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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
Mark D. Hoover, Michael D. Allen, Richard B. Simpson, Hsu Chi Yeh
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 10 | Number 3 | November 1986 | Pages 1228-1233
Environment and Safety | doi.org/10.13182/FST86-A24898
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A pulsed Nd:YAG laser is being used to aerosolize material from the surface of metal targets to simulate particles created in fusion energy systems. Targets in the form of rods up to 2-cm diameter can be attached to a screw mechanism that exposes a fresh surface for each laser pulse. Energies up to 20 J/pulse can be applied to the target, at pulse rates from a single shot to 300 Hz. Energy can be focused on an area with diameter less than 500 µm. Stainless steel and aluminum targets were used in a demonstration of system performance. The branched-chain ultrafine aggregate aerosols that were produced appeared to result from direct vaporization/condensation of material from the surface of the target located under the center of the laser beam, and from ejection of molten droplets from the target surface.
