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Quality is key: Investing in advanced nuclear research for tomorrow’s grid
As the energy sector faces mounting pressure to grow at an unprecedented pace while maintaining reliability and affordability, nuclear technology remains an essential component of the long-term solution. Southern Company stands out among U.S. utilities for its proactive role in shaping these next-generation systems—not just as a future customer, but as a hands-on innovator.
E. Studer, D. Abdo, S. Benteboula, G. Bernard-Michel, B. Cariteau, N. Coulon, F. Dabbene, Ph. Debesse, S. Koudriakov, C. Ledier, J.-P. Magnaud, O. Norvez, J.-L. Widloecher, A. Beccantini, S. Gounand, J. Brinster
Nuclear Technology | Volume 206 | Number 9 | September 2020 | Pages 1361-1373
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2020.1731406
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The containment of a nuclear reactor is a component whose loss in an accident has serious consequences on property, persons, and environment. The Fukushima accident reminded us of this reality. For more than 30 years, the French Nuclear Energy and Alternative Energies Commission has been conducting research on the failure modes of these enclosures, particularly on their slow pressurization during a steam release and hydrogen risk. Significant progress has been made on wall condensation and its spatial distribution, the occurrence and erosion of gas stratification, and the impact of mitigation systems, such as spraying and catalytic recombiners. This knowledge has been included in numerical tools and internationally recognized expertise. These tools have also been used for the safety of the hydrogen energy industry. The emergence of new systems, particularly passive systems and new light water reactor concepts, has led us to examine new questions that will have to be addressed in the coming years. This examination is done in view of current computational fluid dynamics code capabilities and limitations.