Nuclear Energy Articles
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Multi-component self-consistent nuclear energy system: protected plutonium production (P3)
The research activity on Protected Plutonium Production (P3) has been performed in the framework of MC-SCNES that simultaneously achieves four requirements – energy production, fuel production, burning of radioactive wastes and safety by the combination of fission, spallation and fusion neutron sources. The increase of a fraction of 238Pu provides an essential protective measure to plutonium ...
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Reprocessing of AHWR spent-fuel: challenges and strategies
Reprocessing of advanced heavy water reactor (AHWR) spent-fuel involves separation of Th, 233U and Pu, from the fission products and from one another. A proper combination of Purex and Thorex processes is required. The technology development for a reprocessing facility is extremely complex owing to high fissile content, high levels of irradiation, presence high of levels of 232U, difficulty in ...
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Pyrochemical reprocessing developments in Japan: overview and some topics
The latest developments in pyrochemical reprocessing technology in Japan is introduced in view of: the feasibility study FBR system; R&D progress; new projects and funding; basic studies in universities; new experimental facilities. Japanese pyrochemical reprocessing developments are being accelerated as new funding recently has been authorised by the government. While electrorefining of metallic ...
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Weldability study of Ti-Ta-Nb alloy and pure titanium
Weldability of Ti–4.8%Ta–1.8%Nb alloy, for use in electrolytic dissolver of nuclear fuel reprocessing plant, was evaluated in autogenous bead-on-plate gas tungsten arc welds made at two different heat inputs. Pure titanium was also welded for comparison. A secondary shielding setup was employed for protection of the weldment from gaseous contamination during and after welding. In the weld and ...
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The economics of wind energy within the generation mix
With more than 15,000 plants of different capacity ranges, Germany has become the world's No. 1 in generating electricity from wind power, covering around 4% of the electricity requirements at home. This is due on the one hand to the successful promotion by the Renewable Energy Act (EEG) and, on the other hand, to the tax breaks from loss allocation and depreciation. During low-load periods, load ...
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A future for nuclear energy: pebble bed reactors
Pebble Bed Reactors could allow nuclear plants to support the goal of reducing global climate change in an energy hungry world. They are small, modular, inherently safe, use a demonstrated nuclear technology and can be competitive with fossil fuels. Pebble bed reactors are helium cooled reactors that use small tennis ball size fuel balls consisting of only 9 grams of uranium per pebble to provide ...
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Strategic aspects of aging nuclear infrastructure: game theory and the Chernobyl event
Game theory can provide an analytical framework for investigation of the strategic conflicts surrounding critical infrastructure. Immediately after the 1986 Chernobyl event, for example, plant management, political appointees and world media struggled over the timing and accuracy of information release. The aging of nuclear power plants and the increasing difficulties faced by management and ...
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Some lessons learnt from the use of PRA during the design phase
The development of the pebble bed module reactor (PBMR) as a gas cooled thermal reactor type includes the use of probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) during the design phases. This paper presents some of the basic issues and results of the application of PRA in the design process and as part of the licensing process.Keywords: PRA, PBMR design, design optimisation, risk criteria, pebble bed module ...
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Some insights on issues related to specifics of the use of probability, risk, uncertainty and logic in PRA studies
The paper presents the main results of the insights to a gas cooled reactor from the perspective of the following notions: probability, uncertainty, entropy and risk. Some results of the ongoing comparisons between the insights obtained from three models are presented. The approaches consider the PBMR nuclear power plant (NPP) as a thermodynamic installation and as a hierarchical system with or ...
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Metabolic responses of microbiota to diesel fuel addition in vegetated soil
The effects of trees and contamination on microbial metabolic activity, especially that of hydrocarbon degrading bacteria, were compared during phytoremediation to find which conditions increase diesel fuel removal. Diesel fuel utilisation, microbial extracellular enzyme activities and utilisation of Biolog ECO plate carbon sources by soil bacteria were determined during phytoremediation ...
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The 21st century nuclear park: a source of energy, water, food, and jobs
The concept of a nuclear-powered agro-industrial complex, or "nuplex", first advanced 40 years ago, provides an increasingly attractive means of addressing critical challenges in developing nations. The nuplex concept, updated for the 21st century, can serve as the basis for a nuclear park that provides a safe, environmentally friendly, and reliable source of energy at a cost comparable to other ...
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Utilisation of research and training reactors in the study programme of students at the Slovak University of Technology
Preparing operating staff for the nuclear industry is and also will be one of the most serious education processes, mainly in the Central-European countries where about 40–50% of the electricity is produced in nuclear power plants. In the Central-European region there exists a very extensive and also effective international collaboration in nuclear industry and education. Similarly, the level of ...
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Euratom research and training in nuclear reactor safety: towards European research and the higher education area
In this invited lecture, research and training in nuclear fission are looked at from a European perspective with emphasis on the three success factors of any European policy, namely: common needs, vision and instruments, that ought to be strongly shared amongst the stakeholders across the Member States concerned. As a result, the following questions are addressed: What is driving the current EU ...
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Managing nuclear knowledge in a developing country: Pakistan's perspective
The nuclear technology base in a developing country is relatively much smaller compared to those in the industrialised countries. Thus, nuclear knowledge and its management are of great importance for those countries which are interested in nuclear technology but are still in the development phase. It is neither desirable nor possible to use imported nuclear technology as a black box. It is ...
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Managing nuclear knowledge: a governmental perspective
Governments and industries have different perceptions about knowledge management. Coporate houses limit their vision to 3–5 years, while governments have to plan for decades. The industry works in a competitive environment and has to direct R&D towards customising the existing knowledge base, while governments have to direct R&D towards search for further knowledge. For a higher education ...
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HRM in a highly uncertain strategic situation: the case of the electronuclear industry
The nuclear industry has some specific strategic features that result in a very high level of uncertainty. The demand for new reactors has been declining for more than twenty years, and gains in performance have slowed down during the same period. As a result, at first sight, this technology should be classified as declining in terms of demand and maturing in terms of technological life cycle. ...
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The IAEA initiative on fast reactor data retrieval and knowledge preservation
The paper introduces the IAEA initiative on fast reactor data retrieval and knowledge preservation. Apart from giving the rationale for the initiative and describing it, the paper outlines the road map of the initiative and explains IAEA's role in its implementation. The status of the initiative is summarised, and a concrete work plan for the future activities proposed.Keywords: IAEA, nuclear ...
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Feeding the nuclear pipeline: enabling a global nuclear future
Nuclear energy, which exhibits a unique combination of environmental and sustainable attributes, appears strongly positioned to play a much larger and more pivotal role in the mix of future global energy supplies than it has played in the past. Unfortunately, enrolment patterns in nuclear engineering programmes have seriously eroded over the past decade – causing alarmingly low enrolment levels ...
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The system CFD approach applied to a pebble bed reactor core
The system CFD code Flownex is used to simulate the transient behaviour of complete thermal-fluid systems such as the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor. In the context of this system simulation, the complexities in modelling the reactor heat transfer is discussed, as well as appropriate methods of dealing with it. The versatility of the system CFD approach is illustrated with three possible topologies ...
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Quantifying the perceived risks associated with nuclear energy issues
A mathematical model is presented for quantifying and assessing perceived risks in an empirical manner. The analytical model provides for the identification and assignment of any number of quantifiable risk perception factors that can be incorporated within standard risk methodology. The set of risk perception factors used to demonstrate the model are those that have been identified by social and ...
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