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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
2024 ANS Annual Conference
June 16–19, 2024
Las Vegas, NV|Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
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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Latest News
Commercial nuclear innovation "new space" age
In early 2006, a start-up company launched a small rocket from a tiny island in the Pacific. It exploded, showering the island with debris. A year later, a second launch attempt sent a rocket to space but failed to make orbit, burning up in the atmosphere. Another year brought a third attempt—and a third failure. The following month, in September 2008, the company used the last of its funds to launch a fourth rocket. It reached orbit, making history as the first privately funded liquid-fueled rocket to do so.
Man Gyun Na, Belle R. Upadhyaya, Jung In Choi
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 129 | Number 3 | July 1998 | Pages 283-293
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE98-A1982
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A multivariable adaptive control algorithm is applied to the axial flux shape control in a pressurized water reactor. This is one of the most challenging control problems in the nuclear field. The reactor model used for computer simulations is a two-point xenon oscillation model based on the nonlinear xenon and iodine balance equations and a one-group, one-dimensional, neutron diffusion equation having nonlinear power reactivity feedback that adequately describes axial oscillations and treats the nonlinearities explicitly. The reactor core is axially divided into two regions, and it is considered that each region has one input and one output and is coupled with the other region. The control parameters are updated on-line with the generalized least-squares method to adjust the varying operating conditions. Therefore, this algorithm is able to treat the varying operating conditions well. Also, this control algorithm exhibits very fast responses due to the step and ramp changes of target axial shape without any residual flux oscillations between the upper and lower halves of the reactor core.