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Division Spotlight
Operations & Power
Members focus on the dissemination of knowledge and information in the area of power reactors with particular application to the production of electric power and process heat. The division sponsors meetings on the coverage of applied nuclear science and engineering as related to power plants, non-power reactors, and other nuclear facilities. It encourages and assists with the dissemination of knowledge pertinent to the safe and efficient operation of nuclear facilities through professional staff development, information exchange, and supporting the generation of viable solutions to current issues.
Meeting Spotlight
International Conference on Mathematics and Computational Methods Applied to Nuclear Science and Engineering (M&C 2025)
April 27–30, 2025
Denver, CO|The Westin Denver Downtown
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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May 2025
Nuclear Technology
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Latest News
TerraPower begins U.K. regulatory approval process
Seattle-based TerraPower signaled its interest this week in building its Natrium small modular reactor in the United Kingdom, the company announced.
TerraPower sent a letter to the U.K.’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, formally establishing its intention to enter the U.K. generic design assessment (GDA) process. This is TerraPower’s first step in deployment of its Natrium technology—a 345-MW sodium fast reactor coupled with a molten salt energy storage unit—on the international stage.
Amir Ali, Kerry J. Howe, Edward D. Blandford
Nuclear Technology | Volume 204 | Number 3 | December 2018 | Pages 318-329
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2018.1480212
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A series of experiments on vertical head loss modules or columns to measure conventional and chemical head loss was carried out to support the resolution of Generic Safety Issue 191 for the Vogtle nuclear power plant (NPP). The head loss (conventional and chemical) was measured on multi-constituent fibrous debris beds of different particulate-to-fiber ratios (η). The debris beds were generated on a horizontal screen following the new procedure developed at the University of New Mexico and are summarized herein. The generated debris beds have been shown to produce repeatable and stable conventional head loss (CHL) and have the ability to detect chemical surrogates. Prototypical Vogtle NPP containment debris materials were used to form three different particulate-to-fiber–ratio (η) debris beds: 6.89 (thin bed), 2 (intermediate bed), and 1.15 (thick bed). The particulates were presented as 90% epoxy paint, 5% inorganic zinc, and 5% latent debris dirt by mass. The obtained results show that the measured CHL increased as the particulate mass increased in the debris beds. The average measured CHL values were 9.37, 6.4, and 5.66 H2O'' for η = 1.15, 2, and 6.89 debris beds, respectively. The debris beds with η = 2 and 1.15 were selected for the chemical head loss experiments.
Standard aluminum (Al) chemical precipitates with specific batches were introduced to the head loss columns, and chemical head loss was measured. Precipitates prepared following the WCAP-16530-NP-A procedure [Lane et al., WCAP-16530-NP-A, “Evaluation of Post-Accident Chemical Effects in Containment Sump Fluids to Support GSI-191,” Westinghouse Electric Company (2008)] or formed in situ by injecting metal salts under two different rates (0.75 and 7.5 mL/min) were tested. The results show that the thin debris bed (~10 mm) was more sensitive to the chemical precipitates prepared following the WCAP procedure compared to the intermediate debris bed (~25 mm) and thick debris bed (~55 mm). The measured chemical head loss was 0.35, 0.1, and 0.02 H2O''/mg of Al filtered by the debris beds. The in situ injection method has shown higher measured chemical head loss per unit mass of filtered precipitates than the WCAP surrogates for the debris beds of η = 2 (intermediate bed) and 1.15 (thick bed). Also, the results show a nonconclusive effect on the injection rate of metal salt to form in situ chemical precipitates on the measured chemical head loss.