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Operations & Power
Members focus on the dissemination of knowledge and information in the area of power reactors with particular application to the production of electric power and process heat. The division sponsors meetings on the coverage of applied nuclear science and engineering as related to power plants, non-power reactors, and other nuclear facilities. It encourages and assists with the dissemination of knowledge pertinent to the safe and efficient operation of nuclear facilities through professional staff development, information exchange, and supporting the generation of viable solutions to current issues.
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ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
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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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General Kenneth Nichols and the Manhattan Project
Nichols
The Oak Ridger has published the latest in a series of articles about General Kenneth D. Nichols, the Manhattan Project, and the 1954 Atomic Energy Act. The series has been produced by Nichols’ grandniece Barbara Rogers Scollin and Oak Ridge (Tenn.) city historian David Ray Smith. Gen. Nichols (1907–2000) was the district engineer for the Manhattan Engineer District during the Manhattan Project.
As Smith and Scollin explain, Nichols “had supervision of the research and development connected with, and the design, construction, and operation of, all plants required to produce plutonium-239 and uranium-235, including the construction of the towns of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Richland, Washington. The responsibility of his position was massive as he oversaw a workforce of both military and civilian personnel of approximately 125,000; his Oak Ridge office became the center of the wartime atomic energy’s activities.”
Steven P. Nesbit, Richard J. Gerling, Gregg B. Swindlehurst
Nuclear Technology | Volume 83 | Number 3 | December 1988 | Pages 344-352
Technical Paper | Fifth International Retran Meeting / Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow | doi.org/10.13182/NT88-A34147
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A comprehensive program by the Duke Power Company to qualify thermal-hydraulic transient analysis methods has been completed. The cornerstone of these methods is the use of the RETRAN-02/MOD003 computer code for the prediction of reactor coolant system behavior during plant transients. A RETRAN model of the Oconee nuclear station [three 2568-MW(thermal) Babcock & Wilcox reactors] was constructed and validated by comparison with data from actual plant events. The transient data base was searched to identify those events that are challenging to the predictive ability of the code and that have sufficient information available for a meaningful comparison between the code and the data. Nine events were selected, covering the following range of transient types: loss of primary-to-secondary heat transfer, excessive primary-to-secondary heat transfer [including steam generator (SG) overfeed and SG depressurization], loss of forced primary circulation, change in core reactivity, and operational transient without reactor trip. For each benchmark, a detailed review was made of all available sources of information in order to develop a complete set of initial and boundary conditions. The plant base model was modified to match the actual initial conditions, and the event was simulated using the best representation of the key boundary conditions. Four transient benchmarks are discussed in detail. The August 14, 1984, loss of all feedwater at Unit 3 demonstrates the effect of SG dryout on the primary system. The September 10, 1982, turbine bypass valve failure involves the posttrip overcooling of the primary system due to SG depressurization. The August 8, 1982, dropped control rod group event shows the effect of a rapid change in core reactivity on the plant. The July 15, 1985, main feedwater pump trip without reactor trip is characterized by a successful runback following a large mismatch between power generation and power removal. The accurate prediction of key phenomena during these and other events provides justification for the application of RETRAN to simulate the Oconee plant response to a wide variety of non-loss-of-coolant accident transients.
