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Swiss nuclear power and the case for long-term operation
Designed for 40 years but built to last far longer, Switzerland’s nuclear power plants have all entered long-term operation. Yet age alone says little about safety or performance. Through continuous upgrades, strict regulatory oversight, and extensive aging management, the country’s reactors are being prepared for decades of continued operation, in line with international practice.
Alex Galperin
Nuclear Technology | Volume 73 | Number 3 | June 1986 | Pages 343-349
Technical Paper | Fuel Cycle | doi.org/10.13182/NT86-A16076
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A novel concept of thorium once-through fuel cycle for CANDU-type reactors is proposed. The main innovation of the concept is described, including segregation of enriched uranium from thorium to allow separate fuel management routes. Geometry is chosen to enhance leakage of uranium-born neutrons to subcritical thorium parts of the core. Discharged burnup values for thorium and uranium are subjects to optimization regarding uranium savings benefit. Neu-tronic analysis indicated a potential for significant savings in the uranium requirement (∼50%). Fuel cycle cost calculations based on a simple economic model and reasonable set of economic parameters show no economic penalty in realizing fuel utilization improvements.