ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Division Spotlight
Fuel Cycle & Waste Management
Devoted to all aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle including waste management, worldwide. Division specific areas of interest and involvement include uranium conversion and enrichment; fuel fabrication, management (in-core and ex-core) and recycle; transportation; safeguards; high-level, low-level and mixed waste management and disposal; public policy and program management; decontamination and decommissioning environmental restoration; and excess weapons materials disposition.
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
Jul 2024
Jan 2024
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
August 2024
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
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.”
Teresa Orellana Pérez, Holger Voelzke, Dietmar Wolff, Uwe Zencker (BAM)
Proceedings | 16th International High-Level Radioactive Waste Management Conference (IHLRWM 2017) | Charlotte, NC, April 9-13, 2017 | Pages 718-725
The current German waste management strategy consists of dry interim storage of spent fuel inside dual purpose casks at various sites and its subsequent direct final disposal in a deep geological repository. Interim facilities are licensed for up to 40 years of operation but this storing period will have to be extended until repository site selection and operation is concluded, potentially up to 100 years. In this context, research on long term mechanical behavior of fuel cladding and cask components during extended interim storage and transportation to a final repository are of outmost importance.
Barrier properties of the fuel cladding depend on its integrity which is affected over time by thermo-mechanical loads and by microstructure altering including potential embrittlement caused by re-oriented hydride precipitation. Experimental and numerical investigations have been performed by the international research community in order to predict the degree of cladding embrittlement against storage time. Results have shown that embrittlement of cladding materials is governed by the concentration, orientation and size of precipitated hydrides. Nevertheless, the existing variety of fuel materials and assemblies available on the market and the many parameters effecting hydride precipitation do not allow sufficient reliable safety predictions in the long term without further investigation.
Thus, knowledge on cladding integrity over storage time and during subsequent transportation is to be gained taking into consideration the relevant fuel and cladding material types as well as cladding temperatures along with peak values during cask drying and cooling rates during storage periods. Expected research results will increase the accuracy of cladding safety analysis. This paper summarizes the current German status regarding extended interim storage and how BAM is going to identify and address potential cladding integrity issues in the long term.