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Aerospace Nuclear Science & Technology
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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Utility Working Conference and Vendor Technology Expo (UWC 2024)
August 4–7, 2024
Marco Island, FL|JW Marriott Marco Island
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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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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.”
Daniel M. Wachs, Dennis D. Keiser, Douglas L. Porter, Naoyuki Kisohara
Nuclear Technology | Volume 164 | Number 3 | December 2008 | Pages 465-473
Technical Paper | Materials for Nuclear Systems | doi.org/10.13182/NT08-A4038
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
After 30 yr of operation, the Experimental Breeder Reactor II (EBR-II) Superheater 710 at Argonne National Laboratory-West (now Idaho National Laboratory) was decommissioned. As part of its postservice examination, four duplex tube sections were removed and Charpy impact testing was performed to characterize the crack-arresting ability of nickel-bonded tube interfaces. A scanning electron microscopy (SEM) examination was also performed to characterize and identify changes in bond material microstructure. From room temperature to 400°C, all samples demonstrated ductility and crack-stopping ability similar to that exhibited by beginning-of-life samples. However, at a low temperature (-50°C), samples removed from the lower region of the superheater (near the sodium inlet) failed while those from the upper region (near the sodium outlet) did not. SEM analysis revealed that all the tube-tube interfaces showed evidence of iron diffusion into the nickel braze, which resulted in the formation of a multiphase diffusion structure. Yet, significant void formation was only observed in the bond layer of the tubes removed from the lower region. This may be due to a change in the crystal microstructure of one of the phases within the bond layer that occurs in the 350 to 450°C temperature range, which results in a lower density and the formation of porosity. Apparently, only the samples from the higher-temperature region were exposed to this transition temperature, and the resulting large voids that developed acted as stress concentrators that led to low-temperature embrittlement and failure of the Charpy impact specimens.