The ACR1000: Advanced CANDU for the Emerging Market

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The ACR-1000 Advanced CANDU for the Emerging
Market

• Jerry Hopwood
• General Manager, Product Applications, AECL
• TOPNUX 2006

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Generic Plant Layout
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Introduction to the ACR-1000

• Generation III reactor
• 1100 MWe net output
• Considerable enhancements over previous
  generation plants
• Safety
• Cost
• Operability
• Evolutionary product based on CANDU 6

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CANDU X
Evolution of CANDU
Gen V
CANDU SCWR
Gen IV
Evolution
Innovation
Advanced CANDU Reactor
Product
Gen III
Continually enhance both the design and
applications based on the CANDU concept
20
30
40
50
60
70
Gen II CANDU 6
Years from today
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Three Improvement Areas

• Safety Enhancements
• Example Reduce core damage probability by 10
  times
• Cost Reductions
• Example Reduce capital cost by 25 or more
• Improved Operations
• Example Capacity Factor 95 year over year, gt90
  over 60-year lifetime

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ACR-1000 Safety Enhancements

• Incorporate and add to established CANDU
  advantages
• Reactor control and safety mechanisms in cool,
  low-pressure environment
• High degree of automation lessens operator burden
• Inherent passive heat sinks
• Design for defence against severe accidents
• Core damage frequency 3x10-7 events/year
• Inherent limits to the challenge to containment

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Safety 1 Three Major Passive Heat Sinks
1. Moderator Vessel Water

• Water from Reserve Water Tank fills fuel
  channels, moderator vessel, and shield tank by
  gravity

2. Shield Tank Water
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Safety 2 Strong Containment and Quadrant Design
Steel-lined, 1.8 meter thick pre-stressed concrete
walls
Safety-related systems in quadrants around
reactor building
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ACR-1000 Economic Competitiveness

• Build on established CANDU strengths
• On-time, on-budget delivery 6 successive CANDU 6
  projects
• Shorter critical paths on project
• Modular core design

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ACR-1000 Economic Competitiveness

• ACR-1000 innovations
• Compact core design enables 505 higher output
• Optimise light water coolant and heavy water
  moderator
• Higher steam pressure for increased efficiency

CANDU 6
ACR - 1000
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Cost Improvements
Enhancement Ratio Examples
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Cost Improvements Shorter Construction
Schedules
Designed for optimal construction Construction
schedule is 42 months for nth plant
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Design for Operations and Maintenance
Effectiveness

• Build on and add to established CANDU strengths
• On-power refuelling allows extended time between
  outages, optimizes outage planning
• High degree of operations automation
• Design emphasis on O and M and experience
  feedback
• Materials and components selected for long,
  robust life

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Improved Operations Only one shut-down every
three years
On-Power Access for Maintenance
On-Power Fueling
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Improved Operations SMARTCANDU Technology
AECL will monitor plants and assist
operations SMARTCANDU modules now being
implemented in existing reactors
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Long-life Design
Thicker, stronger Pressure tube and Calandria
tube

• Materials, components
• chosen to complement
• inherent long-life power plant

Long life materials For steam generator
tubes And feeder pipes
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ACR-1000 Delivery

• ACR-1000 is designed to meet Canadian and
  international licensing requirements
• Pre-licensing program under way with Canadian
  regulator
• ACR-1000 basic engineering and demonstration
  program under way, based on generic ACR
  development since 2000
• ACR-1000 is ready for Environmental Assessment,
  leading to projects starting at the end of this
  decade

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