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Title: Source Term Reduction for Advanced and Small Modular Boiling Water Reactors

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1638949· OSTI ID:1638949
 [1]
  1. Pittsburgh Technical College, Oakdale, PA (United States)

The United States Department of Energy (US DOE) is currently supporting the development of various advanced and small modular reactor (SMR) designs. Several of these designs have commenced license application with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (US NRC). These reactors have improved safety features that may significantly reduce radiological source terms in the event of design and beyond-design basis accidents. Specifically, some reactors feature a smaller containment volume relative to the available fission product depositional surface area, which supports increased fission product retention in the containment vessel. Pressurized water reactors (PWR) and boiling water reactors (BWR) with this feature include the integral pressurized water reactor (iPWR) and the BWRX-300 design by General Electric. A prior research program supported by the US DOE quantified the source term reduction associated with light water iPWRs and developed iPWR-specific theoretical models for fission product deposition rates. This program included a sequence of research projects that started with a feasibility study, development of theoretical models that predict higher deposition rates, and finally, development of empirical data for verification and validation of the theoretical models. The current project, which is a feasibility study, is the first step in a similar program to quantify the source term reduction associated with small and advanced light water BWRs.

Research Organization:
Pittsburgh Technical College, Oakdale, PA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)
Contributing Organization:
Electric Power Research Inst. (EPRI), Knoxville, TN (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
NE-0008835
OSTI ID:
1638949
Report Number(s):
DE-PITT-0008835; PT‐PR‐19‐021; 4124486823; TRN: US2201513
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English