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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.
Mesut Ramazan Ekici, Emre Tabar, Ramazan Yilmaz, Gamze Hoşgör, Emrah Bulut
Nuclear Technology | Volume 211 | Number 11 | November 2025 | Pages 2748-2764
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2025.2454121
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
This study aimed to investigate the gamma radiation shielding properties of zinc-based alloys. For this purpose, Zn1Mg, Zn1Mg0.1Mn, Zn3Mg, Zn3Mg0.1Mn, Zn5Mg, Zn5Mg1Fe, and Zn30Mg were produced using powder metallurgy. The mass attenuation coefficient (MAC) for different photon energies was investigated using the FLUKA Monte Carlo code. The half-value layers were also extracted. A comparison of the simulation with the theoretical results of XCOM showed satisfactory agreement (with a percentage difference below 1%). The obtained results for the MAC ranged from 0.8103 to 0.6297 cm2/g, 0.3339 to 0.2806 cm2/g, 0.1340 to 0.1284 cm2/g, 0.07321 to 0.07420 cm2/g, 0.06051 to 0.06164 cm2/g, 0.05469 to 0.05571 cm2/g, and 0.05131 to 0.05201 cm2/g for 81 keV, 122 keV, 245 keV, 662 keV, 964 keV, 1173 keV, and 1332 keV, respectively.
The microstructures of all alloys were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction to determine the structural changes caused by doping zinc with different elements. Microstructural studies and gamma permeability measurements of the zinc-based alloys were compatible.
