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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.
F. J. Homan
Nuclear Technology | Volume 16 | Number 1 | October 1972 | Pages 216-225
Technical Paper | Reactor Materials Performance / Material | doi.org/10.13182/NT72-A31188
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A computer code to predict the performance of fast reactor control rods has been developed and used to analyze the integrated behavior of a proposed FTR-type control rod in Row 2 of EBR-II. In particular, the influence of the 10B enrichment and solid reaction product swelling have been considered. It is noted that control rod claddings are predicted to begin rapid plastic strain very shortly after the fabricated gap between the absorber pellets and the cladding has closed, due to high contact pressure which develops with continued pellet swelling. Models for helium gas bubble swelling and release are presented, which suggest minimum swelling from this source at about 1000°C.