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Conference Spotlight
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
Standards Program
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
November 2025
Latest News
AI at work: Southern Nuclear’s adoption of Copilot agents drives fleet forward
Southern Nuclear is leading the charge in artificial intelligence integration, with employee-developed applications driving efficiencies in maintenance, operations, safety, and performance.
The tools span all roles within the company, with thousands of documented uses throughout the fleet, including improved maintenance efficiency, risk awareness in maintenance activities, and better-informed decision-making. The data-intensive process of preparing for and executing maintenance operations is streamlined by leveraging AI to put the right information at the fingertips for maintenance leaders, planners, schedulers, engineers, and technicians.
Randall B. Randolph, John A. Oertel, Tana Cardenas, Christopher E. Hamilton, Derek W. Schmidt, Brian M. Patterson, Franklin Fierro, Deanna Capelli
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 73 | Number 2 | March 2018 | Pages 187-193
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2017.1356196
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A new method has been developed to dry-machine foams. Most of these foams are at the lower end of what is considered machineable because of their density or foam composition. Excluding aerogel foams, the foams traditionally required a wax-fill process before surviving any machining forces. This new dry-machining method uses a technique called turn-milling and replaces the old wax-fill method that added several weeks to the fabrication schedule and uncertainty in the quality of the final part. The new method utilizes a computer numerical control gang-tool–style lathe that is set up with electric live-tooling spindles. The foams are dry-machined with the lathe main spindle turning in the opposite direction of the live-tooling spindle. This turn-milling technique reduces tool pressure and can accommodate heavier roughing cuts that produce much faster cycle times. With this new dry-machining method we are able to machine the entire foam target component in one operation, eliminating the need for another machining operation for finishing the backside.