Abstract
Energy is broadly defined as the ability to produce a change from the existing conditions. Thus, the term energy implies that a capacity of action is present. The evaluation of energy is done by measuring certain effects that are classified by descriptive names, and these effects can be produced under controlled conditions. For example, mass that is located at certain position may have a potential energy or if the same mass is in motion, then it may possess the kinetic energy, or if its characteristics of composition such as temperature or pressure changes, that is going through an energy process which, is called internal energy. The internal energy can be measured by release of an amount by change in potential energy experienced by external load.
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The US NRC requirement for calculated Core Damage Frequency (CDF) is 1 × 10−4, most current US plants have about 5 × 10−5 and Generation III plants are about ten times better than this. The IAEA safety target for future plants is 1 × 10−5. Calculated large release frequency (for radioactivity) is generally about ten times less than CDF.
Traditional reactor safety systems are ‘active’ in the sense that they involve electrical or mechanical operation on command. Some engineered systems operate passively, e.g. pressure relief valves. They function without operator control and despite any loss of auxiliary power. Both require parallel redundant systems. Inherent or full passive safety depends only on physical phenomena such as convection, gravity or resistance to high temperatures, not on functioning of engineered components, but these terms are not properly used to characterize whole reactors.
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Zohuri, B., McDaniel, P. (2019). Energy Resources and the Role of Nuclear Energy. In: Advanced Smaller Modular Reactors. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-23682-3_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-23682-3_2
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