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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.
Celine C. Lascar, S. I. Abdel-Khalik, D. L. Sadowski
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 52 | Number 3 | October 2007 | Pages 489-493
Technical Paper | The Technology of Fusion Energy - Inertial Fusion Technology: Targets and Chambers | doi.org/10.13182/FST07-A1536
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In a high-yield, low repetition rate Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE) system, such as the Z-Pinch IFE reactor, compressible liquid/gas jets offer the opportunity to protect the cavity walls from the target X-rays, ions and neutrons. They can especially limit and mitigate the mechanical consequences of the shock waves produced by rapid heating/evaporation of the protective jets. In this investigation, experiments have been conducted to examine the stability of two-phase jets and quantify the extent by which they can attenuate a shock wave. An exploding wire was used to generate a shock wave at the center of downward flowing annular single- and two-phase jets within a concentric cylindrical enclosure. The pressure history at the enclosure wall was recorded as the shock wave propagated through the attenuating two-phase medium. Experiments were conducted using two different-size jets and enclosures at various liquid velocities, void fractions, and initial shock strength. The data showed that stable coherent jets could be established and steadily maintained with relatively high void fractions and that significant attenuation in shock strength could be attained at relatively modest void fractions. The data obtained in this investigation can be used to validate predictions of shock attenuation models for future IFE reactor cavities.