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International Conference on Opportunities and Challenges for Water Cooled Reactors in the 21st Century, October 27- 30 2009, Vienna
Challenges and opportunities are polarities, and as opposite poles of the magnet they do not exist separately. And moreover an opportunity for some can be a challenge for others, or a challenge today can become an opportunity tomorrow. All these complexities are fully applicable to the nuclear industry and its future. Current world challenges such as energy demand, climate change, and energy security are opportunities for the nuclear industry. Many projections forecast significant growth in nuclear power both in countries currently using it and in countries considering its use for the first time.
The objectives of the International Conference on Opportunities and Challenges for Water Cooled Reactors in the 21st Century are to:
- Provide a forum for information exchange on the initiation of nuclear power programmes
- Discussing the development of advanced water cooled reactors
- Provide information for countries to introduce or expand nuclear power to build capacity
- Discuss the role of operation and maintenance, optimization programmes in assuring safe and reliable nuclear power plant operations;
- Discuss the advanced technology impacts and safety issues related to safety and performance improvements.
To Facilitate the objectives of the symposium, each session will have the following features:
- Keynote Speaker
- Presentations that supplement specific areas within the session topic
- Detailed technical papers that present the state of the are in the subject area
Topics 1: Current Nuclear Power Outlook: Opportunities to launch new NPP programme
The aim of this session is to share information on status and opportunities to start and/or expand nuclear power programme for current and future nuclear power member states. Topics to be addressed in the contributed papers include:
- Considerations to launch a new nuclear power programme including infrastructure
- Common User Consideration (CUC) reactor size and grid capacity, site preparation
- Current nuclear power performance and outlook in different member states
- Environmental concerns and constraints in national energy policies
- Addressing financing arrangements and options for new NPPs
- International approaches to nuclear fuel cycle (GNEP, INPRO, MNA, Putin initiative, etc )
Topics 2: Nuclear Deployment Challenges and Solutions: Institutional and Cross Cutting
Introduction of new construction and continued operation of NPPs are influenced by a number of challenges, including economic considerations, advanced fuel cycle, role of water reactor and transition scenario, changes in regulatory requirements, the availability of necessary technical infrastructure to construct, maintain continued safety operation of NPPs and the necessity to effectively transfer the knowledge of qualified personnel to the coming generation. Topics to be addressed are
- Knowledge preservation and management against workforce aging
- Technology transfer programme: Balance between project schedule and localization
- Financing models for new nuclear power plants
- Nuclear power sustainability Advanced fuel cycle, role of water reactor synergies, possible scenario to transitions to fast reactor
- Assurance of supply chain: Lack of supply for nuclear grade components manufacturing capacities
- Waste management – interim and long term management
- Enhancing the nuclear non-proliferation regime and security
- International approaches for safety harmonization (multi-national design evaluation programme, IAEA safety convention
Topics 3: Design and Construction of Advanced Water Cooled Reactors
The aim of this session is to share information on the status of the design and construction of AWCRs. Topics to be addressed by the submitted papers include:
- Trends in advanced water cooled reactors design and technology.
- Design highlights, overall schedule and key benefits of advanced water cooled reactors
- Safety objectives and utility requirements for advanced water cooled reactors
- Construction technologies, management approaches and experiences,
- Large, medium and small size advanced water cooled reactors designs
- Advanced water cooled reactors’ licensing applications
- Performance and safety improvements for AWCRs
- Advanced safety assessment tools and methods
- Simplification of design, and its impact in operation and maintenance
Topics 4: Safety and Performance Achievement in Existing Water Cooled Reactors
This session is to share good practices and technological upgrade and operational improvement to operating NPPs such as plant modifications, power uprating, ageing management, periodic safety review. Topics to be addressed by the submitted papers include:
- Operational experience feedback, analysis and lessons learned
- Optimized maintenance programme :
- Optimized outage management, practices
- Safety culture, event free tools for inspection and maintenance
- Asset management, process management and leadership
- Reliability centred maintenance and use of PSA
- In-service inspection (ISI) and risk informed ISI
- Safety assessments for plant upgrade (PSA level 2, severe accident management)
- Plant uprating and safety enhancement/ performance improvements
- Equipment retrofit, heavy component replacement and I&C ageing
- Licensing and regulatory issues extended plant operations;
- Equipment obsolesce and material degradation
Topics 5: Innovative and Advanced Applications of Water Cooled Reactors
This session will focus on the use of water cooled reactors in advanced and innovative applications, traditional or non-traditional.
Topics to be addressed by the submitted papers include:
- Transitions to future nuclear systems: fast breeder reactor, Generation IV reactors
- Application of desalination and district heating
- Application of advanced monitoring, diagnostic and prognostic systems
- Role of instrumentation and control (I&C) in plant performance improvements
- I&C modernization projects
Panel discussions
This session will include short presentations followed by three panel discussions on challenges and solutions considering following point of views:
- Nuclear Deployment Challenges & Opportunities
- Advanced Fuel cycles
- Next generation – Technology & human resources
Closing session
To conclude the conference, the Chairperson of the conference and session chairpersons will participate in a panel discussion on key issues related to Opportunities and Challenges for AWCRs in the 21st Century and will present their summaries.
Please visit the Conference web-page for more information