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Division Spotlight
Education, Training & Workforce Development
The Education, Training & Workforce Development Division provides communication among the academic, industrial, and governmental communities through the exchange of views and information on matters related to education, training and workforce development in nuclear and radiological science, engineering, and technology. Industry leaders, education and training professionals, and interested students work together through Society-sponsored meetings and publications, to enrich their professional development, to educate the general public, and to advance nuclear and radiological science and engineering.
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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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.
T. G. Theofanous, J. L. La Chance, K. A. Williams
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 102 | Number 1 | May 1989 | Pages 74-100
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE89-A23633
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission pressurized thermal shock (PTS) study had previously identified small-break loss-of-coolant accidents (SBLOCAs) as a risk dominant accident scenario due to (numerically calculated) primary loop flow stagnation at high pressure. The objectives of the present effort were twofold: first, to develop a physically based understanding of controlling thermal-hydraulic phenomena producing such PTS SBLOCA stagnation scenarios and second, to use these insights in developing a simple (computationally efficient) “mapping” tool to quantify the occurrence and thermal behavior of such high-pressure flow stagnation regimes. Review of the previous [transient reactor analysis code (TRAC)] calculations revealed that inaccurate modeling of vapor condensation erroneously produced the flow stagnation and hence overly conservative (rapid) vessel cooldown rates. Using a corrected version of this code, our new calculations now exhibit flow circulation. However, parametric analysis of less likely (more equipment failure—power-operated relief valves/ high-pressure injection pumps) scenarios revealed that flow stagnation was indeed possible but could only occur at lower pressures. This simple mapping procedure has been favorably benchmarked against the (TRAC) system calculations. This tool is therefore useful for screening possible risk dominant SBLOCA scenarios in various pressurized water reactor designs.