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U.S. LWR Sustainability Program
Ronaldo SzilardDirector, INL, Nuclear Science & EngineeringDirector, Technical Integration Office, LWR Sustainability Program
NUTHOS-7
October 5-9, 2008
Grand Intercontinental Hotel, Seoul, Korea
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Overview: Maintaining the Nuclear Option
• The U.S. Perspective• R&D program to meet the U.S.
government & industry needs• Vision, Basis, Goals, Scope• R&D areas• Laying the foundation for a new
private-public partnership• Summary
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The U.S. Perspective
• By 2030, U.S. electricity demand expected to increase ~ 30%
• Nuclear generation is critical to U.S. efforts to:
– Reduce greenhouse gases
– Meet electricity demand
– Ensure energy supply security and grid reliability
– Curb increasing energy prices
• Cost to replace the current fleet exceeds $500B in addition to the capacity that will be added as the U.S. builds new plants
It is in the U.S. interest for the current fleet of nuclear power plants to be operated as
long as possible
Current U.S. energy portfolio
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“We have a situation where we have these high (oil) prices and the only solution is to diversify your resources, diversify your sources of fuel…” U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, June 7, 2008
AP Photo
Source: NEI Nuclear Policy Overview Nov/Dec 2007Source: NEI Nuclear Policy Overview Nov/Dec 2007
Energy policy must be implemented through long-standing policy based on energy security, beyond
short term market forces
Energy Security = Diversification
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40+20 year licenses means current plants shut down starting 2030
Steep reduction in generation if current fleet operations are not sustained
Without today’s nuclear plants, we lose:
– 100 GWe of low-carbon generation over about 20 years – climate, air pollution concerns
– Low-cost generation – economic concerns for businesses, homeowners
Extending operation of existing reactors will avoid ~12 billion metric tons CO2 and provide enough electricity for 70 million homes during an additional
20 years of operations.
Reliance on existing plants
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License extension plans of 104 operating reactors
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Existing nuclear power plants will continue to safely provide clean and affordable electricity beyond current license periods
Develop the understanding, tools, and processes to ensure continued long term safe operation of existing nuclear power plants
Develop technical and operational improvements that contribute to the economic viability of existing nuclear power plants
Program Vision and Goals
VISION
GOALS
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INL, EPRI examination of the issues associated with long term safe and economical operation of existing and new plants
DOE-NRC co-sponsored industry-wide workshop examining research questions and opportunities
Significant planning effort underway to launch a private-public partnership this fall
– Subject matter expert workshops to identify research projects and priorities
– Broad participation from industry, including NRC, EPRI, vendors, utilities, universities
– Steering Committee
– R&D Program Plan
What have we done so far?
http://nuclear.inl.gov/docs/papers-presentations/lwr_strategic_plan.pdf
http://nuclear.energy.gov/pdfFiles/LifeAfter60WorkshopReport.pdf
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Five high-priority objectives supporting operating LWRs:
Sustain high performance
of reactor plant
materials
Transition to state-of-the-
art digital I&C
Advances in nuclear fuel
Implement broad-
spectrum workforce
development
Implement broad-
spectrum improvements and design for sustainability
R&D Program Objectives
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Collaborative R&D Program
Present Scope Nuclear Materials Aging and Degradation
Advanced LWR Fuel Development
Risk-Informed Safety Margin Characterization
Advanced Instrumentation and Control Technologies
Funding FY2009 - $9.75 Million
Initial focus on “component and material aging and degradation activities”
R&D Implementation Coordinated by INL Technical Integration Office (TIO)
Coordinated with EPRI and NRC-RES
Implementation through broad-based Industry / National Laboratories / University collaboration / international partners
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Success Requires the Right Kind of Partnerships
Designed to facilitate industry and government decisions on long-term LWR operations
Industry and government jointly define and fund R&D
Provides access to expertise and facilities – leveraging the best experts on the right projects
Includes cost sharing dependent on type of research and timescale
Created with integrated collaboration among industry, government and universities
