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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
E. C. Selcow
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 10 | Number 3 | November 1986 | Pages 1495-1500
Fusion Nucleonic | doi.org/10.13182/FST86-A24945
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The U.S. fusion program has completed the conceptual design of a compact tokamak device that achieves ignition. The high neutron wall loadings associated with this compact deuterium-tritium-burning device indicate that radiation-related issues may be significant considerations in the overall system design. Sufficient shielding will be required for the radiation protection of both reactor components and personnel. A close-in igloo shield has been designed around the periphery of the tokamak structure to permit personnel access into the test cell after shutdown and limit the total activation of the test cell components. This paper describes the conceptual design of the igloo shield system and discusses the major neutronic concerns related to the design of the Compact Ignition Tokamak.
