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NRC looks to leverage previous approvals for large LWRs
During this time of resurging interest in nuclear power, many conversations have centered on one fundamental problem: Electricity is needed now, but nuclear projects (in recent decades) have taken many years to get permitted and built.
In the past few years, a bevy of new strategies have been pursued to fix this problem. Workforce programs that seek to laterally transition skilled people from other industries, plans to reuse the transmission infrastructure at shuttered coal sites, efforts to restart plants like Palisades or Duane Arnold, new reactor designs that build on the legacy of research done in the early days of atomic power—all of these plans share a common throughline: leveraging work already done instead of starting over from square one to get new plants designed and built.
Rex Gyeabour Abrefah, Felix Ameyaw
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 198 | Number 10 | October 2024 | Pages 2038-2050
Note | doi.org/10.1080/00295639.2023.2284454
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The effectiveness of contemporary strategies for conducting fault tree/event tree (FTET) analyses within the realm of probabilistic risk assessment has recently come under rigorous examination. In light of such investigation, facility managers have gained a more profound understanding of the risk and safety implications inherent in the structural and componential integrity of systems (structures, systems, and components). This comprehensive research endeavor harnesses the power of risk models, employing both FTET and binary decision diagrams, to scrutinize and optimize the operational performance of a 10-MW reference Russian research reactor [Water-Water Research Reactor (VVR)] within the framework of probabilistic safety assessment. Moreover, this investigation delves into the intricate web of interrelationships existing among an array of analytical methodologies. These encompass the Fussell-Vesely (FV) importance measure, criticality analysis, Birnbaum analysis, risk achievement worth (RAW), and the differential importance measure, all with a focus on specific foundational events and vital components. Additionally, this note delves into the analysis of multiple significant measures frequently employed for VVR. Notably, the study establishes that merely two importance measures (IMs) prove sufficient for the core damage equation. Furthermore, this note investigates various important measures often employed for VVR. It is shown that two IMs are enough for the core damage equation. In conclusion, RAW, FV importance, or a blend of the two are adequate enough to be frequently employed for the VVR.