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Division Spotlight
Young Members Group
The Young Members Group works to encourage and enable all young professional members to be actively involved in the efforts and endeavors of the Society at all levels (Professional Divisions, ANS Governance, Local Sections, etc.) as they transition from the role of a student to the role of a professional. It sponsors non-technical workshops and meetings that provide professional development and networking opportunities for young professionals, collaborates with other Divisions and Groups in developing technical and non-technical content for topical and national meetings, encourages its members to participate in the activities of the Groups and Divisions that are closely related to their professional interests as well as in their local sections, introduces young members to the rules and governance structure of the Society, and nominates young professionals for awards and leadership opportunities available to members.
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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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.”
Kostadin N. Ivanov, Nadejda K. Todorova, Enrico Sartori
Nuclear Technology | Volume 142 | Number 2 | May 2003 | Pages 95-115
Technical Paper | OECD/NRC MSLB Benchmark | doi.org/10.13182/NT03-A3376
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Incorporating full three-dimensional (3-D) models of the reactor core into system transient codes allows for a "best-estimate" calculation of interactions between the core behavior and plant dynamics. Recent progress in computer technology has made the development of coupled thermal-hydraulic (T-H) and neutron kinetics code systems feasible. Considerable efforts have been made in various countries and organizations in this direction. Appropriate benchmarks need to be developed that will permit testing of two particular aspects. One is to verify the capability of the coupled codes to analyze complex transients with coupled core-plant interactions. The second is to test fully the neutronics/T-H coupling. One such benchmark is the Pressurized Water Reactor Main Steam Line Break (MSLB) Benchmark problem. It was sponsored by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and The Pennsylvania State University. The benchmark problem uses a 3-D neutronics core model that is based on real plant design and operational data for the Three Mile Island Unit 1 nuclear power plant. The purpose of this benchmark is threefold: to verify the capability of system codes for analyzing complex transients with coupled core-plant interactions; to test fully the 3-D neutronics/T-H coupling; and to evaluate discrepancies among the predictions of coupled codes in best-estimate transient simulations. The purposes of the benchmark are met through the application of three exercises: a point kinetics plant simulation (exercise 1), a coupled 3-D neutronics/core T-H evaluation of core response (exercise 2), and a best-estimate coupled core-plant transient model (exercise 3).In this paper we present the three exercises of the MSLB benchmark, and we summarize the findings of the participants with regard to the current numerical and computational issues of coupled calculations. In addition, this paper reviews in some detail the sensitivity studies on exercises 2 and 3 performed by the benchmark team using the coupled code TRAC-PF1/NEM. The purpose of these supporting studies was to aid participants in developing their models.