Pressurised water reactor

AGR, advanced gas-cooled reactor PWR, pressurised water reactor... 

ECBM EGR EIA EOR EPR Enhanced coal-bed methane Enhanced gas recovery Energy Information Administration (US DOE) Enhanced oil recovery European Pressurised Water Reactor Evolutionary Power Reactor... 

PSA PV PWR Pressure-swing adsorption Photovoltaic Pressurised water reactor... 

I0.6.8.I Cladding failure in oxide fuel pins of nuclear reactors. The long-term operational performance of nuclear fuel pins is critically governed by the reactions that occur in the gap between the fuel and its cladding. Ball et al. (1989) examined this for the cases of (1) Zircaloy-clad pellets of U02+, in a pressurised water reactor (PWR) and (2) stainless-steel-clad pellets of (U, P)02+, in a liquid-metal-cooled fast-breeder reactor (LMFBR). In particular they were interested in the influence of O potential on Cs, I, Te and Mo and the effects of irradiation on the gaseous species within the fuel-clad gaps. 

PWR - thermal pressurised water reactors BR - fast breeder reactors ... 

Or to use a design in which the core of a conventional pressurised water reactor (PWR) is enclosed within a vessel of boronated water that will flood the core if pressure is lost there is no barrier between the core and the pool of water, which in case pressure in the primary system is lost will shut the reactor down and continue to remove heat from the core by natural circulation. It is calculated that in an accident situation, replenishing of cooling fluid can be done at weekly intervals (in contrast to hours or less required for current light water reactor designs) (Harmerz, 1983 Klueh, 1986). 

The environmental measurements around French nuclear power plants are described by Le Corre and Bourcier (1996). Electricite de France generates 75% of its electricity in nuclear power plants with pressurised water reactors (PWR). These plants comprise 34 units of 900 MW and 20 units of 1300 MW, the first of which was connected to the grid in 1977, and the last in 1993. Three other units of 1400 MW are under construction. The environmental measurements are performed in two complementary ways ... 

The purpose of this section is to compare the features of the RBMK reactor operated at Chernobyl with reactor types pertinent to the UK. It will be recollected that the RBMK covers a large number of reactors and the comparisons made are indeed with Chernobyl No. 4. The UK reactors covered are in three classes the commercial reactors now built and operated or in commission (Magnox and Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor (AGR)) the prototype Steam Generating Heavy Water Reactor (SGHWR) and Prototype Fast Reactor (PFR) that have comparable performance to commercial reactors and the proposed Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR) or Sizewell B design which, it... 

This section provides a comparison of power reactors built in the UK with the Soviet RBMK. But it is worth recollecting that, elsewhere in the world, other types of power reactors are in use. The most widely built reactor is the Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR) but the second is the Boiling Water Reactor (BWR), a light water reactor in which, like the RBMK, steam is generated in the core and passed to the turbines in a direct cycle. Light (i.e. ordinary) water is used as coolant and moderator. The Canadian industry has developed the CANDU series of reactors, with limited export to India, etc., which have many pressure tubes to retain the coolant, as in the British SCHWR and Soviet RBMK, but are heavy-water-cooled and moderated. 

Three Mile Island (TMI). Site in Pennsylvania where a pressurised water reactor core melted in March 1979. 

Relative to Pressurised Water Reactors (PWR), this being the most common system in member states, there are working groups on ... 

Since 1972 the Reactor Plant Inspection Service (RPIS) of the Risley Nuclear Power Development Laboratories has undertaken contractual inspection of Pressurised Water Reactor Pressure Vessels (RPV s) in Europe. At this time 11 major pre-service and in-service Inspections of RPV s have been made and two more are planned for 1985. In addition numerous other inspections, both conventional and specialist, of nuclear plant have been made in Europe and the United Kingdom. 

An experimental program was carried out in the Czech Republic, where Boiling crisis and Critical Heat Flux (CHF) were measured on the facilities that simulated the fuel assemblies of the former Soviet s Pressurised Water Reactors (PWR) WWER-440 and WWER-1000. The large part of experiments related to the CHF was performed at Skoda Plzen Ltd, Nuclear Machinery Plant. The NRI started a complex of research activities in this field at the end of seventies. 

Considering the development of an evolutionary reactor the European Pressurised Water Reactor (EPR) able to fiilfil the requirements of the 21st century, Framatome and Siemens founded their joint subsidiary, Nuclear Power International (NPI) in April 1989. 

A new company British Energy pic has been formed but which retains the previous nuclear utilities Nuclear Electric and Scottish Nuclear for licensing reasons. British Energy pic, which was successfully floated on the UK stock exchange in July 1996 owns the fourteen UK Advanced Gas Cooled Reactors and the Sizewell B Pressurised Water Reactor. 

R.G. Carter, T. Onchi, N. Soneda, K. Dohi, J.M. Hyde, C.A. English, M.T Hutchings, W. Server, J.E. Coste and J.C. Van Duysen. Thermal stability of matrix defects in irradiated pressure vessel steels , Proc. Eontevraud IV Contributions of Materials Investigation to the Resolution of Problems Encountered in Pressurised Water Reactors, SEEN, Paris, 1998, 89-100. 

Current UK nuclear capacity totals 14,000 MWe (Gross) the largest proportion of which is provided by Advanced Gas Cooled Reactors (64%) followed by Magnox Reactors (27%) and Pressurised Water Reactors (9%). This capacity is currently operated by the two Utilities Nuclear Electric (78%), Scottish Nuclear (19%) and tihe fuel cycle company BNFL (3%). 

Whilst 1994 had a sad start, particularly for fast reactors with the closure of the Dounreay Prototype Fast Reactor (PFR) the period since has seen many successes for the UK nuclear industry. The Utilities efforts have been rewarded with significant improvements in the operation efficiency of existing reactors and the UK s first Pressurised Water Reactor at Sizewell B achieved criticality on 31 January 1995. Good progress has also been achieved with a number of fuel cycle facilities which will make a major contribution to nuclear fuel recycle, ie ... 

The Initial brief for the study was that It should consider only civil engineering aspects of nuclear power plants based on gas cooled reactor systems. The brief, however, was extended to Include an assessment of the civil engineering aspects of decommissioning light water cooled reactor systems, particularly the pressurised water reactor. 

The Nuclear Steam Supply System based on the standard Westlnghouse four-loop pressurised water reactor produces 3425 MW of heat. 

NUREG, CR 0130. Technology, Safety and Costs for Decommissioning of a Reference Pressurised Water Reactor. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. June 1978. 

The SIR reactor is an integral pressurised water reactor, in which all major components are contained in a single pressure vessel. Figure 7.5.1. shows the general arrangement of the RPV and its internal structures. The principal features are ... 

Most of the discussions are presented here in the context of radionuclide behaviour during accidents at existing pressurised water reactors (PWRs) and boiling water reactors (BWRs). The basic principles in these discussions are applicable to all nuclear power plants. Readers may need to make some mental modifications of the specific details of the discussions to accommodate the imique features of other types of plants such as gas-cooled reactors, CANDU t5q)c reactors and RBMK reactors. 

This report examines the severe accident sequences and radionuclide source terms at the Sizewell pressurised water reactor with a prestressed concrete containment, the Konvoi pressurized water reactor with a steel primary containment, the European Pressurised water Reactor (EPR) and a boiling water reactor with a Mark 2 containment. 

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