On February 20-21, 2007, the DOE's Nuclear Energy Research Advisory Committee held an open meeting in Idaho Falls, Idaho. They discussed several activities related to nuclear power developments worldwide. Time was allotted for public comments and I discussed Regulation by Myth for about eight minutes. However, following is what I should have said in less than two minutes.
Gentlemen, you are likely eager to bail out of here after the foregoing endless sets of slide presentations. Today I have only virtual slides. Slide one lists eight nuclear power plants that have applied ultrasonic fuel cleaning. Slide two shows the ultrasonic fuel cleaning equipment. Slide three has two photographs of fouling on nuclear power plant fuel rods. Slide four shows that with fouling, light water reactors have operated with fuel cladding surface temperatures in the range of 1200 degrees Fahrenheit and above (instead of the range of 550 to 600 degrees Fahrenheit that is the design basis for long term operation). Slide five is fantastic and non-existent; it shows the growth of Zirconium dioxide scale and also the increase in dissolved oxygen concentration in the cladding with time at six operating temperatures: 600, 800, 1100, 1500, 2000 and 2500 degrees Fahrenheit. To produce slide five, more experiments are needed with Zircaloy cladding, as called for by the AEC Commissioners decades ago.
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3 comments:
Great observations.
good point. i am a current nuc e grad student at unnamed top university (mech e undergrad) and notice a dramatic difference in cult mentality between nuc e and mech e. i've also been recently disturbed by political mob mentalities. either way, i've been realizing the best way to address it is not head on, as it excites the emotion-not-brain reaction that creates a cult, but rather passionless (very difficult) and persistent examination and presentation of the things, however obvious, that go against the prevailing thoughts...
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