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Conference Spotlight
2025 ANS Winter Conference & Expo
November 9–12, 2025
Washington, DC|Washington Hilton
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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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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
Margaret L. Hamilton, Frank A. Garner, Walter J. S. Yang
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 10 | Number 3 | November 1986 | Pages 405-410
Technical Paper | Materials Engineering | doi.org/10.13182/FST86-A24780
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Since the microstructural origins of radiation-induced toughness degradation are presumed to be identical to those that cause changes in tensile properties, it appears possible to make predictions of residual fracture toughness based on changes in the tensile behavior and the associated microstructural evolution of the steel. A model for tensile-toughness correlations is presented that appears to be valid for radiation-hardened stainless steels. Tensile data from both ducts and cladding tubes of 20% cold-worked American Iron and Steel Institute Type 316 stainless steel irradiated in Experimental Breeder Reactor-II are used to make the prediction that sufficient toughness is retained in this steel for both fast reactor and fusion reactor applications.
