[en] The Conference on the Use of Radioisotopes in the Physical Sciences and Industry, which took place in Copenhagen in September 1960, was the latest of a series of isotope conferences which began in 1951 at Oxford and continued with those held in 1954, again at Oxford, and in 1957 in Paris. The development of the uses of radioisotopes had been so rapid and many-sided that this Copenhagen Conference, organized by the IAEA with the co-operation of UNESCO, had to be restricted to applications in the physical sciences and industry. Applications of radioisotopes in animal biology and the medical sciences were discussed at the Conference held in Mexico City in November 1961. Even so, more than 500 scientists attended the Conference in Copenhagen and over 140 contributions were presented and discussed by this international gathering. Many more papers of great interest were submitted but could not be fitted into the programme. The proceedings of this Conference demonstrate the advances which had taken place since the earlier meetings in Oxford and Paris. It is hoped that this publication will contribute towards the stimulation of further research in the application of radioactive techniques.

[en] The Conference on the Use of Radioisotopes in the Physical Sciences and Industry, which took place in Copenhagen in September 1960, was the latest of a series of isotope conferences which began in 1951 at Oxford and continued with those held in 1954, again at Oxford, and in 1957 in Paris. The development of the uses of radioisotopes had been so rapid and many-sided that this Copenhagen Conference, organized by the IAEA with the co-operation of UNESCO, had to be restricted to applications in the physical sciences and industry. Applications of radioisotopes in animal biology and the medical sciences were discussed at the Conference held in Mexico City in November 1961. Even so, more than 500 scientists attended the Conference in Copenhagen and over 140 contributions were presented and discussed by this international gathering. Many more papers of great interest were submitted but could not be fitted into the programme. The proceedings of this Conference demonstrate the advances which had taken place since the earlier meetings in Oxford and Paris. It is hoped that this publication will contribute towards the stimulation of further research in the application of radioactive techniques.

[en] This is the proceedings of an international conference on fast reactors and related fuel cycles convened to exchange experience and innovative ideas in order to achieve progress in this field. Fast reactor programmes are currently on an accelerated growth path in many countries of the world, and the last international fast reactor conference was held almost twenty years ago. The scope of discussion included key scientific and technological areas, such as fuels and materials development, safety, advanced simulation, component and system design and coolant technology, in which innovation is pursued to ensure that the next generations of fast reactor fuel cycles will achieve their potential. The accompanying CD-ROM contains the contributed papers and posters, summaries of 150 oral presentations and the young generation event.

[en] This is the proceedings of an international conference on fast reactors and related fuel cycles convened to exchange experience and innovative ideas in order to achieve progress in this field. Fast reactor programmes are currently on an accelerated growth path in many countries of the world, and the last international fast reactor conference was held almost 20 years ago. The scope of discussion included key scientific and technological areas such as fuels and materials development, safety, advanced simulation, component and system design and coolant technology, in which innovation is pursued to ensure that next generations fast reactor fuel cycles will achieve their potential. The accompanying CD-ROM contains the contributed papers and posters, summaries of 150 oral presentations and the young generation event.

[en] Full text: Good morning, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen. I would like to express my deep gratitude for your presence at the 'International Conference on Fast Reactors and Related Fuel Cycles: Challenges and Opportunities' organized by the IAEA. I would like to make a brief opening address on behalf of MEXT1. Firstly, I would like to welcome all who have travelled the long distance to Japan, and to express my thanks to people in Japan for their usual acceptance and for their cooperation on the research, development and use of nuclear technology. I would also like to thank the staff of the IAEA, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency and the commissions for their commitment to organizing this meeting. Today, humankind faces global issues on a scale never before seen, including global warming and energy resource security. Under such circumstances, ensuring the energy supply is essential for solving both the energy problem and global climate change simultaneously. This is increasingly being recognized all over the world. Sharing the recognition, we promote research, development and the use of nuclear energy as the major source of electrical power. We are aiming at the establishment of the fast breeder reactor cycle, which will ensure a long term energy supply, through efficient use of uranium resources. At MEXT, we continue to promote research and development in order to achieve the early commercialization of the fast breeder reactor cycle, by utilizing the prototype Monju fast breeder reactor. We are now doing our utmost to restart Monju by the end of March 2010, with the acceptance and cooperation of the local community. After the restart, we will enhance the reliability of Monju as an operational power plant, drawing upon operational experience. At the same time, we will continue research and development of radioactive waste reduction for topics such as minor actinide burning, as well as the enhancement of nuclear non-proliferation. We hope that Monju will play an important role, not only domestically, but also globally as one of the few high-end fast reactors. This makes Monju a major global centre in the area of nuclear fuel cycle research and development. In this conference, we can share the fruits of each country's and each organization's research and development for the purpose of realizing the nuclear fuel cycle, which is the important international political theme. Finally, I would like to express my wishes that this conference contributes to the stimulation of further research and development on the fast reactor cycle through active discussions and, ultimately, brings significant benefits to all countries. Thank you for your kind attention. (author)

