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Division Spotlight
Education, Training & Workforce Development
The Education, Training & Workforce Development Division provides communication among the academic, industrial, and governmental communities through the exchange of views and information on matters related to education, training and workforce development in nuclear and radiological science, engineering, and technology. Industry leaders, education and training professionals, and interested students work together through Society-sponsored meetings and publications, to enrich their professional development, to educate the general public, and to advance nuclear and radiological science and engineering.
Meeting Spotlight
2023 ANS Annual Meeting
June 11–14, 2023
Indianapolis, IN|Marriott Indianapolis Downtown
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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Latest News
Battelle’s Mark Peters honored with Henry De Wolf Smyth Nuclear Statesman award
At the Nuclear Energy Institute’s Nuclear Energy Assembly, held this year in Washington, D.C., the Henry DeWolf Smyth Nuclear Statesman Award was presented on May 17 to Mark Peters, Battelle’s executive vice president for national laboratory management and operations.
J. L. Rempe, K. Y. Suh, F. B. Cheung, S. B. Kim
Nuclear Technology | Volume 161 | Number 3 | March 2008 | Pages 210-267
Technical Paper | Reactor Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT08-A3924
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In-vessel retention (IVR) of core melt is a key severe-accident-management strategy adopted by some operating nuclear power plants and proposed for some advanced light water reactors (LWRs). If there were inadequate cooling during a reactor accident, a significant amount of core material could become molten and relocate to the lower head of the reactor vessel, as happened in the Three Mile Island Unit 2 accident. If it is possible to ensure that the vessel head remains intact so that relocated core materials are retained within the vessel, the enhanced safety associated with these plants can reduce concerns about containment failure and associated risk. For example, the enhanced safety of the advanced 600 MW(electric) pressurized water reactor (AP600) designed by Westinghouse, which relied upon external reactor vessel cooling (ERVC) for IVR, resulted in the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission approving the design without requiring that certain features common to existing LWRs, such as containment sprays, be safety related. Clearly, ERVC offers the potential to reduce the AP600's construction and operating costs. However, it is not clear that the ERVC proposed for the AP600 could provide sufficient heat removal for higher-power reactors [up to 1500 MW(electric)] without additional enhancements. This paper reviews efforts made and results reported regarding the enhancement of IVR in LWRs. Where appropriate, the paper identifies what additional data or analyses are needed to demonstrate that there is sufficient margin for successful IVR in high-power thermal reactors.