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Division Spotlight
Nuclear Criticality Safety
NCSD provides communication among nuclear criticality safety professionals through the development of standards, the evolution of training methods and materials, the presentation of technical data and procedures, and the creation of specialty publications. In these ways, the division furthers the exchange of technical information on nuclear criticality safety with the ultimate goal of promoting the safe handling of fissionable materials outside reactors.
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
Virginia utility considers SMRs
Dominion Energy Virginia has issued a request for proposals from leading nuclear companies to study the feasibility of putting a small modular reactor at its North Anna nuclear power plant.
While the utility says it is not a commitment to build an SMR at the site, the RFP is “an important first step in evaluating the technology and the North Anna site to support Dominion Energy customers’ future energy needs consistent with the company’s most recent Integrated Resource Plan.”
Gregory J. Van Tuyle, Peter Kroeger, Gregory C. Slovik, Bing C. Chan, Robert J. Kennett, Arnold L. Aronson
Nuclear Technology | Volume 91 | Number 2 | August 1990 | Pages 185-202
Technical Paper | Safety of Next Generation Power Reactor / Nuclear Saftey | doi.org/10.13182/NT90-A34427
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Three advanced design concepts, including two liquid-metal-cooled reactors (LMRs), the Power Reactor Inherently Safe Module (PRISM) and the Sodium Advanced Fast Reactor (SAFR), and a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) are discussed and compared. Each provides inherent or passive safety to improve system safety. The focus is on two primary objectives: reactor shutdown and shutdown heat removal. The LMR and HTGR concepts rely on inherent reactivity feedback to provide an inherent reactor response under a failure-to-scram condition; SAFR also provides a passive shutdown system using Curie point magnets (the self-actuated scram system). For shutdown heat removal, the LMR and HTGR designs rely on passive air cooling of the reactor vessel as the ultimate safety-grade system.