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Division Spotlight
Nuclear Installations Safety
Devoted specifically to the safety of nuclear installations and the health and safety of the public, this division seeks a better understanding of the role of safety in the design, construction and operation of nuclear installation facilities. The division also promotes engineering and scientific technology advancement associated with the safety of such facilities.
Meeting Spotlight
ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
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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February 2025
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RP3C Community of Practice’s fifth anniversary
In February, the Community of Practice (CoP) webinar series, hosted by the American Nuclear Society Standards Board’s Risk-informed, Performance-based Principles and Policies Committee (RP3C), celebrated its fifth anniversary. Like so many online events, these CoPs brought people together at a time when interacting with others became challenging in early 2020. Since the kickoff CoP, which highlighted the impact that systems engineering has on the design of NuScale’s small modular reactor, the last Friday of most months has featured a new speaker leading a discussion on the use of risk-informed, performance-based (RIPB) thinking in the nuclear industry. Providing a venue to convene for people within ANS and those who found their way online by another route, CoPs are an opportunity for the community to receive answers to their burning questions about the subject at hand. With 50–100 active online participants most months, the conversation is always lively, and knowledge flows freely.
P. J. Fehrenbach, P. A. Morel, R. D. Sage
Nuclear Technology | Volume 56 | Number 1 | January 1982 | Pages 112-119
Technical Paper | Material | doi.org/10.13182/NT82-A32886
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Measurement of fuel element diameters while the fuel is operating at power, in-reactor, has provided evidence of in-reactor fuel densification and relocation. The design and operation of the in-reactor diameter measuring rig used for these measurements are described. Diameter measurements were obtained from two fresh Zircaloy-clad UO2 elements containing fuel of 10.64 and 10.82 Mg/m3 density, respectively, at linear power outputs up to 61 kW/m. Similar measurements were also obtained from a 10.64 Mg/m3 density element after low power irradiation at 26 kW/m to a burnup of 75 MW- h/kg uranium. Results indicate that higher starting fuel density and prior irradiation both reduce the amount and rate of in-reactor fuel densification observed. Diameter measurements following reactor shutdowns, particularly on the higher burnup element, also indicate that fuel relocation can overcome diameter decreases due to fuel densification and restore pellet-clad interaction.
