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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.
H. A. Larson, J. I. Sackett
Nuclear Technology | Volume 33 | Number 2 | April 1977 | Pages 223-230
Technical Paper | Instrument | doi.org/10.13182/NT77-A31779
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
An Experimental Breeder Reactor II (EBR-II) anomalous reactivity meter was examined to verify its feasibility as a useful device in a fast reactor system. Anomalous reactivity is calculated by comparing “measured” reactivity with that predicted by system parameters; this provides useful diagnostic, alarm, and possible plant protective functions. Examples include application during an arbitrary rise-to-power for EBR-II as well as effectiveness during an EBR-II loss-of-primary -pumping-power event. Single subassembly flow loss events may be questionable for the crude anomalous reactivity meter described here, but flow disturbances of the magnitude required for this event have been observed with a reactivity meter.