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60 Years of U: Perspectives on resources, demand, and the evolving role of nuclear energy
Recent years have seen growing global interest in nuclear energy and rising confidence in the sector. For the first time since the early 2000s, there is renewed optimism about the industry’s future. This change is driven by several major factors: geopolitical developments that highlight the need for secure energy supplies, a stronger focus on resilient energy systems, national commitments to decarbonization, and rising demand for clean and reliable electricity.
Peter H. Royl, James E. Cahalan, Günter Friedel, Günter Kussmaul, Jean Moreau, Maurice Perks, Roald A. Wigeland
Nuclear Technology | Volume 97 | Number 2 | February 1992 | Pages 198-211
Technical Paper | Nuclear Reactor Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT92-A34616
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In a cooperative effort among European and U.S. analysts, an assessment of the comparative safety performance of metal and oxide fuels during accidents in a 3500-MW(thermal), pool-type, liquid-metal-cooled reactor (LMR) is performed. The study focuses on three accident initiators with failure to scram: the unprotected loss-of-flow (ULOF), the unprotected transient overpower, and the unprotected loss-of-heat-sink (ULOHS). Core designs with a similar power output that have been previously analyzed in Europe under ULOF accident conditions are also included in this comparison. Emphasis is placed on identification of design features that provide passive, self-limiting responses to postulated accident conditions and quantification of relative safety margins. The analyses show that in ULOF and ULOHS sequences, metal-fueled LMRs with pool-type primary systems provide larger temperature margins to coolant boiling than do oxide-fueled reactors of the same design.