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Division Spotlight
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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Nuclear Science and Engineering
August 2024
Nuclear Technology
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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.”
Mark Burzynski (NewClear Day, Inc.)
Proceedings | Nuclear Plant Instrumentation, Control, and Human-Machine Interface Technolgies (NPIC&HMIT 2019) | Orlando, FL, February 9-14, 2019 | Pages 653-663
The recent trend for nuclear safety-related instrumentation and control (I&C) applications is that field programmable gate array (FPGA) technology is being used more frequently. Software verification and validation (V&V) activities are used to provide objective evidence that the software and its associated products and processes conform to requirements (e.g., for correctness, completeness, consistency, and accuracy). Standards are used to provide accepted practices and conventions for software V&V activities. Regulators rely on industry standards to support their review of digital I&C systems used for safety-related applications. A key challenge for the review of FPGA-based I&C systems in the United States is the use of IEEE Std 1012-2004 to develop the appropriate software V&V plan. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) endorses IEEE Std 1012-2004 as an acceptable approach for meeting the agency’s regulatory requirements on the V&V of safety system software. The software-centric nature of IEEE Std 1012 is a limitation on its effectiveness in establishing a common framework for V&V processes, activities, and tasks in support of FPGA-based development processes. The use of IEEE Std 1012 to define the V&V requirements for FPGA-based I&C applications will always require the standard requirements to be tailored and adapted to the FPGA technology. The required adaptations limit the usefulness of the standard to support efficient reviews of safety-related I&C applications by the NRC, since adaptations made for each project must be reviewed for technical adequacy. The paper makes recommendations to on the use of IEEE Std 1012 with FPGA technology and to improve the regulatory framework for FPGA-based projects based on a case study involving a digital I&C platform developed using IEC standards.