The Nuclear Renaissance - Implications on Quantitative Nondestructive Evaluations
- Westinghouse Electric Company, 20 International Drive, Windsor, CT 06095 (United States)
The world demand for energy is growing rapidly, particularly in developing countries that are trying to raise the standard of living for billions of people, many of whom do not even have access to electricity. With this increased energy demand and the high and volatile price of fossil fuels, nuclear energy is experiencing resurgence. This so-called nuclear renaissance is broad based, reaching across Asia, the United States, Europe, as well as selected countries in Africa and South America. Some countries, such as Italy, that have actually turned away from nuclear energy are reconsidering the advisability of this design. This renaissance provides the opportunity to deploy more advanced reactor designs that are operating today, with improved safety, economy, and operations. In this keynote address, I will briefly present three such advanced reactor designs in whose development Westinghouse is participating. These designs include the advanced passive PWR, AP1000, which recently received design certification for the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission; the Pebble Bed Modular reactor (PBMR) which is being demonstrated in South Africa; and the International Reactor Innovative and Secure (IRIS), which was showcased in the US Department of Energy's recently announced Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP), program. The salient features of these designs that impact future requirements on quantitative nondestructive evaluations will be discussed. Such features as reactor vessel materials, operating temperature regimes, and new geometric configurations will be described, and mention will be made of the impact on quantitative nondestructive evaluation (NDE) approaches.
- OSTI ID:
- 21054971
- Journal Information:
- AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 894, Issue 1; Conference: Conference on review of progress in quantitative nondestructive evaluation, Portland, OR (United States), 30 Jul - 4 Aug 2006; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.2717949; (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0094-243X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
CERTIFICATION
DESIGN
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
ECONOMY
ELECTRICITY
ENERGY DEMAND
FISSION
FOSSIL FUELS
NONDESTRUCTIVE ANALYSIS
NONDESTRUCTIVE TESTING
NUCLEAR ENERGY
NUCLEAR INDUSTRY
NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
PWR TYPE REACTORS
REACTOR SAFETY
REACTOR VESSELS
STANDARD OF LIVING
US NRC