Oct

20

Whenever there's a home project, it usually requires three visits to the hardware store. Murphy's Law prevails as "anything that can go wrong will go wrong." The same is true in the nuclear world. But in this case, Murphy was an optimist:

Corrosion exceeds estimates at Michigan nuclear plant US wants to restart.

Steam generators are radiators. They transfer heat from inside the reactor building to outside the building without mixing fluids that move the heat. They have a simple job but rely on complex metallurgy. It's common practice to replace steam generators from time to time. So, this news is not a surprise, but it will delay the expected restart and increase costs.

In general, nuclear power plants come in two flavors. One uses steam generators that isolate the reactor's primary loop from the turbine's secondary loop. The other has only one loop directly connecting the reactor to the turbine without steam generators.

The first is a Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) manufactured mainly by Westinghouse and its technology partners (France, China, and Korea). The second is a Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) manufactured by General Electric and its technology partners.

Both Michigan and Pennsylvania restarts rely on PWR technology.


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