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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