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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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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
P.-A. Haldy, A. Kumar, C. Sahraoui, S. Azam, D.V.S. Ramakrishna, J.-P. Schneeberger, F. Tsang, L. Green
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 10 | Number 3 | November 1986 | Pages 931-939
Lithium Blanket Module Program at the LOTUS Neutron Source Facility | Proceedings of the Seveth Topical Meeting on the Technology of Fusion Energy (Reno, Nevada, June 15–19, 1986) | doi.org/10.13182/FST86-A24855
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
LOTUS is the name of a test facility dedicated to neutronics integral experiments in blanket assemblies representative of future fusion reactor blankets. It is situated at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland. The main features of the facility and of its 14-Mev high intensity neutron generator are presented, as well as an overview of the experimental program being carried out at LOTUS. Two different types of blanket modules are being tested at the moment: a flexible assembly of different blanket zones, designed at Lausanne, and the Lithium Blanket Module developed at Princeton. Outcome of the first experiments performed with this last module are given, together with results of a preliminary 2-D numerical analysis.
