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Division Spotlight
Isotopes & Radiation
Members are devoted to applying nuclear science and engineering technologies involving isotopes, radiation applications, and associated equipment in scientific research, development, and industrial processes. Their interests lie primarily in education, industrial uses, biology, medicine, and health physics. Division committees include Analytical Applications of Isotopes and Radiation, Biology and Medicine, Radiation Applications, Radiation Sources and Detection, and Thermal Power Sources.
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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August 2024
Nuclear Technology
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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.”
Werner Maschek, Andrei Rineiski, Michael Flad, Koji Morita, Pierre Coste
Nuclear Technology | Volume 141 | Number 2 | February 2003 | Pages 186-201
Technical Paper | Accelerators | doi.org/10.13182/NT03-A3360
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
So-called dedicated fuels will be utilized to obtain maximum transmutation and incineration rates of minor actinides (MAs) in accelerator-driven systems (ADSs). These fuels are characterized by a high-MA content and the lack of the classical fertile materials such as 238U or 232Th. Dedicated fuels still have to be developed; however, programs are under way for their fabrication, irradiation, and testing. In Europe, mainly the oxide route is investigated and developed. A dedicated core will contain multiple "critical" fuel masses, resulting in a certain recriticality potential under core degradation conditions. The use of dedicated fuels may also lead to strong deterioration of the safety parameters of the reactor core, such as, e.g., the void worth, Doppler or the kinetics quantities, neutron generation time, and eff. Critical reactors with this kind of fuel might encounter safety problems, especially under severe accident conditions. For ADSs, it is assumed that because of the subcriticality of the system, the poor safety features of such fuels could be coped with. Analyses reveal some safety problems for ADSs with dedicated fuels. Additional inherent and passive safety measures are proposed to achieve the required safety level. A safety strategy along the lines of a defense approach is presented where these measures can be integrated. The ultimate goal of these measures is to eliminate any mechanistic severe accident scenario and the potential for energetics.