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| [[Category:Done 2015-07-24]] | | #REDIRECT [[On-line refueling of nuclear power plants]] |
| [[File:CANDUUcore.png|300px|thumb|Figure 1. The face of a CANDU reactor core, with hundreds of pressure tubes that are able to be refueled during operation.<ref>Introduction to CANDU 6- Part 3 Moderator, HTS, Heavy Water, by D.A. Meneley and Y.Q. Ruan. [Online], Available: https://canteach.candu.org/Image%20Library1/Forms/DispForm.aspx?ID=285&RootFolder=/Image%20Library1/19980103-Intro_to_CANDU6_China</ref>]]
| | [[Category:Done 2018-08-03]] |
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| <onlyinclude>'''On-line refueling''' is a technique used in certain [[nuclear reactor]]s, which allows [[nuclear fuel]] to be removed or added during operation. This is important, since most [[nuclear power plant]]s like the common [[pressurized water reactor]] have to shutdown in order to refuel.</onlyinclude> This increases the time that a power plant is active and available, which means the [[capacity factor]] may be fairly high. The longest running nuclear reactor was a [[CANDU reactor]], Pickering 7, that used on-line refueling. It ran for 894 days without shutdown.<Ref>CANDU Owners Group. (June 25 2015). ''CANDU Reactors'' [Online], Available: http://www.candu.org/candu_reactors.html</ref>
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| The reduced time that a power plant must be shut down is just one of the benefits of using on-line refueling. The rearrangement of fuel with a reactor core can balance the thermal load, increase fuel use and reduce [[nuclear waste]]. It is also suitable for the production of nuclear weapons, as the needed fuel for weapon-grade isotopes can be extracted without having to shut the reactor down.
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| Reactors that permit on-line refueling include, but are not limited to:
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| *[[CANDU reactor]]s,<ref>Bruce Power. (June 25 2015). ''How is a CANDU reactor refueled?'' [Online], Available: http://www.brucepower.com/4420/master-faqs/nuclear-energy-faqs/how-is-a-candu-reactor-refueled/</ref>
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| *[[RBMK]] reactors and
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| *[[Pebble bed reactor]]s
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| *[[Molten salt reactor]]s using liquid fuel.
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| All of the above reactors are cooled in [[pressure|pressurized]] channels, rather than in pressure vessels. This characteristic is what allows for on-line refueling. Gas-cooled reactors such as the [[Magnox reactor]] can also be refueled while operating.
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| The video below shows the refueling mechanism of the proposed Advanced CANDU Reactor, which has never been built. Its process is very similar to the CANDU-6 reactor refueling which is currently used, and demonstrates the technological feat of such a process.
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| <html>
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| <iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vFDB0rfzN74?start=82&end=408" frameborder="0" width="750" height="563"></iframe>
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| </html>
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| ==References==
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| {{reflist}}
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| [[Category:Uploaded]]
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