The Nuclear Power Thread

[Astronuc]

COVERT TOWNSHIP — Thanks to federal funding announced Wednesday, the Palisades nuclear facility in Michigan is poised to be the first shuttered plant to resume nuclear energy generation. Officials say Palisades, and the energy it produces, will be key to meeting goals for lowering carbon emissions.

The company that owns Palisades Energy LLC, Holtec International, will receive up to a $1.52 billion conditional loan from the U.S. Department of Energy. The funding will allow the 800-megawatt-capacity plant to resume energy production, company officials and U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said Wednesday morning.

https://www.freep.com/story/news/lo...clear-plant-nuclear-power-energy/73115767007/

Palisades is a unique PWR that uses cruciform control rods and consequently a unique fuel design to accommodate the control rods which are function between fuel assemblies rather than in particular fuel assemblies.

 

[Astronuc]

From ASTM E531.

Neutron Spectrum Calculations – neutron spectrum calculations involve two tasks: (1) determination of the neutron source distribution in the reactor, and (2) transport of the neutron source through the reactor environment to determine the neutron fluence rate distribution at the surveillance location of interest. The specific computational method applied must be validated by comparing results with measurements made on one or more representative benchmark experiments.

 

[gmax137]

Palisades is a unique PWR that uses cruciform control rods and consequently a unique fuel design to accommodate the control rods which are function between fuel assemblies rather than in particular fuel assemblies

Palisades was the first commercial NSSS provided by Combustion Engineering. The CE Nuclear brain trust in those days included a number of Argonne labs luminaries. So I always saw their fingerprints in the almost BWR like aspects of the reactor design.

In any event, it will be interesting to see how the re-licensing process goes. I'm thinking a couple of well-heeled intervenors could really throw a wrench into the works.

 

[Astronuc]

The CE Nuclear brain trust in those days included a number of Argonne labs luminaries.

I met some of those folks during projects with utilities and CE.

In Europe, more than 70 nuclear reactors have already closed down and it is estimated that dozens more will follow in the coming years. It therefore won't be long before they fall due for dismantling. Recycling and re-using the maximum quantity of materials makes it possible to reduce the ecological footprint of dismantling. And that is what this project is all about: a desire to create a circular economy in dismantling.

https://www.sckcen.be/en/news/nuclear-melting-furnace-also-receives-green-light-europe-0

Not what I expect when I read the title.

 

[Vanadium 50]

included a number of Argonne labs luminaries.

Including Marius Stan, who plated Bogdan in Breaking Bad? Can't get more famous than that.

 

[gmax137]

No, the guys I'm talking about were much earlier. Walter Zinn, Harold Lichtenberger. That era.

 

[Astronuc]

In Wyoming, Bill Gates moves ahead with nuclear project aimed at revolutionizing power generation
https://apnews.com/article/bill-gat...-electricity-23176f33200b22b9ede7f4ccf4f2ec3b

Bill Gates and his energy company are starting construction at their Wyoming site for a next-generation nuclear power plant he believes will “revolutionize” how power is generated.

Gates was in the tiny community of Kemmerer Monday to break ground on the project. The co-founder of Microsoft is chairman of TerraPower. The company applied to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in March for a construction permit for an advanced nuclear reactor that uses sodium, not water, for cooling. If approved, it would operate as a commercial nuclear power plant.

The site is adjacent to PacifiCorp’s Naughton Power Plant, which will stop burning coal in 2026 and natural gas a decade later, the utility said. Nuclear reactors operate without emitting planet-warming greenhouse gases. PacifiCorp plans to get carbon-free power from the reactor and says it is weighing how much nuclear to include in its long-range planning.

 

[Astronuc]

Separately, apparently the NRC's SDA of NuScale's SMR is ongoing, or parts of it.
Ref: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/03/17/2023-05457/nuscale-power-llc
https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-re...on-activities/idaho-national-labs-preapp.html

There is still interest in the concept.
https://news.yahoo.com/finance/news/why-nuscale-power-stock-ripped-203012874.html

 

[gmax137]

In Wyoming ... Kemmerer...

In case anyone was wondering, Kemmerer is in western Wyoming, about 50 miles northeast of Salt Lake.

