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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
2025 ANS Annual Conference
June 15–18, 2025
Chicago, IL|Chicago Marriott Downtown
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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Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Federal Power Act amendments focus on grid reliability
Fedorchak
North Dakota’s sole member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Republican freshman Congresswoman Julie Fedorchak, has introduced the Baseload Reliability Protection Act.
The bill aims to “amend the Federal Power Act to prohibit retirements of baseload electric generating units in any area that is served by a Regional Transmission Organization or an Independent System Operator and that the North American Electric Reliability Corporation [NERC] categorizes as at elevated risk or high risk of electricity supply shortfalls, and for other purposes.”
A summary of the legislation is available on Fedorchak’s House website.
Amendments: The Baseload Reliability Protection Act would amend the Federal Power Act in the following ways:
H. E. Khalifa, C. P. Deck, K. C. Chen, C. A. Back
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 61 | Number 1 | January 2012 | Pages 375-380
Materials | Proceedings of the Fifteenth International Conference on Emerging Nuclear Energy Systems | doi.org/10.13182/FST12-A13448
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Chemical vapor infiltrated (CVI) silicon carbide fiber reinforced-silicon carbide matrix (SiC-SiC) composite is a relatively new material and has come under increased scrutiny as an attractive material for nuclear applications. In these materials, the interplay between fiber and matrix leads to enhanced fracture toughness. However, due to the inherent directionality of the fibers, under-standing the mechanical and thermal performance is complex and requires careful characterization. At General Atomics, a laboratory has been established to develop these materials for a range of applications, in particular for the Energy Multiplier Module (EM2), which is a gas-cooled fast reactor.In this paper, the program of work that is being undertaken to fabricate and characterize SiC matrix com-posites is discussed. For mechanical testing, specialized fixtures have been developed to hold the thin ceramic composite specimens. For thermal testing, the purge gas species and flow rate have been identified as important parameters. Initial results on planar samples have been performed on SiC-SiC samples and hot pressed SiC samples.