ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Division Spotlight
Aerospace Nuclear Science & Technology
Organized to promote the advancement of knowledge in the use of nuclear science and technologies in the aerospace application. Specialized nuclear-based technologies and applications are needed to advance the state-of-the-art in aerospace design, engineering and operations to explore planetary bodies in our solar system and beyond, plus enhance the safety of air travel, especially high speed air travel. Areas of interest will include but are not limited to the creation of nuclear-based power and propulsion systems, multifunctional materials to protect humans and electronic components from atmospheric, space, and nuclear power system radiation, human factor strategies for the safety and reliable operation of nuclear power and propulsion plants by non-specialized personnel and more.
Meeting Spotlight
Utility Working Conference and Vendor Technology Expo (UWC 2024)
August 4–7, 2024
Marco Island, FL|JW Marriott Marco Island
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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Latest News
Vogtle-3 shuts down for valve issue
One of the new Vogtle units in Georgia was shut down unexpectedly on Monday last week for a valve issue that has been investigated and repaired. According to multiple local news outlets, Georgia Power reported on July 17 that unit 3 was back in service.
Southern Company spokesperson Jacob Hawkins confirmed that Vogtle-3 went off line at 9:25 p.m. on July 8 “due to lowering water levels in the steam generators caused by a valve issue on one of the three main feedwater pumps.”
José N. Reyes, Jr.
Nuclear Technology | Volume 178 | Number 2 | May 2012 | Pages 153-163
Technical Paper | Small Modular Reactors / Thermal Hydraulics | doi.org/10.13182/NT12-A13556
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The extreme events that led to the prolonged electrical power outage and finally to sever damage of four units of the Fukushima nuclear plant have highlighted the importance of ensuring a technical means for stable, long-term cooling of the nuclear fuel and the containment following a complete station blackout. This paper presents an overview of the advanced passive safety systems designed for the NuScale nuclear power plant and their role in addressing extreme events. The NuScale plant may include up to 12 power modules, and each module incorporates a reactor pressure vessel (core, steam generator, and pressurizer) and a containment vessel that surrounds the reactor vessel. During normal operation, each containment vessel is fully immersed in a water-filled, stainless steel-lined concrete pool that resides underground. The pool, housed in a Seismic Category I building, is large enough to provide 30 days of core and containment cooling without adding water. After 30 days, the core decay heat generation is so small that the natural convection heat transfer to air at the outside surface of the containment, coupled with thermal radiation heat transfer, are completely sufficient to remove the core decay heat for an unlimited period. These passive safety systems can perform their function without requiring an external supply of water or electric power. Computational and experimental assessments of the NuScale passive safety systems are being performed at several institutions, including the one-third scale NuScale integral system test facility at Oregon State University.