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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.
Mitsuru Kambe
Nuclear Technology | Volume 128 | Number 1 | October 1999 | Pages 12-24
Technical Paper | Fission Reactors | doi.org/10.13182/NT99-A3010
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A 60-MW(electric) fast reactor concept, RAPID-A, without any control rods has been shown to achieve inherent safety and highly automated reactor operation and to provide reactivity control systems with maintenance-free and reliable performance over the plant design lifetime. RAPID-A is one of the variants of the refueling by all pins integrated design (RAPID), fast reactor concept, which enables quick and simplified refueling 2 months after reactor shutdown. In addition to the aforementioned advantages, unique challenges in reactivity control system design have been attempted in the RAPID-A concept. The design involves the following innovative reactivity control systems: lithium expansion modules for inherent reactivity feedback, lithium injection modules for inherent ultimate shutdown, and lithium release modules for automated reactor startup.