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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
Lester M. Waganer, Daniel E. Driemeyer, David S. Zuckerman, Kenneth W. Billman
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 10 | Number 3 | November 1986 | Page 1437
Heavy-Ion Fusion Systems Assessment | doi.org/10.13182/FST86-A24935
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A study is underway to evaluate the technical performance and economic attractiveness of linear induction-driven Heavy Ion Fusion (HIF) as an energy source for electrical power generation. This study is a cooperative effort of several national laboratories, universities, industrial contractors and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) under the leadership of Los Alamos National Laboratory. McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Company, assisted by Titan Systems, Inc, has the responsibility to integrate the cost and performance models of the driver, reactor and balance of plant systems, evaluate different system options and assess the overall technical and economic performance of an HIF power plant. Individual system options have been designed and analyzed by the other participants in the DOE-sponsored parent study and are provided for system integration and evaluation.
