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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.
Katsuyuki Kawashima, Ratib A. Karam
Nuclear Technology | Volume 86 | Number 1 | July 1989 | Pages 49-59
Technical Paper | Fuel Cycle | doi.org/10.13182/NT89-A34281
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Neutronics performances were analyzed for a partial-refueling ultra-long-life core (ULLC) using metallic fuel for 1000-MW(electric) liquid-metal fast breeder reactors. Once this core is initially loaded, only fertile materials are needed as core reload fuel for the rest of the reactor lifetime, taking advantage of the superior breeding characteristics of the metallic fuel. The fuel management strategy demonstrates the core concept and establishes relevant performance parameters such as a manageable reactivity swing and flat power distributions over the burnup cycles. The following advantages of this ULLC concept over the nonrefueling ULLC were found: smaller control reactivity requirements over the cycle lower power peaking factor and lower power swings during burnup