 

[Astronuc]

AstroVinci™ Microreactor​

https://www.westinghousenuclear.com/energy-systems/astrovinci-microreactor/

The AstroVinci™ microreactor leverages the features of the eVinci™ heat pipe reactor including a matrixed core design, industry leading heat pipe design and manufacturing, and integrated controls and power conversion. The AstroVinci microreactor design can support various mission types with power outputs ranging from 10kWe to 100kWe, easily addressing the power needs of on-orbit or lunar surface applications. The core is designed to run for up to 10 years to support extended mission durations. The simple design of the AstroVinci microreactor fission power system allows for the reduction of failure points, simple operation and increased reliability for the harsh environment of space.

https://info.westinghousenuclear.com/space-symposium

 

[Astronuc]

Accident tolerant fuel cladding development: Promise, status, and challenges (2017)​

https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1471930

The motivation for transitioning away from zirconium-based fuel cladding in light water reactors to significantly more oxidation-resistant materials, thereby enhancing safety margins during severe accidents, is laid out. A review of the development status for three accident tolerant fuel cladding technologies, namely coated zirconium-based cladding, ferritic alumina-forming alloy cladding, and silicon carbide fiber–reinforced silicon carbide matrix composite cladding, is offered. Technical challenges and data gaps for each of these cladding technologies are highlighted. Full development towards commercial deployment of these technologies is identified as a high priority for the nuclear industry.

It's a reasonable overview. It's a bit short on the interaction of fission products and claddings though, and how to deal with the high burnup structure (rim), which develops at/near the circumferential surface of the fuel pellets. Lots of challenges with coolant-cladding and fuel-cladding chemical interactions.

 

[Astronuc]

Constellation is discussing the possible retart of Three Mile Island with the State of Pennsylvania
https://www.reuters.com/business/en...e-mile-island-restart-sources-say-2024-07-02/

I expect that would be Unit 1 (TMI-1) at Three Mile Island. Unit 2 is the one that had the accident in 1979.

NEW YORK/PHILADELPHIA, July 2 (Reuters) - Constellation Energy (CEG.O)
, opens new tab is in talks with the Pennsylvania governor's office and state lawmakers to help fund a possible restart of part of its Three Mile Island power facility, the site of a nuclear meltdown in the 1970s, three sources familiar with the discussions said on Tuesday.

The conversations, which two sources described as "beyond preliminary," signal that Constellation is advancing plans to revive part of the southern Pennsylvania nuclear generation site, which operated from 1974 to 2019. The nuclear unit Constellation is considering restarting is separate from the one that melted down.

The sources said that a shut Michigan nuclear plant, which was recently awarded a $1.5 billion conditional loan to restart from the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden, could serve as a private-public sector blueprint for Three Mile Island.

 

[gmax137]

I wish them (and Palisades) luck, but I don't see how they can get a new operating license without making all of the changes they avoided over the years via the "backfit rule."

Just to pick one example, how could these units achieve cold shutdown (given a single failure and a loss of offsite power) using only safety-grade equipment operated from the control room? (NUREG-0800, BTP 5-4, the rule formerly known as RSB BTP 9-1). Units licensed before 1978 kind of skated on this, does the "re-license" also skate?

 

[Astronuc]

Just to pick one example, how could these units achieve cold shutdown (given a single failure and a loss of offsite power) using only safety-grade equipment operated from the control room? (NUREG-0800, BTP 5-4, the rule formerly known as RSB BTP 9-1). Units licensed before 1978 kind of skated on this, does the "re-license" also skate?

For background - https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/crgr/related-info.html
https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/cfr/part050/part050-0109.html


I don't remember what backfitting/retrofitting and upgrades were employed at TMI-1, the more mature sibling unit of TMI-2, which suffered the accident.

May 16, 2024 - Could TMI be restarted? Someone asked, and the owner didn’t say no​

https://www.pennlive.com/news/2024/...omeone-asked-and-owner-said-didnt-say-no.html

I'd have to ask my contacts at Constellation.

I did some consulting with TMI-1 about 30 years ago when it was operated by GPUN (General Public Utilities - Nuclear, Inc). GPU Nuclear, Inc. (GPUN) was a New Jersey corporation and a wholly-owned subsidiary of GPU. GPUN was organized for the purpose of the safe operation, maintenance, rehabilitation, design, construction, start-up and testing of all nuclear generating facilities owned by JCP&L, Met-Ed and Penelec (collectively, the "GPU Operating Companies") and related research and development.

Unit 2 received its operating license on February 8, 1978, and began commercial operation on December 30, 1978. Some testing had occurred. On March 28, 1979, a cooling system malfunction caused a partial meltdown of the reactor core. {Ref: Wikipedia) The unit was in its first cycle of operation, and as I recall, had achieved 62 EFPD, so not a lot of decay heat, but enough to partially degrade the core when cooling/flow was lost. It would have been a lot worse had the unit been operating high burnup fuel (BU > 45 GWd/tU). That was high burnup when I was in grad school; I consider high burnup > 60 GWd/tU.

 

[gmax137]

I found this: INSPECTION MANUAL CHAPTER 2562 (Effective Date: 05/08/2024)
LIGHT-WATER REACTOR INSPECTION PROGRAM FOR RESTART OF REACTOR FACILITIES FOLLOWING PERMANENT CESSATION OF POWER OPERATIONS
https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML2403/ML24033A299.pdf

But it doesn't answer my questions. I will continue to dig a little.