Abstract
The optimization of radiation protection is an important task in both the design and operation of a nuclear power plant. Although this topic has been considerably investigated for pressurized water reactors, there are very few public reports on it for pebble-bed reactors. This paper proposes a routine that jointly optimizes the system design and radiation protection of High Temperature Reactor-Pebble-Bed Module (HTR-PM) towards the As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) principle. A systematic framework is also established for the optimization of radiation protection for pebble-bed reactors. Typical calculations for the radiation protection of radioactivity-related systems are presented to quantitatively evaluate the efficiency of the optimization routine, which achieve 23.3%~90.6% reduction of either dose rate or shielding or both of them. The annual collective doses of different systems are reduced through iterative optimization of the dose rates, designs, maintenance procedures, and work durations and compared against the previous estimates. The comparison demonstrates that the annual collective dose of HTR-PM is reduced from 0.490 man-Sv/a before optimization to 0.445 man-Sv/a after optimization, which complies with the requirements of the Chinese regulatory guide and proves the effectiveness of the proposed routine and framework.
Highlights
Optimization is one of the three basic principles of radiation protection recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP)
A widely used interpretation is as follows: the likelihood of incurring exposures, the number of people exposed, and the magnitude of their individual doses should be kept As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA), taking into account economic and societal factors [5]
The optimization of radiation protection is known as the ALARA principle
Summary
Optimization is one of the three basic principles of radiation protection recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). With respect to a nuclear power plant, there are continuous efforts in the optimization of radiation protection for both design and operation. The European Pressurized Water Reactor (EPR) has established the ALARA principle as one of the main objectives in the design and made a large effort to reduce both individual and collective dose to an acceptable level [12]. Another typical Generation III nuclear reactor, AP1000, takes the advantages of both operating plant experience and advanced techniques to reduce maintenance duration and doses, so as to achieve the optimization of radiation protection [13]. The presented framework may provide useful information and experiences for the optimization of radiation protection for future pebble-bed reactors
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