Nuclear reactors with a newly proposed barrier could’ve withstood Chernobyl and Fukushima

In the aftermath of the notorious accidents in the history of nuclear energy at Three Mile Island (1979), Chernobyl (1986) and Fukushima (2011), where all three have turned into devastating disasters due to meltdown in the core of a reactor, leading in turn to the release of radiation into the environment, many countries around the world have already pledged to a nuclear power phase-out.

However, while actions towards the closure of all nuclear power plants in only a few decades’ time are already well underway, the alternative energy sources currently in operation have some major drawbacks: they rely mainly on non-renewable resources, produce significantly less energy compared with nuclear power plants and, most importantly, are considered to be amongst the main contributors of carbon emissions and, thereby, the climate crisis which humanity is now set to battle.

Nevertheless, a future powered by nuclear energy might be neither a lost cause, nor a game of “Russian roulette”, according to the research team of Francesco D’Auria (University of Pisa, Italy), Nenad Debrecin (University of Zagreb, Croatia) and Horst Glaeser (Global Research for Safety, Germany). In a recent paper, published in the open-access peer-reviewed journal Nuclear Energy and Technology and the result of 30-40 years of collaboration, they propose a new safety barrier to be implemented in large Light Water Reactors around the world. Coming at a fraction of the cost of the already obsolete one that it is about to replace, this barrier is expected to reduce the probability of core melt to that of a large meteorite hitting the site.

With their new technological solution, these scientists aim to bring together research findings from the last few decades, mostly in relation to accident analysis capabilities and nuclear fuel material performance, as well as the concepts of the very pioneers who developed the nuclear technology in the past century. The proposal is based on studies and discussions from the 11th Scientific and Technical Conference “Safety Assurance of NPP with VVER” (Russia, May 2019) and the International Conference on Nuclear Power Plants, Structures, Risk & Decommissioning, NUPP2019 (United Kingdom, June 2019). As a result, they hope to regain public confidence in nuclear power – an efficient and sustainable source of renewable energy, as well as bridging the gaping chasm between what we have learnt over the years about nuclear energy and technology and what is being implemented in practice.

Amongst the up-to-date research findings and knowledge to be implemented in the novel technological solution are the recently discovered nuclear fuel structural weakness, as well as a more elaborate Extended Safety Margin Detection (E-SMD), which allows for an emergency shutdown of a reactor, following even low and very low probability events. It also provides advance information to the operators about the actions needed to prevent or mitigate possible damage. The recruitment of an Emergency Rescue Team (ERT) is also proposed to consist of a group of highly trained and specialised rescuers who will be in possession of suitable machinery and equipment, as well as access to each nuclear reactor installed within an assigned geographic region and who will be able to reach any of the sites within an hour or execute a remote shutdown of the reactor.

In their study, the researchers go on to explain how and why exactly these features would have prevented core melt and the eventual nuclear disasters at each of the three notorious nuclear power stations.

In the case of the Three Mile Island accident: the most devastating accident in US commercial nuclear power plant history, considered to be the result of a rather typical combined failure, an alarm from E-SMD detectors would have triggered the emergency shutdown of the unit well before the event.

In December 2017, the ‘Chernobyl liquidators’ monument by Andrei Kovalchuk was ceremonially unveiled on Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow’s Victory Park to pay tribute to the people who took part in the clean-up operations after the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant on April 26, 1986.
Photo by Country of Rosatom.

In Chernobyl, where critical human errors are found to have led to the accident, an intervention from the ERT: a remotely controlled shutdown and perhaps the deployment of the military would have prevented the consequent catastrophe.

Extended core damage at the Fukushima Units 1 to 3 would have also been prevented thanks to the combination of emergency alerts and prompt action by the ERT.

The researchers also note that, in spite of the notoriety of the three nuclear disasters, there have been about 500 safely operated nuclear power plant units since the demonstration of the capability to control the fission reaction in 1942 and the connection of nuclear fission driven electricity generator to the electrical grid in 1954. On top of that, there have been a few thousand accident-free reactors used for purposes different from electricity production, including research, production and marine propulsion.

