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Swiss nuclear power and the case for long-term operation
Designed for 40 years but built to last far longer, Switzerland’s nuclear power plants have all entered long-term operation. Yet age alone says little about safety or performance. Through continuous upgrades, strict regulatory oversight, and extensive aging management, the country’s reactors are being prepared for decades of continued operation, in line with international practice.
C. A. Bisselle, John A. Wethington, Jr.
Nuclear Technology | Volume 5 | Number 6 | December 1968 | Pages 445-455
Technical Paper and Note | doi.org/10.13182/NT68-A27970
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A technique was developed for determining the previously unknown thermal-neutron diffusion parameters, ∑a and D, of a small amount of a moderating material, perfluorodimethylcyclohexane, C8F16. A two-region cylindrical system consisting of C8F16 in the core region and water in the reflector region was pulsed with neutrons to obtain the decay constants for several heights of the system. By comparing these results with those obtained from a similar water-graphite experiment and by utilizing one-group, two-region diffusion theory, it was possible to obtain the desired parameters for the fluoro-carbon, i.e., D(C8F16) = 1.02 cm, ∑a(C8F16) = 90 × 10−5/cm, and L(C8F16) = 33.6 cm. This technique offers a convenient method for determining the neutron diffusion parameters of small samples of rare materials.