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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
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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
Wednesday, October 8, 2025|8:00–9:40AM CDT|Cumberland South
Session Chair:
Brady D. Hanson
Co-Chair:
Uffe Bergmann
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Multiscale Modeling and Characterization Strategy Accelerating Development of Nuclear Grade Silicon Carbide Composites
8:00–8:25AM CDT
Joel L. Kosmatka (General Atomics), Chris Ellis (General Atomics), Ryan Hon (General Atomics), Gyanender Singh (INL), Kyle Gamble (INL)
Paper
Evaluation of End-plug Joint Strength for Silicon Carbide Cladding under a Simulated Severe Accident Condition
8:25–8:50AM CDT
R. Ishibashi (Hitachi GE Vernova Nuclear Energy, Ltd.), K. Hirosaka (Hitachi GE Vernova Nuclear Energy, Ltd.), M. Shibata (Hitachi GE Vernova Nuclear Energy, Ltd.), M. Sasaki (Hitachi GE Vernova Nuclear Energy, Ltd.), Y. Nemoto (JAEA), T. Hinoki (Kyoto Univ.)
GNF ATF Irradiations and PIE Programs
8:50–9:15AM CDT
Ian Porter (Global Nuclear Fuel), Dan Lutz (Global Nuclear Fuel), Robert Schneider (Global Nuclear Fuel)
Status and Development of Mo-Microcell UO₂ Fuel Pellets for ATF Application
9:15–9:40AM CDT
D. S. Kim (KAERI), D.-J. Kim (KAERI), J. H. Yang (KAERI), H. S. Lee (KAERI), J. H. Yoon (KAERI), J. H. Lee (KAERI)
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