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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
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
T.J. Wade, A.S. Kaye, J. Jacquinot
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 10 | Number 3 | November 1986 | Pages 1398-1403
Machine Upgrades and Next-Generation Device | doi.org/10.13182/FST86-A24924
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Design and procurement of the ICRF heating plant for JET began in 1982 on the basis that ten 3 MW generator-antennae units would ultimately provide the 15 MW of effective ICRF heating required in the JET programme. Three of these generator-antennae systems are already operational on JET; 6 MW of RF power has been coupled to the plasma with coupling efficiencies of between 50% and 90% depending on the antennae configuration. Taking advantage of experience gained and recent developments in RF tetrodes, JET is currently revising the antennae design, upgrading the generator RF outputs and now intends to install eight 4 MW generator-antennae units with consequential savings in cost and space in the JET vessel.
