The impact of non-optimized operation of nuclear power plants on the nuclear fuel burn-up

Abstract With the development of the nuclear energy industry and the increasing demand for environmental protection, the impact of nuclear power plant radiation on the environment has gradually entered the public view. This article combs the nuclear power plant radiation environmental management systems of several countries, takes the domestic and foreign management of radioactive effluent discharge from nuclear power plants as a starting point, analyses and compares the laws and standards related to radioactive effluents from nuclear power plants in France, the United States, China, and South Korea. In this paper, the management improvement of radioactive effluent discharge system of Chinese nuclear power plants has been discussed.

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Small nuclear power plants for power supply in arctic regions: assessment of spent nuclear fuel radioactivity

Nuclear Energy and Technology ◽

10.3897/nucet.4.30677 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

pp. 119-125

Author(s):

Vadim Naumov ◽

Sergey Gusak ◽

Andrey Naumov

Keyword(s):

Nuclear Fuel ◽

Nuclear Power ◽

Power Plants ◽

Nuclear Power Plants ◽

Fuel Cycle ◽

Mass Composition ◽

Published Data ◽

Pressurized Water ◽

Fuel Cycles ◽

Reactor Cores

The purpose of the present study is the investigation of mass composition of long-lived radionuclides accumulated in the fuel cycle of small nuclear power plants (SNPP) as well as long-lived radioactivity of spent fuel of such reactors. Analysis was performed of the published data on the projects of SNPP with pressurized water-cooled reactors (LWR) and reactors cooled with Pb-Bi eutectics (SVBR). Information was obtained on the parameters of fuel cycle, design and materials of reactor cores, thermodynamic characteristics of coolants of the primary cooling circuit for reactor facilities of different types. Mathematical models of fuel cycles of the cores of reactors of ABV, KLT-40S, RITM-200M, UNITERM, SVBR-10 and SVBR-100 types were developed. The KRATER software was applied for mathematical modeling of the fuel cycles where spatial-energy distribution of neutron flux density is determined within multi-group diffusion approximation and heterogeneity of reactor cores is taken into account using albedo method within the reactor cell model. Calculation studies of kinetics of burnup of isotopes in the initial fuel load (235U, 238U) and accumulation of long-lived fission products (85Kr, 90Sr, 137Cs, 151Sm) and actinoids (238,239,240,241,242Pu, 236U, 237Np, 241Am, 244Cm) in the cores of the examined SNPP reactor facilities were performed. The obtained information allowed estimating radiation characteristics of irradiated nuclear fuel and implementing comparison of long-lived radioactivity of spent reactor fuel of the SNPPs under study and of their prototypes (nuclear propulsion reactors). The comparison performed allowed formulating the conclusion on the possibility in principle (from the viewpoint of radiation safety) of application of SNF handling technology used in prototype reactors in the transportation and technological process layouts of handling SNF of SNPP reactors.

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The Impact of Nuclear Power Plants on the Cooling Pond

10.1007/978-3-030-80946-1_31 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 309-314

Author(s):

Irma Martyn ◽

Yaroslav Petrov ◽

Sergey Stepanov ◽

Artem Sidorenko

Keyword(s):

Nuclear Power ◽

Power Plants ◽

Nuclear Power Plants ◽

Cooling Pond ◽

The Impact

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Study on the Impact Limiter Design in Spent Fuel Transfer Cask in Nuclear Power Plants

Volume 1: Beyond Design Basis; Codes and Standards; Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD); Decontamination and Decommissioning; Nuclear Fuel and Engineering; Nuclear Plant Engineering ◽

10.1115/icone2020-16157 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Yuchen Hao ◽

Yue Li ◽

Jinhua Wang ◽

Bin Wu ◽

Haitao Wang

Keyword(s):

Nuclear Power ◽

Power Plants ◽

Nuclear Power Plants ◽

Theoretical Method ◽

Structure Design ◽

Design Approach ◽

Spent Fuel ◽

Typical Structure ◽

Explicit Finite Element ◽

The Impact

Abstract In nuclear power plants, the amount of spent fuel stored on-site is limited. Therefore, it is necessary to be shipped to off-site storage or disposal facilities regularly. The key risk in the transfer of spent fuel involves a release of radiation that could cause harmful effects to people and the environment. Transfer casks with impact limiters on both ends are always employed to ensure safe containment of radioactive materials, which should be verified by the 9 meters drop test onto an unyielding surface according to IAEA SSR-6. In this paper, we focus on the influence of the impact-limiter parameters, including geometry dimensions and mechanical properties, on the results of drop events to achieve an optimized approach for design. The typical structure of impact limiter is bulk energy-absorbed material wrapped by thin stainless-steel shells. Compared to traditional wood, foam has advantages of isotropy and steady quality. In this paper, theoretical and numerical methods are both adopted to investigate the influence of impact limiters during hypothetical accidental conditions for optimizing buffer influence and protecting the internal fuel components. First of all, a series of polyurethane foam is selected according to the theoretical method, because its mechanical property is related to density. Therefore, using explicit finite element method to investigate the influence of parameters of foam in impact limiter. These discrete points from the above result can be utilized to establish damage curves by date fitting. Finally, a design approach for spent fuel transfer cask is summarized, to provide a convenient formula to predict the damage and optimize structure design in drop condition. Furthermore, this design approach can be applied in the multi-module shared system of SNF, which can contain different fuel assemblies.

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Analysis of Factors Affecting Thermodynamic Efficiency in Generation III+ PWR Nuclear Power Plants.

PAM Review Energy Science & Technology ◽

10.5130/pamr.v4i0.1441 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 4 ◽

pp. 141-154

Author(s):

Marcus Vitlin ◽

Miroshan Naicker ◽

Augustine Frederick Gardner

Keyword(s):

Nuclear Power ◽

Power Plants ◽

Nuclear Power Plants ◽

Rankine Cycle ◽

Steam Temperature ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Electrical Efficiency ◽

Balance Of Plant ◽

The Impact ◽

The Relationship

Generation III+ reactors are the latest generation of Nuclear Power Plants to enter the market. The key evolution in these reactors is the introduction of stringent safety standards. This is done through thorough incident scenario analysis and preparation, resulting in the addition of novel active and passive auxiliary safety systems, affecting the power consumption in the balance of plant. This paper analyses the parameters of PWR power plants of similar design, to determine the parameters for optimal efficiency, regarding gross and net electrical output, determining the impact the balance of plant has on this efficiency. While two of the three main factors affecting the Rankine cycle – boiler pressure and steam temperature – behaved as theoretically expected, there was a notable point of departure with the third parameter – condenser pressure. The relationship between steam temperature and gross electrical efficiency was linear across all reactors but the relation between the steam temperature and the net electrical efficiency ceased to be linear for secondary loop steam temperatures above 290°C. The relationship between boiler pressure and both gross and net electrical efficiency was linear, proving the Rankine cycle. A relationship was not observed between the condenser pressure and either the gross or net electrical efficiency

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