis of the resulting signals from a neutron sensitive ionization chamber and a pressure transducer. By comparing the frequency dependence of the experimental frequency response determined for the reactor operating at power with the frequency response determined from analysis of mathematical models, the selection of the more appropriate boundary condition set from a choice of two possible boundary condition sets was possible. Then, the analytical frequency response was fitted by the least-squares method to the experimental frequency response to obtain the void fraction in the molten salt fuel. A void fraction of 0.61 ± 0.04% was determined from the frequency response; this value compares favorably with a value of 0.6 ± 0.1% determined by other techniques. Conclusions from this work are that the analytical model leads to acceptable results for the neutron flux-to-pressure frequency response and that properly designed dynamic tests involving small reactivity perturbations (introduced by means other than rod motion) can be used to extract specific nuclear parameters for a nuclear system operation at power.