VALVE MAGAZINE Winter 2025

NUCLEAR POWER

FEATURED ARTICLE The Rise and Fall and Rise Again of Nuclear Power

While some countries have worked to phase it out in favor of sustainable renewables, others are embracing it and adding even more to their eets.

BY: HEATHER GAYNOR , Editor

Since its discovery in , nuclear ssion has been studied and tested by scientists trying to harness the power generated to run everything from submarines to powering electrical grids. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) estimates that nuclear power contributes nearly of all electricity generated in the U.S. today. Valves and actuators used in nuclear plants must meet stringent guidelines and speci cations set by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code (BPVC) and other regulatory agencies and requirements to ensure they are safe and fully seal to avoid leaks or create safety concerns. This article will give an overview of the technology, current state of the industry and delve into speci c challenges that nuclear applications create for valve and actuator manufacturers. How does it work? Nuclear ssion occurs when the nucleus of an atom is bombarded by neutrons and protons and other particles and then splits into two or more smaller nuclei creating a chain reaction. This chain may release enormous amounts

A thimble-sized ceramic cylinder (approximately 3/8-in. in diameter and 5/8-in. in length), consisting of uranium, which has been enriched to increase the concentration of uranium-235 (U-235) to fuel a nuclear reactor. Modern reactor cores may contain up to 10 million pellets, stacked in the fuel rods that form fuel assemblies. Source: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

of energy in the form of heat and radiation that can be harnessed for electricity. This is accomplished in many modern reactors when the heat is used to boil water to temperatures of over °F and create steam that is then used to drive steam turbines to generate electricity. This very clean process doesn’t generate fossil fuel emissions like many other forms of power generation do but does generate nuclear waste from spent fuel that must be handled and disposed of very carefully. Uranium is the mineral most often used for nuclear fuel, and estimates are that one pound of uranium has as much

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VALVE MAGAZINE

WINTER 2025