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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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Fusion Science and Technology
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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
F. Y. Tsang, W. Leo, C. Sahraoui, S. Wuthrich, M. Shaerb
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 10 | Number 3 | November 1986 | Pages 962-971
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-A24859
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A series of passive dosimetry irradiation experiments were performed inside the Lithium Blanket Module (LBM) with the 14-MeV neutron source at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL). Sets of passive dosimetry foils were utilized to measure fusion-reactor-blanket neutronic environments. The dosimeter reaction data were analyzed and compared with calculational models. These experimental results demonstrate the ability to simulate low power deuterium-tritium (D-T) plasma shots by measuring the neutron field in a reactor-representative fusion blanket environment. The dosimeter results can determine the entire neutron spectrum along the full length of the LBM test rod. The set of selected dosimetry materials meets the requirements of neutronic characterization in future LBM-TFTR D-T and high power deuterium-deuterium (D-D) plasma experiments.