[en] Full text: The European Union (EU) has taken the lead in responding to climate change, announcing far-reaching initiatives ranging from promoting energy efficient light bulbs and cars to new building codes, carbon trading schemes, development of low carbon technologies and greater competition in energy markets. Nuclear energy remains central to the energy debate in Europe. One third of EU electricity is produced via nuclear fission and eight new reactors are under construction. Traditionally non-nuclear countries are manifesting an interest in building nuclear power plants while the clock is ticking down on Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom's decision to renew or close existing nuclear infrastructures. Sustainability in nuclear energy production is ensured in the medium term as a result of the large and diverse uranium resources available in politically stable countries around the world. The quantities available with high probability ensure more than one hundred years of nuclear energy production. This extrapolation depends, however, on the forecast for future nuclear energy production. The use of fast neutron breeder reactors would lead to a much more efficient utilization of the uranium, extending the sustainable energy production to several thousands of years. The presentation will outline the fast reactors of the new generation currently being developed within the Generation IV initiative. Broad conclusions of the presentation are that: - There is a growing nuclear renaissance in Europe for good reason; - Nuclear energy is a green and sustainable option for Europe and indeed the world's energy needs; - Nuclear energy is a competitive energy that makes economic sense; - Nuclear fission reactors have a safety and environmental track record that is second to none, yet public misperceptions persist and must be tackled; - Waste management solutions exist while new developments hold great promise; - The evolution and promise of nuclear technologies must also be examined against the costs and risks in a balanced approach; - Research on fast neutron reactors is being strengthened in Europe, under the umbrella of the Generation IV International Forum. European coordination is entrusted to the Joint Research Centre. (author)

[en] The safety of future sodium cooled fast reactors (SFRs) will be achieved at the same level as that achieved for future light water reactors (LWRs). The concept of defence in depth, as widely applied to the design of LWRs, will be applied to the safety design of advanced SFRs. Through the prevention, detection and control of accidents, core disruptive accidents (CDAs) will be excluded from design basis events. Considering that the SFR reactor core is not the most reactive configuration, unlike in LWRs, design measures to prevent CDAs and to mitigate the consequences of them are being considered as provisions for beyond design basis events. To meet future nuclear energy system safey goals effectively, advanced SFR designs should exploit passive safety features to increase safety margins and to enhance reliability, i.e. prevention and/or mitigation of CDAs. In particular, the safety approach needed to eliminate severe recriticality will be highly desirable, because with this approach, severe accidents in SFRs can be simply regarded as being similar to LWRs. In addition, it is easier to make full use of the excellent heat transport characteristics of sodium coolant in achieving in-vessel cooling and the retention of post-accident core debris. (author)

[en] Different fuels (i.e. PuO₂, UO₂ (pellet, vibro), UPuO₂ (pellet, vibro), UC, UN, UPuC, UPuN, oxide, nitride and carbide inert matrix fuels, alloyed and non-alloyed metallic fuels) have been studied in BN reactors. Recently, experiments with UPuN, MgO and ZrN based fuels have been completed in the BOR-60 reactor. The paper presents an overview of the principal results of fuel investigations. The problems of reliable fuel performance in the BN-800 and BN-K reactors are discussed. (author)

[en] The piping materials of the Japan Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactor (JSFR) at the commercialized stage, will be ferromagnetic materials Mod. 9-Cr steel. Therefore, it is not feasible to adopt the electromagnetic flowmeters used in conventional FBR plants. This paper describes the developmental status of the ultrasonic flowmeter system (USFM) as a substitute flow rate measurement system for JSFR. The features of the USFM are the following; - In consideration of the double wall piping structure of JSFR, ultrasonic transducers should be installed directly on the surface of the inner primary coolant piping. Therefore, the transducers should work properly under 395 ^oC at the rated power, and be replaced by a remote replacement system. - The transducer remote replacement system should maintain the air tightness between the inner primary coolant piping and the outer piping during the normal plant operation, apply appropriate pressure to the transducers against the inner primary coolant piping, and replace the transducers without removing the outer piping under the maitenance outage. - The multi-pass propagation time method is effective for detection of the flow rate in the short entrance region (in the short straight piping). The requirements of the signal processor are the following; Linearity and repeatability of the output signal : ± 2% or less of full scale; Fluctuation rate of the output signal : ± 5% or less of the median; Response : 0.3 s or less. - The USFM is designed as one of the safety protection system. (author)

[en] The experimental study on wetting behaviour between liquid sodium and various plated stainless steel has been conducted to improve the wetting between the sodium and the stainless steel. The wetting was estimated by spreading area of sodium which was dropped on the specimens and was improved drastically by plating with well-dissolved element in sodium. The time dependence of sodium spreading area could be expressed in the form of an exponential of time. From the chemical analysis results of the rinsing solutions of the post-test specimens and the post-test observation results of the specimens, it was found that the dropped sodium spread on the specimens dissolving the plated elements. Gold was the best plating element to improve the wetting between the liquid sodium and the stainless steel because of its high solubility in sodium. Also it was confirmed that the wetting between the sodium and the stainless steel was depended on not only the kinds of surface and foundation plating elements but also the presence of pinholes on plating. (author)