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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.
Rudi Van De Graaf, T. H. J. J. Van Der Hagen, Robert F. Mudde
Nuclear Technology | Volume 105 | Number 2 | February 1994 | Pages 190-200
Technical Paper | Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow | doi.org/10.13182/NT94-A34922
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In order to study the thermohydraulic behavior of a natural-circulation-cooled boiling water reactor (BWR) fuel assembly, such as void drift, flow pattern distribution, and stability, a scaled loop geometry is designed. For modeling the steam/water flow in a BWR fuel assembly, scaling criteria are derived using the onedimensional drift-flux model. Thermal equilibrium and subcooled boiling conditions are treated separately, resulting in one overall set of criteria. Scaling on all flow regimes that can be present in a normal fuel assembly leads to fixing both the assembly mass flux and the geometric dimensions. When Freon-12 is used as a modeling fluid, model assembly dimensions must be 0.46 of the prototype. Total power consumption must be reduced by a factor 50. To sustain cooling by natural circulation, a modeled chimney and downcomer are included.