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Division Spotlight
Robotics & Remote Systems
The Mission of the Robotics and Remote Systems Division is to promote the development and application of immersive simulation, robotics, and remote systems for hazardous environments for the purpose of reducing hazardous exposure to individuals, reducing environmental hazards and reducing the cost of performing work.
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 since 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. local time 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.”
Tilmann Rothfuchs, Johannes Droste, Hans-Karl Feddersen, Stefan Heusermann, Jörn U. Schneefuss, Alexandra Pudewills
Nuclear Technology | Volume 121 | Number 2 | February 1998 | Pages 189-198
Technical Paper | German Direct Disposal Project | doi.org/10.13182/NT98-A2831
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The thermal simulation of drift storage (TSS) full-scale test is being performed in the Asse salt mine in Germany to study the thermomechanical effects of the direct disposal of spent-fuel elements in a nuclear salt repository. The test field comprises two parallel test drifts, in each of which three dummy casks are deposited. The remaining volume of the drifts is backfilled with crushed salt. The casks are equipped with electrical heaters with a thermal power output of 6.4 kW each. The test has been in operation since September 1990. A design temperature of ~210°C at the surface of the heater casks was reached after 5 months. Because the thermal conductivity of the backfill increases with its compaction, the temperature at the surface of the casks subsequently decreased, reaching ~170°C after 5 yr of heating. The drift closure, which causes increasing compaction of the backfill, was considerably accelerated by heating. However, the initial backfill porosity of 35% decreased more slowly than predicted, to ~27% in the heated area at the end of 1995. The average backfill pressure has currently reached 18% of the initial vertical stress in the test field area, which has been estimated at ~12 MPa. Studies of water and gas releases from the backfill material reveal significant increases of carbon dioxide, methane, and hydrogen concentrations due to heating. In situ measurements will be continued in the coming years to study further thermomechanical reactions of the backfill and the surrounding rock salt to the heat input.