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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.
Hongbin Zhang (INL), Cole Blakley (Utah State Univ)
Proceedings | 2018 International Congress on Advances in Nuclear Power Plants (ICAPP 2018) | Charlotte, NC, April 8-11, 2018 | Pages 252-261
An approach to uncertainty quantification and sensitivity analysis with coupled simulations of VERACS/ FRAPCON and VERA-CS/BISON was developed within the Multi-Physics Best Estimate Plus Uncertainty (MP-BEPU) safety analysis framework LOTUS. A single assembly model was developed for the VERA-CS simulations and FRAPCON and BISON models were developed for the hot rod in the assembly. Uncertainty quantification and sensitivity analysis were performed with 23 uncertain input parameters for the coupled VERA-CS/FRAPCON simulations and with 31 uncertain input parameters for the coupled VERA-CS/BISON simulations. The maximum fuel centerline temperature (MFCT) and gap conductance at peak power (GCPP) were selected as the figures of merit (FOM). Pearson and Spearman Correlation Coefficients, Sobol Indices and Moment Independent Delta Measures were considered in the sensitivity analysis.