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Division Spotlight
Materials Science & Technology
The objectives of MSTD are: promote the advancement of materials science in Nuclear Science Technology; support the multidisciplines which constitute it; encourage research by providing a forum for the presentation, exchange, and documentation of relevant information; promote the interaction and communication among its members; and recognize and reward its members for significant contributions to the field of materials science in nuclear technology.
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
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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.”
Jacob A. Farber, Daniel G. Cole (Univ of Pittsburgh)
Proceedings | Nuclear Plant Instrumentation, Control, and Human-Machine Interface Technolgies (NPIC&HMIT 2019) | Orlando, FL, February 9-14, 2019 | Pages 868-878
In the nuclear power industry, one important class of accidents is the loss of coolant accident (LOCA). This paper presents methods to detect a LOCA that is initiated: (i) while the plant is going through a small transient, and (ii) with a time-varying leak magnitude. The accident is simulated using a generic pressurized water reactor (GPWR) simulator. The fault is detected using a model-based approach with models identi ed using GPWR data. The model-based approach is multiple-model adaptive estimation (MMAE), which uses multiple system models representing both normal and faulted operating conditions. During operation, these models simulate the potential operating conditions, incorporating measurement feedback in a Kalman lter state-estimation structure. Faults are detected by selecting the model that most closely matches the system according to statistical characteristics. For a LOCA, data-driven models of the pressurizer liquid level are derived using rst-principles and system identi cation. In system identi cation, a physics-based model form is derived that contains unknown parameters. System identi cation is then used to estimate the parameter values based on measurement data, providing plant-speci c pressurizer models. For the accident scenario described above, the proposed methods di erentiate between the transient and the accident, and provide real-time estimates of the leak magnitude after it has been initiated.