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2026 Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
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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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Modernizing I&C for operations and maintenance, one phase at a time
The two reactors at Dominion Energy’s Surry plant are among the oldest in the U.S. nuclear fleet. Yet when the plant celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2023, staff could raise a toast to the future. Surry was one of the first plants to file a subsequent license renewal (SLR) application, and in May 2021, it became official: the plant was licensed to operate for a full 80 years, extending its reactors’ lifespans into 2052 and 2053.
Marco Pellegrini, Hiroaki Suzuki, Hideo Mizouchi, Masanori Naitoh
Nuclear Technology | Volume 186 | Number 2 | May 2014 | Pages 241-254
Technical Paper | Reactor Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT13-107
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Because of the high-magnitude earthquake and consequent tsunami that struck the east coast of Japan on March 11, 2011, at 14:46, Tokyo Electric Power Company's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant experienced station blackout (SBO) resulting in a nuclear accident unprecedented in time and extent. Simulation of such an accident by means of computer codes is largely dependent on the applied boundary conditions and physical models. However, still-unknown boundary conditions and unclear phenomena result in uncertain computed quantities. In this study, first, the boundary conditions of emergency systems are theoretically derived, starting from a discussion of the reactor available measured quantities and related uncertainties. Then, newly implemented physical models (e.g., wetwell condensation mechanism), which were not accounted for in historical studies of long-term SBOs, are explained. As an early method for accident clarification and explanation regarding effective boundary conditions, results from the SAMPSON severe accident code were compared with theoretical values. The results of SAMPSON compared with the measured quantities available have shown that despite successful safety operations performed by the plant operators in Fukushima Daiichi Unit 3, the eventual lack of batteries (for systems operation and measurement reading) led to plant conditions of low core water level at high pressure, nullifying the attempt of the subsequent alternative water injection to prevent core degradation.