ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
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Division Spotlight
Education, Training & Workforce Development
The Education, Training & Workforce Development Division provides communication among the academic, industrial, and governmental communities through the exchange of views and information on matters related to education, training and workforce development in nuclear and radiological science, engineering, and technology. Industry leaders, education and training professionals, and interested students work together through Society-sponsored meetings and publications, to enrich their professional development, to educate the general public, and to advance nuclear and radiological science and engineering.
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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Nuclear Science and Engineering
August 2024
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
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.”
Alexander Agung, Danny Lathouwers, Tim H. J. J. van der Hagen, Hugo van Dam, Christopher C. Pain, Anthony J. H. Goddard, Matthew D. Eaton, Jefferson L. M. A. Gomes, Bryan Miles, Cassiano R. E. de Oliveira
Nuclear Technology | Volume 153 | Number 2 | February 2006 | Pages 117-131
Technical Paper | Fission Reactors | doi.org/10.13182/NT06-A3694
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
This paper describes several modifications to the design of a fluidized bed nuclear reactor in order to improve its performance. The goal of these modifications is to achieve a higher power output, requiring an excess reactivity of 4% at maximum expansion of the bed. The modifications are also intended to obtain a larger safety margin when the reactor does not operate; a shutdown margin of 4% is required when the bed is in a packed state. The modifications include installing an embedded side absorber, changing the reactor cross-section area, and modifying the moderator-to-fuel ratio. The new design based on the modifications related to the aforementioned parameters achieves the desired shutdown margin and the excess reactivity.A model describing the coupling of neutronics and thermal/fluid dynamics is developed, and it is used to study the behavior of the reactor at steady conditions. The results show that the reactor can achieve a high output temperature of 1163 K and produce a thermal power of ~120 MW. Further, the results indicate that the power level of the reactor can be controlled easily by adjusting the flow of helium into the core without any further use of control rods or other active control mechanisms.