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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.
Steven T. Polkinghorne, Thomas K. Larson, Brent J. Buescher
Nuclear Technology | Volume 93 | Number 2 | February 1991 | Pages 240-251
Technical Paper | Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow | doi.org/10.13182/NT91-A34508
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The RELAP5 computer code is used to simulate four small-scale loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) experiments conducted at Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL). The purpose of the study is to help assess RELAP5 under conditions similar to those expected during a large-break LOCA at INEL’s Advanced Test Reactor (ATR). During an ATR large-break LOCA, it is expected that the primary system pressure will rapidly decrease from the initial operating pressure (∼2.55 MPa) to subatmospheric conditions governed by the primary coolant temperature. Flashing will occur in the high points of the system and air ingress from the break is possible. The RELAP5 code had not previously been assessed under these conditions. The results show that RELAP5 accurately predicted pressures, water levels, and air ingress behavior, thus providing confidence in the ability of the code to simulate an ATR large-break LOCA.