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WIPP: Lessons in transportation safety
As part of a future consent-based approach by the federal government to site new deep geologic repositories for nuclear waste, local communities and states that are considering hosting such facilities are sure to have many questions. Currently, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico is the only example of such a repository in operation, and it offers the opportunity for state and local officials to visit and judge for themselves the risks and benefits of hosting a similar facility. But its history can also provide lessons for these officials, particularly the political process leading up to the opening of WIPP, the safety of WIPP operations and transportation of waste from generator facilities to the site, and the economic impacts the project has had on the local area of Carlsbad, as well as the rest of the state of New Mexico.
M. A. Modesto, E. R. Lindgren, C. W. Morrow
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 47 | Number 3 | April 2005 | Pages 650-655
Technical Paper | Fusion Energy - Inertial Fusion Technology | doi.org/10.13182/FST05-A760
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In this work, a preliminary thermal model for the Z-Pinch Power Plant is presented. This power plant utilizes fusion energy to generate electric energy in the GW range. The Z-Pinch Technology consists of compressing high-density plasma to produce X-rays to indirectly heat to ignition a deuterium/tritium fusion capsule. This ignition releases a minimum of 3 GJ every 10 seconds. The thermal energy generated is absorbed by the primary cycle fluid, and it is later used to power a Brayton or Rankine cycle. An advanced heat exchanger is used as the interface between the two cycles. This heat exchanger plays an important role in power plant performance. Three fluids (Flibe, Pb-17Li, and Li) were used for the plant performance analysis. The thermodynamic properties of the selected fluids determine the maximum operating temperature of the power cycles. Model results show that high temperatures (over 1000 °C) are developed in the primary cycle as needed to efficiently run the secondary cycle. The results of the performance parametric study demonstrated that the Brayton cycle exhibits better performance characteristics than the Rankine cycle for this type of application.