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Decommissioning & Environmental Sciences
The mission of the Decommissioning and Environmental Sciences (DES) Division is to promote the development and use of those skills and technologies associated with the use of nuclear energy and the optimal management and stewardship of the environment, sustainable development, decommissioning, remediation, reutilization, and long-term surveillance and maintenance of nuclear-related installations, and sites. The target audience for this effort is the membership of the Division, the Society, and the public at large.
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Utility Working Conference and Vendor Technology Expo (UWC 2024)
August 4–7, 2024
Marco Island, FL|JW Marriott Marco Island
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The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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Latest News
BWXT will scout potential TRISO fuel production sites in Wyoming
BWX Technologies Inc. announced today that its Advanced Technologies subsidiary has signed a cooperation agreement with the state of Wyoming to evaluate locations and requirements for siting a potential new TRISO nuclear fuel fabrication facility in the state.
Klaus W. Klein
Nuclear Technology | Volume 33 | Number 1 | April 1977 | Pages 60-67
Technical Paper | Fuel | doi.org/10.13182/NT77-A31763
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The fuel element concept of the gas-cooled fast breeder reactor (GCFR) is based on vented fuel pins to equalize pressure differences between the fission gas inside the fuel pin and the coolant. The fission products escaping from the fuel, mainly noble gases, are collected and swept separately from the primary coolant by a helium stream into a purification plant. Calculations were performed to estimate the activity release during normal operation, transient, and accident conditions for a 1000-MW(e) GCFR designed by Kraftwerk Union. The results show that during normal operation, only 0.8% of the total equilibrium noble gas activity in the core will be released into the purification plant. The most severe case for the activity release is a depressurization accident followed by the release of the whole fission gas inventory in the interstitial gas volume of the fuel pins of ∼5.3 × 107 Ci (2.0 EBq). To adsorb this amount of fission gases in the low-temperature charcoal beds of the purification plant, a temporary refrigeration load of ∼173 kW is necessary. Using a purification plant with a refrigeration capacity of ∼50 kW and an equivalent storage of liquid nitrogen for auxiliary purposes, no significant extrapolation from the designed high-temperature gas-cooled reactor purification plants is necessary.