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Division Spotlight
Radiation Protection & Shielding
The Radiation Protection and Shielding Division is developing and promoting radiation protection and shielding aspects of nuclear science and technology — including interaction of nuclear radiation with materials and biological systems, instruments and techniques for the measurement of nuclear radiation fields, and radiation shield design and evaluation.
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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Jul 2024
Jan 2024
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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.”
Tyler Naughton (Univ of Tennessee, Knoxville), Christian Petrie (ORNL), Jamie Coble (Univ of Tennessee, Knoxville)
Proceedings | Nuclear Plant Instrumentation, Control, and Human-Machine Interface Technolgies (NPIC&HMIT 2019) | Orlando, FL, February 9-14, 2019 | Pages 1143-1149
Advanced fuel compositions, such as accident tolerate fuels (ATF), are an active area of developing in the nuclear power industry. The long-term performance of these newly developed fuels is estimated through physics-based simulation models of irradiation-, temperature-, pressure-, etc.-induced material degradation. As these fuels are deployed in test reactors, measurement and characterization of the fuel pin evolution is used to validate prediction models. In-pile material evolution parameters, such as fuel rod pressurization, fuel stack and cladding elongation, and cladding diameter, are commonly measured using a linear voltage differential transformer (LVDT). However, LVDTs are bulky and limited to lower (350- 500C) temperature operation. The high power density and small size of most experimental positions in high performance research reactors used for accelerated materials irradiation studies generally precludes the use of LVDTs in these reactors. There is a critical need for sensors that provide real-time data regarding material evolution under highly accelerated irradiation. These sensors would ideally have a small profile and the ability to withstand irradiation at extremely high dose rates and temperatures for extended periods of time. A capacitance-based sensor is currently under development at the University of Tennessee to provide a direct measurement of in-pile dimensional change during irradiation. Sensor response was simulated using AutoCAD Electromagnetic field simulator (EMS) for a variety of sensor materials and configurations and fuel pin swelling conditions. Initial results of these simulations are summarized and areas of ongoing research and development are discussed.