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Robotics & Remote Systems
The Mission of the Robotics and Remote Systems Division is to promote the development and application of immersive simulation, robotics, and remote systems for hazardous environments for the purpose of reducing hazardous exposure to individuals, reducing environmental hazards and reducing the cost of performing work.
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Utility Working Conference and Vendor Technology Expo (UWC 2024)
August 4–7, 2024
Marco Island, FL|JW Marriott Marco Island
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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.”
Jinsong Liu, Ivars Neretnieks, Bo H. E. Strömberg
Nuclear Technology | Volume 142 | Number 3 | June 2003 | Pages 294-305
Technical Paper | Radioisotopes | doi.org/10.13182/NT03-A3391
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In the concept of deep geological disposal of spent nuclear fuel, a chemically reducing environment in the near field of a repository is favorable for retaining the radionuclides in the fuel. Water radiolysis can possibly change a reducing environment in the near field to an oxidizing environment. In this paper, the consequences of secondary water radiolysis, caused by radionuclides released from the spent nuclear fuel and dispersed in the bentonite buffer surrounding a canister, have been studied.The canister is assumed to be initially defective with a hole of a few millimeters on its wall. The small hole will considerably restrict the transport of oxidants through the canister wall and the release of radionuclides to the outside of the canister. The spent fuel dissolution is assumed to be controlled by chemical kinetics at rates extrapolated from experimental studies. Two cases are considered. In the first case it is assumed that secondary phases of radionuclides [such as amorphous Pu(OH)4 and AmOHCO3] do not precipitate inside the canister. The model results show that a relatively large domain of the near field can be oxidized by the oxidants of secondary radiolysis. In the second case it is assumed that secondary phases of radionuclides precipitate inside the canister, and the radionuclide concentration within the canister is controlled by its respective solubility limit. The amount of radionuclides released out of the canister will then be limited by the solubility of the secondary phases. The effect of the secondary radiolysis outside the canister on the rate of spent fuel oxidation inside a defective canister will be quite limited and can be neglected for any practical purposes in this case.