ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
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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!
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.”
M. Solom, D. Osborn, K. Ross (SNL), Karen Vierow Kirkland, A. Patil (Texas A&M), N. Tsuzuki (The Inst of Applied Energy)
Proceedings | Advances in Thermal Hydraulics 2018 | Orlando, FL, November 11-15, 2018 | Pages 170-182
In light of the exceptional performance of the Reactor Core Isolation Cooling (RCIC) Systems during the 2011 accidents at Fukushima Daiichi Units 2 and 3, a better understanding of the system’s true operating potential and realistic limits has become an area of active interest. The system, which supplies cooling water to the reactor in various scenarios, has at the heart of it a Terry steam turbine which drives a pump. Previously, conservative analyses predicted RCIC System failure where Fukushima demonstrated operability. In addition, systems-level codes have had difficulties adequately modeling the behavior of Terry turbines, especially in cases of two-phase (steam-water) ingestion. An improved understanding of the true behavior of the system and its constituent components is key not only to understanding the progression of the Fukushima accidents but it also promises to offer improved operator guidance and a potential avenue for cost savings.
The Terry Turbine Expanded Operating Band Program was born of the desire for improved knowledge and modeling of Terry turbine-based systems shared by almost all Pressurized Water Reactor and Boiling Water Reactor owners and operators in the world. It is an international collaboration intending to improve the current understanding of Terry turbopump behavior through experiments and simulation, thus expanding its operational range, with goals of improving nuclear reactor operations, enhancing safety and reliability, and reducing costs. To that end, research will be conducted on scales from the level of components inside the turbine up to full-size systems. Experimental testing is underway at Texas A&M University, and modeling work is being performed in both the US and Japan.