My understanding is that they eventually become unserviceable as they age, because of mechanical/structular reasons, or because the costs of servicing them is so prohibitive that they are unserviceable economically.
That they definitely have a begin, middle, and end, life cycle.
Buildings and machinery fatigue and wear out over time.
And highly critical uptime devices and buildings need extra maintenance and upkeep.
Old sites need to be decommissioned. Even if you ignore the financial costs in the upkeep at some point they just fatigue to the point of needing to be replaced.
I’m not anti-nuclear, all I’m saying is if you want nuclear you have to build new sites, you can’t keep the old sites going forever.
Rotating equipment are replaceable is not that much of an issue they operate on regular steam.
Buildings are reinforced concrete unlikely to be a concern not in a reasonable timeframe unless rebars corrode for some reason.
Issue would be items operating with water directly in contact with the reactor, so critical piping, heat exchangers and reactor vessels, which I can’t say I am an expert specifically for nuclear plants.
I imagine the main concern would be the reactor itself as all reat can be replaced.
Not to argue minutia, as it doesn’t take away from my correct point, but I was speaking specifically of the reactor and it’s housing and the building around it. A reactor when it’s built has a pre-planned age limit to it.
We can do calculations to evaluate them. If someone creates a fairly accurate or at least conservative stimulation of the reactor and housing, a mechanical engineer should be able to determine if it’s still good for operation or needs replacement. They use ASME code and tables to do life fraction calculations.
Russia isn’t really known for their safety rules. A lot of those reactors are running way past their expiration and are deteriorating past the point where they should be running.
It’s a finite fact. A reactor has a lifetime to it, then it needs to be replaced. Unlike other mechanical devices/engines it can’t be serviced because of the radiation involved.
Agreed except nuclear. After Chernobyl there were no Nuclear Power Plant accidents in any post-Soviet country. Iven the scale of corruption in country I’m surprised.
A lot of those reactors are running way past their expiration and are deteriorating past the point where they should be running.
It depends how you define expiration. ISS expired like 4 times if not more. For example St. Petesburg NPP still has 2 РБМК-1000(same as in Chernobyl, but modernized) built in 1980(and 1981). Both are planned to be decommisioned in 2025.
Unlike other mechanical devices/engines it can’t be serviced because of the radiation involved.
If reactors were unservicable, then there would be no need in NPP personel.
My point exactly. They have planned decommissioned dates because they cannot be serviced and maintained safely forever.
Unlike other mechanical devices/engines it can’t be serviced because of the radiation involved.
If reactors were unservicable, then there would be no need in NPP personel.
I disagree. During the lifetime operation of a plant they need personnel, it’s not an All or Nothing thing. They don’t just turn off the lights and shut the door and all walk out.
Hell, even after a plant starts it’s decommission plan, which can take 10 to 20 years, they still need personnel.
My understanding is that they eventually become unserviceable as they age, because of mechanical/structular reasons, or because the costs of servicing them is so prohibitive that they are unserviceable economically.
That they definitely have a begin, middle, and end, life cycle.
Well other countries have and are doing done so. I really doubt that the reason is anything that politics.
Buildings and machinery fatigue and wear out over time.
And highly critical uptime devices and buildings need extra maintenance and upkeep.
Old sites need to be decommissioned. Even if you ignore the financial costs in the upkeep at some point they just fatigue to the point of needing to be replaced.
I’m not anti-nuclear, all I’m saying is if you want nuclear you have to build new sites, you can’t keep the old sites going forever.
Rotating equipment are replaceable is not that much of an issue they operate on regular steam.
Buildings are reinforced concrete unlikely to be a concern not in a reasonable timeframe unless rebars corrode for some reason.
Issue would be items operating with water directly in contact with the reactor, so critical piping, heat exchangers and reactor vessels, which I can’t say I am an expert specifically for nuclear plants.
I imagine the main concern would be the reactor itself as all reat can be replaced.
Not to argue minutia, as it doesn’t take away from my correct point, but I was speaking specifically of the reactor and it’s housing and the building around it. A reactor when it’s built has a pre-planned age limit to it.
We can do calculations to evaluate them. If someone creates a fairly accurate or at least conservative stimulation of the reactor and housing, a mechanical engineer should be able to determine if it’s still good for operation or needs replacement. They use ASME code and tables to do life fraction calculations.
He was specifically referring to the serviceable ones.
Disproven by Russia. Maybe sometimes core is replaced because it uses unsafe design by current standards like in St. Petesburg.
Russia isn’t really known for their safety rules. A lot of those reactors are running way past their expiration and are deteriorating past the point where they should be running.
It’s a finite fact. A reactor has a lifetime to it, then it needs to be replaced. Unlike other mechanical devices/engines it can’t be serviced because of the radiation involved.
Agreed except nuclear. After Chernobyl there were no Nuclear Power Plant accidents in any post-Soviet country. Iven the scale of corruption in country I’m surprised.
It depends how you define expiration. ISS expired like 4 times if not more. For example St. Petesburg NPP still has 2 РБМК-1000(same as in Chernobyl, but modernized) built in 1980(and 1981). Both are planned to be decommisioned in 2025.
If reactors were unservicable, then there would be no need in NPP personel.
My point exactly. They have planned decommissioned dates because they cannot be serviced and maintained safely forever.
I disagree. During the lifetime operation of a plant they need personnel, it’s not an All or Nothing thing. They don’t just turn off the lights and shut the door and all walk out.
Hell, even after a plant starts it’s decommission plan, which can take 10 to 20 years, they still need personnel.
That is what taxes are for. God forbid government officials have to cut into their overinflated bonuses to keep a major source of energy in service.
Even if you ignore capitalism, at some point they fatigue and break to the point where they cannot be repaired, but need to be replaced.