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The mission of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Policy Division (NNPD) is to promote the peaceful use of nuclear technology while simultaneously preventing the diversion and misuse of nuclear material and technology through appropriate safeguards and security, and promotion of nuclear nonproliferation policies. To achieve this mission, the objectives of the NNPD are to: Promote policy that discourages the proliferation of nuclear technology and material to inappropriate entities. Provide information to ANS members, the technical community at large, opinion leaders, and decision makers to improve their understanding of nuclear nonproliferation issues. Become a recognized technical resource on nuclear nonproliferation, safeguards, and security issues. Serve as the integration and coordination body for nuclear nonproliferation activities for the ANS. Work cooperatively with other ANS divisions to achieve these objective nonproliferation policies.
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Securing the advanced reactor fleet
Physical protection accounts for a significant portion of a nuclear power plant’s operational costs. As the U.S. moves toward smaller and safer advanced reactors, similar protection strategies could prove cost prohibitive. For tomorrow’s small modular reactors and microreactors, security costs must remain appropriate to the size of the reactor for economical operation.
Manfred Fischer, Sevostian V. Bechta, Vladimir V. Bezlepkin, Ryoichi Hamazaki, Alexei Miassoedov
Nuclear Technology | Volume 196 | Number 3 | December 2016 | Pages 524-537
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NT16-19
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In the event of a severe accident in a nuclear power plant with the core melting, the stabilization of the molten corium is an important mitigation issue, as it can avoid late containment failure caused by basemat penetration, overpressure, or severe damage to internal structures. The related failure modes may result in significant long-term radiological consequences and related high costs.
Because of this, the licensing frameworks of several countries now include a requirement to implement mitigative core melt stabilization measures. This applies not only to new builds but also to existing light water reactors.
The paper gives an overview of the ex-vessel core melt stabilization strategies developed during the last decades. These strategies are based on a variety of physical principles, like melt fragmentation in a deep water pool or during the molten core–concrete interaction with top flooding, water injection from the bottom (COMET), and retention in an outside-cooled crucible structure.
This overview covers the physical background and functional principles of these concepts, as well as their validation status and, if applicable, the remaining open issues and research and development needs. For the concepts based on melt retention inside a cooled crucible that have reached sufficient maturity to be implemented in current Generation III+ designs, like the VVER-1000/1200 and the European Pressurized Water Reactor, more detailed descriptions are provided, which include key aspects of the related technical realization.
The paper is compiled using contributions from the main developers of the individual concepts.