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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.
Magdi M. H. Ragheb, Said I. Abdel-Khalik, Mahmoud Youssef, Charles W. Maynard
Nuclear Technology | Volume 45 | Number 2 | September 1979 | Pages 140-152
Technical Paper | Reactor | doi.org/10.13182/NT79-A32304
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Three-dimensional neutronics models of the SOLASE-H fusion-fission reactor have been analyzed by Monte Carlo. In this design, light water reactor (LWR) fertile ThO2 fuel bundles are enriched in the fissile isotope 233U and then shipped for burning in the LWRs. A concept where the fertile fuel bundles constitute a lattice configuration with the moderator-multiplier material is investigated. Parametric lattice calculations as a function of the neutron moderator-multiplier to fuel volume ratio (vm/vf) in the lattice show that it is possible in such a concept to enhance the fissile nuclei production density in the fertile fuel, compared to cases where a lattice configuration is not used. This leads to shorter times to attain projected average fissile enrichments, using substantially smaller fuel inventories. Surrounding the whole reactor cavity with the neutron multiplier is found to enhance the fissile breeding in the radial blanket. Severe asymmetries in the spatial distribution of the fissile enrichment are detected and suggest the necessity of elaborate fuel irradiation and management programs in the case of a laser-driven system. The concept of a lattice configuration and the use of the whole solid angle surrounding the fusion source for neutron multiplication are recommended for adoption in future magnetic and inertial confinement fusion-fission hybrid reactor designs.