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Division Spotlight
Accelerator Applications
The division was organized to promote the advancement of knowledge of the use of particle accelerator technologies for nuclear and other applications. It focuses on production of neutrons and other particles, utilization of these particles for scientific or industrial purposes, such as the production or destruction of radionuclides significant to energy, medicine, defense or other endeavors, as well as imaging and diagnostics.
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
July 2024
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Latest News
NRC engineers share their expertise at the University of Puerto Rico
Robert Roche-Rivera and Marcos Rolón-Acevedo are licensed professional engineers who work at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. They are also alumni of the University of Puerto Rico–Mayagüez (UPRM) and have been sharing their knowledge and experience with students at their alma mater since last year, serving as adjunct professors in the university’s Department of Mechanical Engineering. During the 2023–2024 school year, they each taught two courses: Fundamentals of Nuclear Science and Engineering, and Nuclear Power Plant Engineering.
Dumitru Serghiuta, John Tholammakkil
Nuclear Technology | Volume 205 | Number 12 | December 2019 | Pages 1513-1528
Critical Review | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2019.1570751
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
This paper reviews the attributes and challenges of applying the functional failure concept and the use of Best-Estimate Plus Uncertainty methods in evaluating protective systems in the risk space. As an illustrative example, the paper uses the case of the effectiveness of CANada Deuterium Uranium (CANDU) reactor shutdown systems. A risk-informed formulation is first introduced for estimation of a reasonable limit for functional failure probability using the Swiss Cheese model. In the real application, there are several challenges in realistically estimating probabilities of exceeding a prescribed design or regulatory limit. Key challenges discussed in this critical review include the use of complex, computationally intensive predictive models; modeling completeness; assumptions about input distributions; validation; separation of uncertainties; and selection of statistical model and algorithms. The use of hybrid deterministic-probabilistic methods may address these challenges to a certain extent.