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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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Jul 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.”
Faranak Nekoogar (Dirac Solutions Inc.), Farid Dowla (LLNL)
Proceedings | Nuclear Plant Instrumentation, Control, and Human-Machine Interface Technolgies (NPIC&HMIT 2019) | Orlando, FL, February 9-14, 2019 | Pages 1803-1810
Recent developments in ultra-wideband (UWB) technology have shown great promise in wireless transmission of sensor data in complex environments that are hostile to RF propagation, such as nuclear facilities. UWB RF communications is particularly important for reliable communications for its robust link despite the multipath phenomenon in heavy metallic environment of nuclear reactors, as well as in addressing penetration challenges through thick nuclear concrete walls. Although UWB signaling and unique data modulations are critical for successful communications in such harsh propagation environments, a fixed UWB radio hardware architecture, with fixed frequency and transmit power level, could still be expected to face difficulties in various nuclear facilities as their RF propagation environment might be different with unique and dynamic characteristics. In this paper we report on a newly developed UWB system based on softwaredefined- radio (SDR) that is capable of adapting its communications parameters to its propagation environment for optimized transmission/reception results in various nuclear facilities. This new UWB-SDR system has been successfully laboratory and field tested and is ready for testing and evaluation in commercial reactors. In this paper we briefly review the advantages of UWB communications for nuclear facilities and focus on details of the unique UWB-SDR architecture of the newly developed sensor communications system. Then we present experimental results conducted at the UC Davis McClellan Nuclear Center, and conclude the paper with a summary of the main observations and path for future research.