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Organized to promote the advancement of knowledge in the use of nuclear science and technologies in the aerospace application. Specialized nuclear-based technologies and applications are needed to advance the state-of-the-art in aerospace design, engineering and operations to explore planetary bodies in our solar system and beyond, plus enhance the safety of air travel, especially high speed air travel. Areas of interest will include but are not limited to the creation of nuclear-based power and propulsion systems, multifunctional materials to protect humans and electronic components from atmospheric, space, and nuclear power system radiation, human factor strategies for the safety and reliable operation of nuclear power and propulsion plants by non-specialized personnel and more.
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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.”
Dandong Feng, Paolo Morra, Ramu Sundaram, Won-Jae Lee, Pradip Saha, Pavel Hejzlar, Mujid S. Kazimi
Nuclear Technology | Volume 160 | Number 1 | October 2007 | Pages 45-62
Technical Paper | Annular Fuel | doi.org/10.13182/NT07-A3883
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
This paper assesses the performance of internally and externally cooled annular fuel in a four-loop pressurized water reactor during a variety of transients and accidents, namely, the loss of flow accident (LOFA), main steam line break (MSLB), large break loss of coolant accident (LBLOCA), and rod ejection accident (REA). The RELAP5 code was the primary vehicle for these analyses, although the VIPRE code was also used to calculate the minimum departure from nucleate boiling ratio (MDNBR) for LOFA and MSLB transients based on the RELAP5 results. It has been found that the MDNBR for the annular fuel at 150% power was higher than the MDNBR value for the reference solid fuel at 100% power for LOFA and MSLB. For LBLOCA analysis, the RELAP5-3D code was applied twice since the code has a constraint on the reflood model, which can be applied to only one cooling surface (either the inner channel or the outer channel). The analysis, with the reflood model applied to the outer channel, showed that using the standard size (100%) accumulator but with an increased (150%) safety injection flow rate, the peak cladding temperature (PCT) for the annular fuel at 150% power would be ~1200 K (927°C). This is ~150°C higher than the PCT for the solid fuel at 100% power but 277°C lower than the regulatory limit of 1204°C. When the reflood model is applied to the inner channel, the PCT would be limited to 1100 K (827°C), which is only 50°C higher than the PCT for the solid fuel at 100% power and 377°C lower than the regulatory limit of 1204°C. The calculated fuel temperatures and enthalpies during the REA have been found to be much smaller for the annular fuel, even at 150% power, compared to that for the solid fuel at 100% power. These analyses indicate that the new internally and externally cooled annular fuel can accommodate 50% power uprate in a PWR and still maintain adequate safety margins for a variety of transients and accidents including LOFA, MSLB, LBLOCA, and REA.