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Conference Spotlight
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
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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AI at work: Southern Nuclear’s adoption of Copilot agents drives fleet forward
Southern Nuclear is leading the charge in artificial intelligence integration, with employee-developed applications driving efficiencies in maintenance, operations, safety, and performance.
The tools span all roles within the company, with thousands of documented uses throughout the fleet, including improved maintenance efficiency, risk awareness in maintenance activities, and better-informed decision-making. The data-intensive process of preparing for and executing maintenance operations is streamlined by leveraging AI to put the right information at the fingertips for maintenance leaders, planners, schedulers, engineers, and technicians.
L. D. Noble, P. Greebler, G. R. Pflasterer, Jr., B. U. B. Sarma, D. Wintzer
Nuclear Technology | Volume 10 | Number 1 | January 1971 | Pages 5-10
Technical Paper and Note | Reactor | doi.org/10.13182/NT71-A30941
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The minimum critical core size for the Southwest Experimental Fast Oxide Reactor was predicted prior to the initial fuel loading using the results of a critical mockup in ZPR-3. The predicted minimum critical loading was 519 PuO2-UO2 fuel rods containing 285 kg of fissile (239Pu + 241Pu) plutonium, with 1 beryllium oxide tightener rod for each 6 fuel rods. The actual minimum critical loading was equivalent to a core containing 518 standard fuel rods and the nominal 6-to-1 ratio of fuel-to-tightener rods. The calculations used in the prediction are described and the agreement between experiment and calculation is discussed.
