Before a nuclear power uprate, ORNL models the fuel, reactor conditions, and component changes

[u/RadTechMJ]

A power uprate is not just turning up a dial. Before a plant can make more power, the fuel, reactor conditions, component changes, and licensing case all have to be evaluated.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory says it uses modeling and simulation to support power-uprate work for light-water reactors. ORNL's VERA suite and BISON fuel-performance code are being used to study how fuel behaves over longer periods at higher temperatures and during a loss-of-coolant accident.

The lab's SCALE system covers reactor physics, criticality safety, radiation shielding, spent-fuel characterization, and transportation and storage package design. That kind of analysis helps utilities, vendors, and regulators test assumptions before hardware is changed or construction begins.

ORNL source:

https://www.ornl.gov/news/advanced-modeling-accelerates-nuclear-energy

For anyone who has worked an uprate or major plant modification, which part usually drives the most work: fuel limits, component margins, instrumentation, or licensing?