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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.
K.J. Maynard, W.T. Shmayda, A.G. Heics
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 28 | Number 3 | October 1995 | Pages 1391-1398
Tritium Storage, Distribution, and Transportation | Proceedings of the Fifth Topical Meeting on Tritium Technology In Fission, Fusion, and Isotopic Applications Belgirate, Italy May 28-June 3, 1995 | doi.org/10.13182/FST95-A30606
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The effects of tritium aging on ZrCo have been characterized to determine the suitability of ZrCo as a long term tritium storage medium. Four 1 gram ZrCo storage beds were aged for three years with varying amounts of tritium. Equilibrium tritium pressures were found to increase by approximately threefold at a given temperature and composition in the range of 100–300°C. At 25°C, the pressure increase is predicted to be twenty-fold. Tritium aged ZrCo retains the majority of decay 3He within the bulk. As this 3He concentration increases, the rate of helium release increases. Longer term tritium aging may result in a 3He release rate equal to its production rate from tritium decay. In such a case, the pressure within a sealed storage bed would steadily increase. These tritium aging effects indicate that practical ZrCo storage bed design should include conservative design pressure specifications, to safely contain the maximum possible 3He pressure.