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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.
J. Manuel Perlado, Jaime Marian, Jesús García Sanz
Nuclear Technology | Volume 129 | Number 3 | March 2000 | Pages 285-296
Technical Paper | Fission Reactors | doi.org/10.13182/NT00-A3063
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Validating state-of-the-art methods used to predict fluence exposure to reactor pressure vessels (RPVs) has become an important issue in identifying the sources of uncertainty in the estimated RPV fluence for pressurized water reactors. This is a very important aspect in evaluating irradiation damage leading to the hardening and embrittlement of such structural components. One of the major benchmark experiments carried out to test three-dimensional methodologies is the VENUS-3 Benchmark Experiment in which three-dimensional Monte Carlo and Sn codes have proved more efficient than synthesis methods. At the Instituto de Fusión Nuclear (DENIM) at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, a detailed full three-dimensional model of the Venus Critical Facility has been developed making use of the Monte Carlo transport code MCNP4B. The problem geometry and source modeling are described, and results, including calculated versus experimental (C/E) ratios as well as additional studies, are presented. Evidence was found that the great majority of C/E values fell within the 10% tolerance and most within 5%. Tolerance limits are discussed on the basis of evaluated data library and fission spectra sensitivity, where a value ranging between 10 to 15% should be accepted. Also, a calculation of the atomic displacement rate has been carried out in various locations throughout the reactor, finding that values of 0.0001 displacements per atom in external components such as the core barrel are representative of this type of reactor during a 30-yr time span.