Independent steering committee oversight
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Integration and collaboration between R&D pathways is critical for success of LWRSP
Materials Aging and
DegradationAdvanced Fuels
AdvancedInstrumentation
and Controls
Risk-InformedSafety
Margins
Advanced
Inspection
NDETechnology
Radiation Water Chemistry Effects
In-s
ervi
ce
Surv
eilla
ncePerformance Validation
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Nuclear Materials Aging and Degradation
• Research to develop the scientific basis for understanding laboratory and field data on environmental degradation of materials, components, and structures essential to safe and sustained nuclear plant operations
• Four R&D areas have been identified:
– Reactor Metals• Reactor Pressure Vessels
• Core Internals
• Secondary System
• Weldments
– Cables– Piping– Concrete
Proactive Materials Degradation Assessment
Matrix
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Aging and Degradation – R&D Areas
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StressLoad
FrequencyState
Constraints
MaterialsStainless steel
Ni-alloysCast stainless steel
Low-alloy steelZirconium alloys
EnvironmentTemperature
IrradiationCorrosive Media
(pH, ECP, flow rate)
MechaniMechanical cal FailureFailure
Stress-Corrosion CrackingStress-Corrosion Cracking
Corrosion,Corrosion,Thermal Thermal Aging, Aging, EmbrittlemenEmbrittlementt
Materials aging and degradation in nuclear reactor systems is
complex
Understanding Combined Effects
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Aging and Degradation – Time Table
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• Research to maintain and improve nuclear fuel designs to achieve improved economic performance while demonstrating safety and performance margins. Develop high burn-up fuel with improved cladding integrity as a primary fission product barrier
Advanced LWR Fuel Development
• Three areas of research– Advanced Designs and Concepts– Advanced Science-based Analysis for
fundamental mechanistic understanding– Advanced Tools
• Two Time Horizons– 5-10: Support LTO decision in 2014-2019– 10-20: Support LTO operation beyond 2030
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Advanced LWR Fuel Development – Time Table
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• Research to improve inspection and monitoring technologies, including detailed strategies for managing Instrumentation & Control (I&C) system upgrades. Develop, implement, and evaluate prognostic monitoring approaches for both non-safety-related and safety-related systems
Advanced Instrumentation and Control Technologies
• Four Proposed Technical Projects:– Centralized On-line Monitoring for Critical SSCs
Information technology and degradation models/cases to enable real time automatic statistical analysis, pattern recognition, and criteria to diagnose degraded conditions and predict remaining useful life of SSCs
– New I&C and HSI Capabilities and ArchitectureApproach to achieve life cycle renewal of information & control capabilities needed to continue to operate safely and more efficiently
– Life-cycle NDE Information Assessment
Enhancement of measurement (NDE+), data capture and storage for NPP primary systems to support forthcoming diagnostic and prognostic models
– Maintaining the Licensing and Design Basis
Tacit knowledge capture and transfer enhanced by 3-D virtual models where beneficial
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I&C Technologies Time Table
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• Research to fully understand and incorporate single effects and integral testing results into both deterministic and risk-informed safety margin characterizations
Risk-Informed Safety Margin Characterization
• Three R&D Areas Identified:
– Integrated Risk Modelingaggregation of all hazards, declarative modeling, treatment of uncertainties
– Enhanced technology integrationaging effects, equipment condition, visualization of results, real time success criteria
– Real time analysis capability for operational risk management decision-making
advanced quantification techniques, plant data connectivity
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RISMC R&D Strategy
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RISMC Time Table
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Summary
USG recognizes the important role of US nuclear power plants
New nuclear plants are not expected to come on-line to compensate for 60 year retirements
Continued long-term operation of existing nuclear plants is key to future emission-free generation
Research is necessary to establish basis for long-term operation of existing nuclear plants beyond 60 years
– Be driven by industry needs
– Answer questions on systems, structures and components aging and reliability issues associated with long-term operation
– Leverage the resources of industry, national laboratory, and university system
– Continue to improve LWR technology