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NRC proposed rule for licensing reactors authorized by DOE, DOD
Nuclear reactor designs approved by the Department of Energy or Department of Defense could get streamlined pathways through the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s commercial licensing process should applicants wish to push the technology into the civilian sector.
A proposed rule introduced April 2 by the NRC would “improve NRC licensing review efficiency, where applicable, by explicitly establishing by regulation an additional means for reactor applicants to demonstrate the safety functions of their reactor designs, and thus, would contribute to the safe and secure use and deployment of civilian nuclear energy technologies.”
M. Harb, L. El-Guebaly, A. Davis, P. Wilson, E. Marriott, J. Benzaquen, FESS-FNSF Team
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 72 | Number 3 | October 2017 | Pages 510-515
Technical Note | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2017.1333846
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Two issues related to neutronics analysis of fusion systems were addressed for the purpose of physical design iterations as well as plant operation: tritium self-sufficiency and shielding of the inboard magnet. State-of-the-art modeling/analysis tools facilitated a full 3-D neutronics analysis of the latest FESS-FNSF design. The first stage of the analysis involved the selection of materials for the first wall and blanket along with shielding materials to protect the magnet based on extensive 1-D analyses. The second stage is a stepwise workflow to estimate the overall tritium breeding ratio with high fidelity. It involved a bottom-up approach by coupling the CAD model with the 3-D MCNP code using DAGMC and adding the relevant design details in steps to assess the effect of such details on the tritium breeding ratio. The final stage involved calculations of the values of damage parameters at specific components: the first wall, the vacuum vessel, and magnet.