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Conference on Nuclear Training and Education: A Biennial International Forum (CONTE 2025)
February 3–6, 2025
Amelia Island, FL|Omni Amelia Island Resort
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A series of firsts delivers new Plant Vogtle units
Southern Nuclear was first when no one wanted to be.
The nuclear subsidiary of the century-old utility Southern Company, based in Atlanta, Ga., joined a pack of nuclear companies in the early 2000s—during what was then dubbed a “nuclear renaissance”—bullish on plans for new large nuclear facilities and adding thousands of new carbon-free megawatts to the grid.
In 2008, Southern Nuclear applied for a combined construction and operating license (COL), positioning the company to receive the first such license from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 2012. Also in 2008, Southern became the first U.S. company to sign an engineering, procurement, and construction contract for a Generation III+ reactor. Southern chose Westinghouse’s AP1000 pressurized water reactor, which was certified by the NRC in December 2011.
Fast forward a dozen years—which saw dozens of setbacks and hundreds of successes—and Southern Nuclear and its stakeholders celebrated the completion of Vogtle Units 3 and 4: the first new commercial nuclear power construction project completed in the U.S. in more than 30 years.
R. B. Gordon
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 3 | Number 3 | March 1958 | Pages 232-249
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE58-A25464
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
To achieve adequate corrosion resistance in high-temperature water, the chemical composition and fabrication of zirconium cladding material must be carefully controlled. Present technology permits the satisfactory fabrication of a variety of fuel materials which are compatible with zirconium cladding. Homogeneity and melting crucible problems still exist with some of the fuel alloys. Zirconium-clad fuel elements of the bonded type are produced by pack rolling or coextrusion of the fuel and cladding. The optimum working temperature represents a balance between the need for minimizing differences in plasticity between fuel and cladding and for adequate diffusion at the clad-fuel interface. Unbonded fuel elements require close dimensional control of fuel and cladding and high-quality closure welds which are made possible by the excellent welding characteristics of Zircaloy.
