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Integrating Waste Management for Advanced Reactors: The Universal Canister System and Project UPWARDS
When the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy launched the Optimizing Nuclear Waste and Advanced Reactor Disposal Systems (ONWARDS) program in 2022, it posed a challenge that the nuclear industry had never seriously confronted before: how to design waste management solutions that anticipate the coming shift to advanced reactors and not merely retrofit existing systems built for an older generation of technology. The program’s objectives were ambitious—reduce disposal footprint, enable scalable pathways for unfamiliar waste streams, and build the technical foundations for future disposal—yet also tightly grounded in the realities of emerging nuclear fuel cycles. For the nuclear community, this was a timely call. Advanced reactors were accelerating toward deployment, but the waste management systems needed to support them had not kept pace.
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.