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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.
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Utility Working Conference and Vendor Technology Expo (UWC 2024)
August 4–7, 2024
Marco Island, FL|JW Marriott Marco Island
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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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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.”
Claude Degueldre, Jean-Marie Paratte
Nuclear Technology | Volume 123 | Number 1 | July 1998 | Pages 21-29
Technical Paper | Fuel Cycle and Management | doi.org/10.13182/NT98-A2876
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The properties of zirconia cubic solid solutions doped with yttria, erbia, and ceria or thoria are investigated with emphasis on the potential use of this material as an inert matrix for Pu incineration in a light water reactor. The material is selected on the basis of its neutronic and chemical properties; Zr and Y are not neutron absorbers. Among the rare-earth elements, Er was identified as a suitable burnable poison and was found to be the best among the rare-earth elements. The high-density cubic solid solution is stable for a rather large range of compositions and from room temperature up to ~3000 K. The selected zirconia-based material has rather low heat conductivity (~2 Wm-1K-1) compared to UO2, and the annular pellet design was consequently suggested to overcome this low-energy transfer characteristic. Samples irradiated with low- and high-energy Xe ions up to a fluence of 1.8 × 1016 Xecm-2 were investigated by transmission electron microscopy. Low-energy (60-keV) Xe ions did not produce amorphization. From the observed bubble formation, swelling values during irradiation at room temperature and at high temperature (925 K) were estimated to be 0.19 and 0.72% by volume, respectively. Furthermore, no amorphization was obtained by Xe irradiation under extreme conditions such as high-energy (1.5-MeV) Xe ion irradiation and low temperature (20 K). This confirms the robustness of this material and argues in favor of the selection of a zirconia-based material as an advanced nuclear fuel for Pu incineration.