[en] This is the proceedings of an international conference focusing on status and trends in the development of water cooled reactors in the 21st century. The main objectives of the meeting were to promote exchange of information among experts from Member States and representatives from operating organizations. The range of subjects discussed by the conference participants and high level keynote speakers covered the challenges and opportunities encountered when starting and/or expanding a nuclear power programme, very specific solutions for reactor pressure vessel integrity, material degradation, ageing management and non-destructive examination methods, as well as advanced water cooled reactor technologies and their innovative applications. More than 260 participants from 54 Member States and four international organizations took part in this event, and a total of 133 papers were presented.

[en] On behalf of the International Atomic Energy Agency, I would like to welcome you to this important international Conference on Opportunities and Challenges for Water Cooled Reactors in the 21st Century. First, I would like to express our sincere appreciation to the European Commission, the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency, the World Nuclear Association and the International Electrotechnical Commission for their cooperation and the assistance provided in the organization of this conference. Challenges and opportunities, like the poles of a magnet, do not exist separately. Furthermore, what some perceive as an opportunity may be a challenge for others, and a challenge today will probably become an opportunity tomorrow. All these complexities are fully applicable to the nuclear industry and its future. Water Cooled Reactors have been the keystone of the nuclear industry in the 20th Century. As we move into the 21st Century and face new challenges such as the growth in world energy demand or the threat of global climate change, nuclear energy has been identified as one of the sources that could substantially and sustainably contribute to power the world. Many projections forecast significant growth in the use of nuclear energy both in countries currently taking advantage of it and in countries considering its use for the first time. As we look into the future with the development of advanced and innovative reactor designs and fuel cycles, it seems clear that Water Cooled Reactors will play an important role in the future too. In recent times, there has been a two prong approach on the expansion of nuclear power. - On one hand, countries with existing nuclear power programmes have made a large effort towards making the most of their current nuclear assets by capitalizing in many years of operational excellence, as well as by extending and optimizing their operational life. - On the other hand, and despite these life management efforts, there is a clear need to eventually replace current nuclear capacity and also to meet increased energy demand in an environmentally sound manner by building new nuclear power plants. These interests have motivated both countries with existing nuclear programmes and newcomer countries to consider the construction of new nuclear power plants in the 21st century, taking into account the desire to build capacity in terms of human resources, energy planning, regulatory capabilities and other infrastructure. Great attention is also directed toward making new plants simpler to operate, inspect, and maintain, thus increasing their safety and overall cost effectiveness. To support the future role of water cooled reactors, substantial design and development programmes are underway in a number of Member States to incorporate additional technology improvements into advanced nuclear power plants designs. A systematic approach and the experience of many years of successful operation have allowed designers to focus their design efforts and develop safer, more efficient and more reliable designs, and to optimize plant availability and cost through simpler operation and improved maintenance programs. This approach has also been successfully used for the optimization of all aspects of operation in currently operating plants, as their efficient and safe operation is a key factor in assuring that nuclear power will meet both the current and the future energy needs. It is also important to establish a forum to facilitate the exchange of information on building infrastructure, operational excellence and the sustainable deployment of advanced reactors because many of water cooled reactors will be built in countries with no previous nuclear power experience. IAEA has organized continuously international conferences or symposia on the operation and maintenance of existing nuclear power plants and on the development of advanced water cooled reactor technologies.

No abstract available

[en] On June 28, 2007, the Parliament (Seimas) of the Republic of Lithuania passed the Law on the Nuclear Power Plant No. X-1231. This Law plays the role of the 'decision in principle' for the construction of new nuclear power plant in Lithuania and the objective of this Law shall be to lay down provisions and to create legal, financial and organisational preconditions for the implementation of a new regional nuclear power plant project in Visaginas. The paper describes the main preparatory phase activities carried out in order to achieve one of the main strategic objectives of Lithuania in the field of energy supply. It is planned that the new nuclear power plant in Lithuania should start its operation in 2018-2020. (author)

[en] 'Knowledge Transfer' is a high-priority imperative as the nuclear industry faces the combined effects of an aging workforce and economic pressures to do more with less. Knowledge Transfer is only a part of the solution to these challenges, however. The more compelling and immediate need faced by industry is Accomplishment Transfer, or the transference of the applied knowledge necessary to assure optimal performance transfer from experienced, high-performing staff to inexperienced staff. A great deal of industry knowledge and required performance information has been documented in the form of procedures. Often under-appreciated either as knowledge stores or as drivers of human performance, procedures, coupled with tightly-focused and effective training, are arguably the most effective influences on human and plant performance. (author)

[en] Structural integrity evaluation of piping with local wall thinning due to erosion-corrosion is increasingly important in maintenance of carbon steel piping systems in nuclear power plants. Though a few programs for integrity assessment of thinned pipe have been developed in domestic nuclear industry, they are limited to straight pipes using methodology proposed in ASME Section XI Code Case N-597. An engineering program for integrity evaluation of all kinds of piping items such as straight pipe, elbow, reducer and branch connection was successfully developed, which was denominated as PiTEP (registered) (Pipe Thinning Evaluation Program). The developed program includes three-step evaluation for integrity assurance, such as evaluation of minimum wall thickness by the construction code (ASME Section III), evaluation of thickness criterion based on ASME CC-N597, stress calculation by construction code, and fitness-for-service assessment based on twice elastic slope collapse load. In this paper, the theoretical background, framework, and verification test of PiTEP (registered) was introduced. (author)

[en] The Nuclear Power Programme in India is based on three stage. The first stage is based on setting up of Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) using indigenously available natural uranium producing electricity and plutonium. This will be followed by the second stage by plutonium fuelled Fast Breeder Reactors (FBRs) producing electricity and additional quantity of plutonium and also uranium 233 from thorium. The third stage of reactors will be based on thorium uranium 233 cycle.

No abstract available

[en] In the paper the development options of electric power generation industry in Hungary are considered. A stable element of the energy system is the Paks NPP. Value of Paks NPP is demonstrated. Preparatory works for new nuclear project are presented. The feasibility of construction of a new plant is shown. Basic aspects of preparatory work and its results are presented in the paper. (author)

No abstract available