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NRC approves TerraPower construction permit
Today, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced that it has approved TerraPower’s construction permit application for Kemmerer Unit 1, the company’s first deployment of Natrium, its flagship sodium fast reactor.
This approval is a significant milestone on three fronts. For TerraPower, it represents another step forward in demonstrating its technology. For the Department of Energy, it reflects progress (despite delays) for the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP). For the NRC, it is the first approval granted to a commercial reactor in nearly a decade—and the first approval of a commercial non–light water reactor in more than 40 years.
Norikatsu Yokota, Shigehiro Shimoyashiki
Nuclear Technology | Volume 81 | Number 3 | June 1988 | Pages 407-414
Technical Paper | Material | doi.org/10.13182/NT88-A16061
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The characteristics of self-welding of fast breeder reactor structural materials in liquid sodium have been investigated. A maximum contact pressure of 98 MPa was loaded on the materials (Type 304, Type 321, Inconel 718, and 2.25 Cr-1Mo steel) for 100 to 900 h in sodium at 505 to 550°C. Shear stress for breakaway between the bonded material couples is in proportion to contact pressure. The 2.25 Cr-1 Mo steel welded to itself is the strongest combination among couples of the same material. Each pair of two materials chosen from Type 304, Type 321, and Inconel 718 materials shows almost the same self-welding coefficient, which is defined as the ratio between shear stress for breakaway and contact pressure on testing. Self-welding coefficients are in proportion to the square root of the contact periods and increase as the temperature of sodium is elevated. The apparent activation energy obtained from the self-welding coefficient is ∼188 kJ/mol for the combination of 2.25 Cr-1 Mo/2.25 Cr-1 Mo, and 218 kJ/mol for Type 304/Type 304 or Type 304/Type 321.