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Division Spotlight
Human Factors, Instrumentation & Controls
Improving task performance, system reliability, system and personnel safety, efficiency, and effectiveness are the division's main objectives. Its major areas of interest include task design, procedures, training, instrument and control layout and placement, stress control, anthropometrics, psychological input, and motivation.
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.”
Christopher Cole, Hugues Bonin
Nuclear Technology | Volume 159 | Number 1 | July 2007 | Pages 1-14
Technical Paper | Fission Reactors | doi.org/10.13182/NT07-A3852
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The present work aims at initiating the conceptual design of a small nuclear reactor intended to provide sufficient electrical power (~150 kW) to maintain the "hotel" load of the Victoria-class submarine and extend her operational envelope. The scope of the design is to provide the nuclear reactor system with sufficient inherent safety features as to permit the operation of the nuclear reactor by crews with minimal training for automatic operation. Several constraints provide the framework for carrying out the design work, such as, among others, maintaining the excess reactivity of the reactor at safe values at all times, providing enough fuel and reactivity for meeting operational requirements, and keeping the size of the reactor core and shielding such as to fit within the hull of the existing vessel.The final reactor concept, named the Near Boiling reactor, employs TRISO fuel particles in zirconium-sheathed fuel rods. The reactor is light water moderated and cooled. The core life is specifically designed to coincide with the refit cycle of the Victoria-class submarine. The reactor employs a simple and reliable control and shutdown system that requires little intervention on the part of the submarine's crew. Also, a kinetic model is developed that demonstrates the inherent safety features of the reactor during several accident scenarios. The low steady-state flux level of the reactor during normal operation results in very low negative reactivity after shutdown and eliminates any reactor dead time. The reactor is designed for automatic unattended control and does not require extensive training for its operators.