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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.
C. E. Dickerman, L. E. Robinson, B. Blumenthal, R. Stewart
Nuclear Technology | Volume 3 | Number 1 | January 1967 | Pages 9-17
Technical Paper and Note | doi.org/10.13182/NT67-A27819
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Sodium-bonded Th-20wt%U fast-reactor-type fuel elements have been studied in transient meltdown experiments ranging up to complete sample meltdown, conducted in the TREAT reactor. The high melting thorium matrix supported the fuel during transient heating at temperatures significantly beyond the solidus. Because the fuel was still relatively intact at the temperatures of cladding failure, internal pressure was not effective in ejecting fuel upon failure. The dominant mechanism of fuel movement was gravity.