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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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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
Basil F. Picologlou, Claude B. Reed, Peter V. Dauzvardis, John S. Walker
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 10 | Number 3 | November 1986 | Pages 860-865
Liquid-Metal Blankets and Magnetohydrodynamic Effect | Proceedings of the Seveth Topical Meeting on the Technology of Fusion Energy (Reno, Nevada, June 15–19, 1986) | doi.org/10.13182/FST86-A24845
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
An experimental program on liquid metal MHD phenomena relevant to blanket engineering is being carried out at ANL's ALEX facility. The experiments carried out at the facility are aimed towards detailed measurements of 3-D MHD flow characteristics to enlarge the existing data base and to provide validation of exisiting analytical approaches. Results of the first series of experiments, dealing with three dimensional MHD effects in a circular thin conducting wall duct in the fringing field of a strong transverse magnetic field, are reported. Comparison of the experimental data with the predictions of pretest analysis both supports the basic premises on which the analysis is based and suggests possible improvements.
