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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.
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.”
Aya Diab, Michael Corradini
Nuclear Technology | Volume 169 | Number 2 | February 2010 | Pages 97-113
Technical Paper | Thermal Hydraulics | doi.org/10.13182/NT10-A9355
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
CANDU reactors are pressurized heavy water-moderated and heavy water-cooled reactor designs. During commissioning of nuclear power plants, a range of possible accidents must be considered to assure a plant's robust design. Consider a complete channel blockage in the CANDU reactor. Such an extreme flow blockage event would result in fuel overheating, pressure tube failure, partial melting of fuel rods, and possible molten fuel-moderator interactions (MFMIs). The MFMI phenomenon would occur immediately after the pressure tube rupture and would involve a mixture of steam, hydrogen, and molten fuel being ejected into the surrounding moderator water in the form of a high-pressure vapor bubble mixture. This bubble mixture would accelerate the surrounding denser water, causing interfacial mixing due to hydrodynamic instabilities at the interface. As a result of these interfacial instabilities, water is entrained into the growing two-phase bubble mixture with attendant mass and heat transfer, e.g., water vaporization and fuel oxidation. A comprehensive model has been developed to investigate these complex phenomena resulting from a postulated complete flow blockage and complete pressure tube failure. This dynamic model serves as a baseline to characterize the pressure response due to a pressure tube rupture and the associated MFMI phenomena. Theoretical modeling of these interrelated complex phenomena is not known a priori, and therefore, a semiempirical approach is adopted.