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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.
Prasad Vegendla, A. Bergeron, S. Mohanty, A. Talamo, F. Heidet, B. Ade, B. R. Betzler
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 196 | Number 12 | December 2022 | Pages 1572-1580
Technical Note | doi.org/10.1080/00295639.2022.2123195
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
This technical note deals with simulation-based design optimization for the ex-core Transformational Challenge Reactor (TCR). Three-dimensional geometry was created for the TCR ex-core. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations were performed to optimize forced circulation airflow. The CFD model includes thermofluidic phenomena such as convective, conductive, and radiative heat transfer. The simulation results are presented for three different inlet coolant mass flow rates (2, 4, and 8 kg/s). The observed optimized flow rate for the base configuration was 5 kg/s. The calculated peak temperatures were within the safety limits for all components including the bio-shield (433 K) and the shroud mechanism (473 K).
