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From the pages of Nuclear News: Industry update September 2024
Here is a recap of industry happenings from the recent past:
BWXT advanced nuclear reactor agreement signed
Burns & McDonnell, a family of construction and design companies, has entered into an agreement with BWX Technologies to further advance the design and development of the BWXT BANR microreactor, which has a “passively safe design” for powering remote facilities while providing a carbon-free source of heat and electricity. The two companies completed the first phase of their collaboration in early 2024 and intend to complete the second phase by the third quarter of 2025. Burns & McDonnell is helping BWXT develop the balance-of-plant systems for the BANR, generate the power plant layout, and perform preconstruction planning. Its scope of work also includes developing power cycle architecture, identifying critical components, integrating site design, and supporting steam and power distribution infrastructure and reactor building structures. The Wyoming Energy Authority is currently evaluating the feasibility of using the BANR in a state nuclear market for baseload heat and power deployed for remote industrial users, such as mining operations.
Robert P. Wichner, Roger D. Spence
Nuclear Technology | Volume 70 | Number 3 | September 1985 | Pages 376-393
Technical Paper | Nuclear Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT85-A15964
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The degree of vaporization of light water reactor core materials was estimated using a highly idealized procedure involving (a) specification of the phases that are present for both structural and fuel material, (b) estimation of the vapor pressures exerted by the individual components of each phase, and (c) assuming a degree of vaporization of each phase constituent, allowing equilibration between gaseous and condensed species within the assumed pressure vessel volume. Using this procedure, the aerosol was estimated to consist mainly of silver, indium oxide, cesium hydroxide, and cadmium for pressurized water reactors and cesium hydroxide, cesium iodide, and tellurium for boiling water reactors. If boron is included in the thermodynamic estimate, then boron will significantly alter or dominate the composition of the aerosol in the form of boron oxide and cesium borate. The structural materials make up <9% of the aerosol at 36 to 57 kg, but this figure is in good agreement with estimates from severe accident sequence analysis studies (17 kg) and from Parker (10.7 kg). The SASCHA data are used in NUREG-0772 and give much higher estimates at 295 and 250 kg.