Light Water Reactor Research And Development

The Energy Research Advisory Board (ERAB) was requested to under take an examination of safety research and development (R and D) on light water reactors (LWRs) in order to advise the Department of Energy (DOE) on the adequacy of those efforts for making effective use of nuclear power. In carrying out this examination, DOE asked that ERAB: (1) review the adequacy of DOE's LWR safety R and D management plan prepared pursuant to Public Law 96-567, (2) examine the safety-related R and D conducted by the various government and nongovernment groups, and (3) identify R and D that could result in major design improvements to LWRs. To carry out this examination, ERAB appointed an expert panel. This report contains the results of ERAB's examination of the first two of the above subjects. The Board has yet to consider the subject of nonsafety-related long-term LWR R and D, as also requested by DOE. Furthermore, in keeping with the Department's guidance, this report does not include an examination of the R and D on related activities such as reprocessing, waste management, and the breeder.

Energy demand in the United States is expected to continue to grow over the coming decades, and the Department of Energy (DOE) considers nuclear energy to be one way to help meet this increased demand without producing air pollution. However, the current domestic commercial nuclear reactor fleet, consisting of 99 large light water reactors (LWRs) that provide about 20 percent of U.S. electricity is aging, and some reactors have shut down in recent years. LWRs use light, or ordinary, water to cool the reactor. New reactor concepts are under development as alternative energy options. Light water small modular reactors (SMRs) have some similarities, including the coolant used, to the existing large LWRs, and advanced reactors differ more from the large LWRs. Both new reactor concepts differ from the existing large LWRs in potential applications. This book discusses the status of light water SMR and advanced reactor concepts under development; the intended benefits of these new reactor concepts; and the challenges associated with developing and deploying these new types of reactors. Furthermore, the book describes DOE's Office of Nuclear Energy's (NE) approach to advanced nuclear reactor research and development (R&D) and examines how NE plans and prioritizes its advanced reactor R&D activities, including deploying an advanced reactor.

There has been a substantial resurgence of interest in nuclear power in the United States over the past few years. One consequence has been a rapid growth in the research budget of DOE's Office of Nuclear Energy (NE). In light of this growth, the Office of Management and Budget included within the FY2006 budget request a study by the National Academy of Sciences to review the NE research programs and recommend priorities among those programs. The programs to be evaluated were: Nuclear Power 2010 (NP 2010), Generation IV (GEN IV), the Nuclear Hydrogen Initiative (NHI), the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP)/Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (AFCI), and the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) facilities. This book presents a description and analysis of each program along with specific findings and recommendations. It also provides an assessment of program priorities and oversight.

Over the last 30 years, reactor safety technology has evolved not so much from a need to recover from accidents or incidents, but primarily from many groups in the nuclear community asking hypo thetical, searching (what if) ~uestions. This ~uestioning has indeed paid off in establishing preventive measures for many types of events and potential accidents. Conditions, such as reactivity excursions, large break, loss of coolant, core melt, and contain ment integrity loss, to name a few, were all at one time topics of protracted discussions on hypothesized events. Historically, many of these have become multiyear, large-scale research programs aimed at resolving the "what ifs. " For the topic of anticipated and abnormal plant transients, how ever, the searching ~uestions and the research were not so prolific until the mid-1970s. At that time, probabilistic risk methodolo gies began to tell us we should change our emphasis in reactor safety research and development and focus more on small pipe breaks and plant transients. Three Mile Island punctuated that message in 1979. The plant transient topic area is a multidisciplinary subject involving not only the nuclear, fluid flow, and heat transfer technologies, but also the synergistics of these with the reactor control systems, the safety s;,"stems, operator actions, maintenance and even management and the economic considerations of a given plant.

Advances in Light Water Reactor Technologies focuses on the design and analysis of advanced nuclear power reactors. This volume provides readers with thorough descriptions of the general characteristics of various advanced light water reactors currently being developed worldwide. Safety, design, development and maintenance of these reactors is the main focus, with key technologies like full MOX core design, next-generation digital I&C systems and seismic design and evaluation described at length. This book is ideal for researchers and engineers working in nuclear power that are interested in learning the fundamentals of advanced light water plants.