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Tag: operations

Durable gallium-based transistors could improve reactor monitoring

June 27, 2024, 9:30AMNuclear News
Kyle Reed and Dianne Ezell of ORNL gather data about the performance of a sensor transistor as it is tested against the radiation within the reactor pool behind them at Ohio State University’s Nuclear Reactor Laboratory. (Photo: Michael Huson/The Ohio State University)

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory want to make the sensors in nuclear power plants more accurate by linking them to electronics that can withstand the intense radiation inside a reactor. Electronics containing transistors made with gallium nitride, a wide-bandgap semiconductor, have been tested in the ionizing radiation environment of space. Now, according to a June 24 article from ORNL, tests carried out in the research reactor at Ohio State University indicate they could withstand neutron bombardment within a nuclear fission reactor.

INL researchers develop strategies to keep today’s nuclear power fleet profitable

December 23, 2022, 3:08PMNuclear NewsCory Hatch
The Human Systems Simulation Laboratory at INL allows researchers to simulate industrial control rooms to improve performance. (Photo: INL)

In the 1960s, nuclear energy established itself as a mainstay of the electrical grid for its ability to produce carbon-­free, safe, and reliable power. Indeed, nuclear energy currently provides about 50 percent of carbon-­free electricity in the United States, but a major challenge is its cost.

How do nuclear power plant workers pull together as a team?

December 20, 2022, 3:00PMNuclear NewsSarah Camba Lynn

Sarah Camba Lynn

How to characterize a tight-knit, high--functioning workplace is an open question. Some consider it a family, due to close working relationships and long hours spent together. Personally, I prefer to focus on the parallels between a group of coworkers and a professional sports team.

Being a good Texan, football is my go-to for sports analogies. A football team, while cohesive, is really made up of several smaller teams. Not everyone is on the field at once, nor are the positions interchangeable. They share a goal—to win—but each smaller team has a different focus and specific tasks to achieve the goal. At a nuclear power plant, there are several departments, each also with a distinct focus but overall contributing together to the goal of reliable, safe, carbon-free energy.