“The industry and/or the Government of responsible Countries where applicable, become the main players for the possible implementation of the ideas in this paper. A strategy is needed in this connection: academia and research institutes willing to be engaged into practical applications of the nuclear technology should become actors,” the scientists write in conclusion.


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Original source:

D’Auria F, Debrecin N, Glaeser H (2019) The technological challenge for current generation nuclear reactors. Nuclear Energy and Technology 5(3): 183-199. https://doi.org/10.3897/nucet.5.38117

MEPhI’s Nuclear Energy and Technology journal moves to the OA scholarly platform ARPHA

The first issue since the transition is now live on NUCET’s new website

Devoted to an extensive range of research fields within the domain of nuclear science, the open access, peer-reviewed Nuclear Energy and Technology (NUCET) journal moves to the journal publishing platform ARPHA, developed by Pensoft, in order to provide a whole set of novel technological advancements to its users: readers, authors and editors alike.

The first journal issue since the transition is now live on NUCET‘s new website and features a total of 12 research articles, covering topics including nuclear power plant operation, reactor physics and thermal hydraulics.

Launched in September 2015 by the internationally recognised National Research Nuclear University MEPhI (Moscow Engineering Physics Institute), the journal has since been providing an open-access, peer-reviewed English-language outlet for original research, ideas and developments for scientists from around the globe. The journal is managed by the Institute of Nuclear Physics and Technology of the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI.

Areas covered by NUCET feature:

  • Reactor physics;
  • Heat transfer and fluid dynamics;
  • Nuclear safety and radiation protection;
  • Nuclear physics, fusion and radiation application;
  • Nuclear fuel cycle and radioactive waste management;
  • Nuclear fuel and reactor materials;
  • Nuclear policy, economics and education issues.

Homepage of the new website of the Nuclear Energy and Technology (NUCET) journal.

Beyond the sleek new website, ARPHA platform provides various high-tech perks to ensure that the entire publishing process – beginning with manuscript submission and continuing all the way to the dissemination, archiving and indexing of the article’s content and metadata – takes place within its single online environment.

With each article being simultaneously published in semantically-enriched PDF, HTML and XML formats, the publications are easy to discover, access and harvest by both researchers and computers. As a result, research published in NUCET is easier to cite, reuse, build on and replicate.

“I’m delighted to welcome NUCET to the growing portfolio of scholarly journals published on ARPHA,” says ARPHA’s and Pensoft’s founder and CEO Prof. Lyubomir Penev. “As the first nuclear science journal joining ARPHA, I believe that NUCET could easily be regarded as a harbinger of a promising new area of collaboration and enterprise.”

“Today we are celebrating an important event – the first issue of the journal Nuclear Energy and Technology on the ARPHA platform.” As the Rector of the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI and NUCET’s Editor-in-Chief Prof. Mikhail Strikhanov says: “NUCET is an English-language periodical of the MEPhI that is promoting the results of our research to the worldwide scientific community”.

He also explains that the choice of platform was not accidental:

Prof. Mikhail Strikhanov, Rector of the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI and Editor-in-Chief of NUCET

“We have analyzed many publishing platforms and explored their strengths and weaknesses. ARPHA publishes many high-quality journals, and it is very important for us to be the first in the field of nuclear physics there. We are looking forward to continuing cooperation with Pensoft, and we are confident that with the help of ARPHA NUCET has an incredible future and the quality of its materials will be at a high level”.

Nuclear Energy and Technology (NUCET) is the fifth Russian journal to move to ARPHA Platform, following Comparative CytogeneticsResearch results in PharmacologyRussian Journal of Economics and Arctic Environmental Research.

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About National Research Nuclear University MEPhI:

The National Research Nuclear University MEPhI is a leading Russian university and a research and educational centre with honourable traditions and clear vision of the future.

It empowers the world’s best nuclear technological experts and talented students to produce secure and stable energy, excel in creating applicable science, boost human capital and economic output in various fields, support industry and business and be innovative and creative.

MEPhI is proud of its ambitious and skilled experts in science and engineering who have graduated at the university since its establishment in 1942, including six Nobel laureates, who have themselves later contributed to the educational process and research activities at the institute.