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
Thermal Hydraulics
The division provides a forum for focused technical dialogue on thermal hydraulic technology in the nuclear industry. Specifically, this will include heat transfer and fluid mechanics involved in the utilization of nuclear energy. It is intended to attract the highest quality of theoretical and experimental work to ANS, including research on basic phenomena and application to nuclear system design.
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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Jul 2024
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Nuclear Science and Engineering
August 2024
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
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.”
Michael V. McMahon, Michael J. Driscoll, Edward E. Pilat, Neil E. Todreas
Nuclear Technology | Volume 126 | Number 1 | April 1999 | Pages 32-47
Technical Paper | Fuel Cycle And Management | doi.org/10.13182/NT99-A2956
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Reload core designs for a 38.8-effective-full-power-month (EFPM) pressurized water reactor (PWR) cycle and a 45-EFPM boiling water reactor (BWR) cycle were developed to offer nuclear utilities the opportunity for economic benefit by permitting higher plant capacity factors and by reducing the required number of costly refueling operations. A key constraint on this work was the requirement to stay within current fuel burnup licensing limits. The designs use a single-batch reloading strategy and contain fuel with enrichments as high as 7.4 wt% 235U (exceeding the current licensing limit of 5 wt%). The PWR design uses Gd2O3 and an integral fuel burnable absorber as burnable poisons to hold down excess reactivity and control power peaking. The BWR employs only Gd2O3. Both core designs require higher-worth control rods to meet shutdown safety requirements.Fuel performance issues were also investigated. The presence of high-burnup fuel assemblies at greater than core-average power leads to fuel performance concerns over the effects of waterside corrosion and increased fission gas pressure. Steady-state analyses of fuel pin internal pressure showed acceptable fuel pin performance. Fuel performance areas requiring further research were highlighted.Extended-cycle cores have a fuel cost that is approximately $33 million/yr (or ~60%) more expensive than an optimized multibatch strategy. An economic analysis of these cores showed that extended cycles do not offer a significant economic benefit over conventional practice. Possible future scenarios that could make the subject loadings economically viable are a drop in separative work unit costs or a significant increase in the price of replacement electricity during shutdown.