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Conference Spotlight
2025 ANS Winter Conference & Expo
November 9–12, 2025
Washington, DC|Washington Hilton
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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Sep 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
October 2025
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Optimizing nuclear plant outages: Data analytics tools and methods for enhancing resilience and efficiency
Nuclear power plant refueling outages are among the most complex phases in a plant’s operational cycle.1 During these outages, tens of thousands of activities, including maintenance and surveillance, are conducted simultaneously within a short timeframe. Typically lasting three to four weeks, these operations involve large crews of contractors with diverse skill sets performing tasks ranging from testing and surveillance to maintenance. Outages may extend longer if major backfitting or modernization projects are planned. Consequently, plant outages are expensive, incurring significant operational costs, such as contractor labor and equipment, as well as the loss of generation while the plant is off line. This can easily cost a plant operator more than $1 million a day. Therefore, there is a constant need to mitigate the economic impact on plants by reducing the frequency, duration, and risks associated with these outages.2,3
Technical Session|FCWMD
Tuesday, October 7, 2025|8:00–9:40AM CDT|Cumberland South
Session Chair:
Nadine Hollasky
Co-Chair:
Randall J. Dunavant
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An IAEA Review of Status and Current Practices on Structural Behaviours of Fuel Assemblies in Light Water Cooled Reactors
8:00–8:25AM CDT
Jinzhao Zhang (Tractebel Engineering), Ki Seob Sim (Consultant), Cristina Muñoz-Reja Ruiz (ENUSA), Guillaume Ricciardi (CEA), Julien Pacull (Framatome), Andrey Alekseyev (Kurchatov Institute), Yeldos Kultayev (IAEA)
Paper
Experience Feedback on Framatome's PWR Structural Material Q12 at Increased Burnups
8:25–8:50AM CDT
E. W. Schweitzer (Framatome), V. Schoss (Framatome), V. Chabretou (Framatome), J. O'Shaughnessy (Framatome)
Digital Solutions for Visual Fuel Assembly Inspection
8:50–9:15AM CDT
Markus Wicklein (Framatome)
LaSip System: Precision Leak Detection for Old Fuel, Small Leakers, and Fuel Repair Verification
9:15–9:40AM CDT
Lage Fridemo (Westinghouse Electric Co.), Ben Strengell (Westinghouse Electric Co.), Andreas Fristedt Åblad (Westinghouse Electric Co.)
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