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Division Spotlight
Human Factors, Instrumentation & Controls
Improving task performance, system reliability, system and personnel safety, efficiency, and effectiveness are the division's main objectives. Its major areas of interest include task design, procedures, training, instrument and control layout and placement, stress control, anthropometrics, psychological input, and motivation.
Meeting Spotlight
2022 ANS Annual Meeting
June 12–16, 2022
Anaheim, CA|Anaheim Hilton
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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Nuclear Science and Engineering
June 2022
Nuclear Technology
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Latest News
What are the key cost drivers for microreactors?
Microreactors upend the traditional economics of nuclear power plants by shifting the paradigm from economies of scale (large reactors) to economies of multiple (mass production). While shrinking power output per unit may increase costs per kilowatt compared to large plants, offsetting gains can be expected from simplified and standardized designs, factory fabrication, inherent safety, lower radionuclide inventories, fast installation, and low financing costs. For instance, the lower power density in a microreactor core leads to a greatly reduced decay heat source, simplifying emergency cooling needs. These design aspects can lead to innovations including substantial simplifications to safety and control needs, minimized human operational requirements, a very compact balance of plant, the ability to fabricate almost every component in a factory, shortened construction time, and less daunting financing.
Yang Tang, Yangping Zhou, Zhiwei Zhou, Lei Shi
Nuclear Technology | Volume 200 | Number 1 | October 2017 | Pages 27-44
Technical Paper | dx.doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2017.1352329
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Different from most current commercial nuclear power plants, the High-Temperature gas-cooled Reactor Pebble-bed Module (HTR-PM) power plant consists of two reactor modules connected to a common steam turbine system that will bring a special coupling effect between the two reactor modules. An engineering simulator of the HTR-PM plant was developed by embedding the THERMIX/BLAST code into the vPower simulation platform. Two sets of nuclear steam supply systems of HTR-PM, including two reactors, two steam generators, two helium blowers, and the helium flow ducts, were simulated by two THERMIX/BLAST code modules, respectively. The entire secondary loop system was simulated using intrinsic models of the vPower simulation platform. The vPower platform connects and synchronizes the two THERMIX/BLAST modules, as well as the simulation module for the secondary loop system. The engineering simulator was applied to simulate the behavior of HTR-PM under steady-state operation, startup and shutdown processes, and accident conditions. The coupling effect during the condition conversion process and the thermal characteristics under accident conditions of HTR-PM were analyzed by the engineering simulator.