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
Fusion Energy
This division promotes the development and timely introduction of fusion energy as a sustainable energy source with favorable economic, environmental, and safety attributes. The division cooperates with other organizations on common issues of multidisciplinary fusion science and technology, conducts professional meetings, and disseminates technical information in support of these goals. Members focus on the assessment and resolution of critical developmental issues for practical fusion energy applications.
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.”
Shokoufeh Zargar, Ricardo A. Medina (Univ of New Hampshire), Luis Ibarra (Univ of Utah)
Proceedings | 16th International High-Level Radioactive Waste Management Conference (IHLRWM 2017) | Charlotte, NC, April 9-13, 2017 | Pages 931-939
This research deals with the development and calibration of numerical models of fuel rods based on quasi-static and vibration experiments performed on intact (unirradiated) rods. The original rod configuration exhibits a gap between the cladding and pellets that may be reduced, or even closed, after irradiation due to the swelling of the pellets, leading to bonding between the pellets and cladding. In this paper two cases are investigated. First, the pellets are bonded to the cladding, with the pellets just in contact with one another (de-bonded). Second, the pellets are in contact with the cladding and with one another without bonding. Due to limited availability of irradiated fuel rods and their restricted workability, the experiments were performed on unirradiated surrogate copper claddings with steel pellets, and the bonding was simulated using adhesive epoxy. The experiments were conducted with fixtures that represent pin supports. The results obtained on the vibration response of surrogate copper rods, indicate that bonding of the pellets and cladding results in a total rod flexural rigidity equal to the rigidity of the copper cladding and up to 15% of the flexural rigidity of the pellets. For the case of pellet-cladding in contact, the contribution of the steel pellets to the total rod flexural rigidity is negligible.