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Swiss nuclear power and the case for long-term operation
Designed for 40 years but built to last far longer, Switzerland’s nuclear power plants have all entered long-term operation. Yet age alone says little about safety or performance. Through continuous upgrades, strict regulatory oversight, and extensive aging management, the country’s reactors are being prepared for decades of continued operation, in line with international practice.
Saurin Majumdar
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 21 | Number 1 | January 1992 | Pages 12-24
Technical Paper | First-Wall Technology | doi.org/10.13182/FST92-A29701
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Because of the presence of high cyclic thermal stress, coolant pressure-induced primary stress, and disruption-induced high cyclic primary stress, ratcheting (i.e., incremental accumulation of plastic strain) in the first wall poses a serious challenge to the designers of the U.S. International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). Existing design tools, such as the Bree diagram in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Boiler and Pressure Vessels Code, are not directly applicable to the U.S. ITER because of important differences in geometry and loading modes. Available alternative models for ratcheting are discussed, and new Bree diagrams, which are more relevant for fusion reactor applications, are proposed.