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Nuclear Criticality Safety
NCSD provides communication among nuclear criticality safety professionals through the development of standards, the evolution of training methods and materials, the presentation of technical data and procedures, and the creation of specialty publications. In these ways, the division furthers the exchange of technical information on nuclear criticality safety with the ultimate goal of promoting the safe handling of fissionable materials outside reactors.
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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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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.”
Kenneth D. Wright, James S. Tulenko, Edward T. Dugan
Nuclear Technology | Volume 123 | Number 3 | September 1998 | Pages 259-267
Technical Paper | Reactor Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT98-A2897
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Monte Carlo N-Particle Transport Code System (MCNP) criticality calculations were performed on a library of critical benchmark experiments to obtain preliminary bias values and subcritical margins to be utilized in licensing calculations for high-level radioactive waste disposal.The critical experiments library includes a broad range of system physical and neutronic characteristics that are representative of a range of potential criticality configurations relevant to long-term deep geological disposal. Two hundred and eighty-nine critical benchmark experiments were selected and grouped into 20 critical experiment classifications.From the results of this study, an applicable subcritical margin or maximum allowable keff can be selected for preliminary repository criticality analysis based on the similarity between the physical and neutronic characteristics of the system being analyzed and the relevant library classification. The results of this study provide quantification of both the confidence associated with the MCNP code and the presented conservative method for performing criticality evaluations relevant to repository emplacement of high-level radioactive waste.