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Division Spotlight
Operations & Power
Members focus on the dissemination of knowledge and information in the area of power reactors with particular application to the production of electric power and process heat. The division sponsors meetings on the coverage of applied nuclear science and engineering as related to power plants, non-power reactors, and other nuclear facilities. It encourages and assists with the dissemination of knowledge pertinent to the safe and efficient operation of nuclear facilities through professional staff development, information exchange, and supporting the generation of viable solutions to current issues.
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.”
Kurt Davis, Richard Skifton Josh Daw, Troy Unruh, Ashley Lambson, Pattrick Calderoni (INL)
Proceedings | Nuclear Plant Instrumentation, Control, and Human-Machine Interface Technolgies (NPIC&HMIT 2019) | Orlando, FL, February 9-14, 2019 | Pages 602-611
The use of X-ray inspection has evolved into an integral process to aid in the design and testing of in-pile instrumentation. Two types of X-ray inspection, three dimensional computed tomography (3D CT) and radioscopy, have been employed at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) High Temperature Test Laboratory (HTTL). Early in the development of the high temperature irradiation resistant thermocouple (HTIR TC), radioscopy, which produces a two dimensional X-ray image or digital radiograph, was key in development of the HTIR TC. Radiographs were originally produced using an image intensifier linked to a CCD camera. Later upgrades to the radioscopy process replaced the image intensifier and CCD camera with a flat panel detector. With the increased dynamic range of the flat panel detector, additional discoveries were made about the performance of the HTIR TC. Three dimensional computed tomography is a recent tool added to the arsenal of nondestructive evaluations performed at the HTTL. This capability has enabled the development of new in-pile instrumentation to a level that would not have been achievable without this X-ray inspection process. Examples include the diamond temperature sensor, the transient hot wire thermal conductivity probe, the ultrasonic thermometer and the micro pocket fission detector. This paper will discuss the evolution X-ray inspections at the HTTL and their contribution to the development of in-pile instrumentation.