ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
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
Alan M. Halley, William H. Miller
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 10 | Number 3 | November 1986 | Pages 424-430
Technical Paper | Shielding | doi.org/10.13182/FST86-A24782
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Calculations have been performed using the Monte Carlo code, MORSE-CG, to determine the neutron streaming through various straight and stepped gaps between radiation shield sectors in the conceptual tokamak fusion power plant design STARFIRE. This design calls for “pie-shaped” radiation shields with gaps between segments. It is apparent that some type of offset, or stepped gap, configuration will be necessary to reduce neutron streaming through these gaps. To evaluate this streaming problem, a MORSE-to-MORSE coupling technique was used, consisting of two separate transport calculations, which together defined the entire transport problem. The results define the effectiveness of various gap configurations to eliminate radiation streaming.