The European Tribune is a forum for thoughtful dialogue of European and international issues. You are invited to post comments and your own articles.
Please REGISTER to post.
Not unlike the way the 1997/8 Asian/Russian financial crisis couldn't happen to the "sophisticated" West™, and look at the ongoing Global Financial Clusterfuck. So, in what may be my last act of "advising", I'll advise you to cut the jargon. -- My old PhD advisor, to me, 26/2/11
The French 4G design turns out to be a complete bust, and won't be built anywhere else in the world (except for the Finnish one... if it ever gets ... finished) It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue - Queen Elizabeth II
Its slightly odd actually how they seem to have stopped, whereas there used to be quite a few of them. Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed. Gandhi
The fact that Japan sees magnitude 7+ earthquakes with some regularity and 8+ every few decades means that they expect them and plan for them. The damage from this magnitude 9 earthquake is remarkably small, all things considered. If a repeat of the historic Lisbon quake took place, it's quite likely that Lisbon would be flattened.
So the fact that France hasn't had a big earthquake for 300 years probably means things are woefully underengineered for the next time it happens. So, in what may be my last act of "advising", I'll advise you to cut the jargon. -- My old PhD advisor, to me, 26/2/11
Huh?
1909 Lambesc earthquake - Wikipedia
The 1909 Lambesc earthquake occurred on June 11, 1909 in Provence. Measuring 6 on the Richter Scale, it is the largest ever recorded earthquake in metropolitan France.[2] A total of 46 people died, another 250 were wounded, and approximately 2,000 buildings were damaged.
The 1909 Lambesc earthquake occurred on June 11, 1909 in Provence. Measuring 6 on the Richter Scale, it is the largest ever recorded earthquake in metropolitan France.[2]
A total of 46 people died, another 250 were wounded, and approximately 2,000 buildings were damaged.
Estimated at 8-9 in 1755.
I'm fairly certain that that's the Lisbon earthquake (latest estimate: 8.5 +/-0.3 MW), not some earthquake in France.
1855 is said to have been 8
There was the 1855 Wairarapa earthquake in New Zealand, put between 8.1 and 8.3. I can't find anything in France at that date. The closest is one in Switzerland, the Visp earthquake, was 6.4 MW, but 9 on the Mercalli scale.
1556 is estimated at 9-10
That was most definitely the Shaanxi earthquake in China (likely the worst in history in terms of casualties), not in France. (Its modern magnitude estimate is only 8.)
1227 at 10
I can find one event in France for this date, albeit it is a severe translation mistake:
A classic example of a problematic earthquake is the 1227 event. Due to a 16th century compiler's mistake between the locality of Salins (Savoy) and «Salviens», an antique tribe in Provence, southeast France, a landslide that occurred in Savoy at the end of 1248 became a major 1227 earthquake in Provence.
ceebs:
Re: Japanese Earthquake Diary (4.00 / 2)
A few years ago, I did some software maintenance on the simulator EDF uses to verify if an aeroplane crashing into a reactor could penetrate the concrete containment vessel.
The simulator was set up for only two models of aeroplane : a Cessna and a Mirage. On the basis that they were the most likely craft to crash accidentally into a reactor. I ran a few simulations at different speeds, and couldn't get them to penetrate, though sometimes it was a bit close. Conclusion: it's quite safe!
Of course, any type of aeroplane with considerably greater mass will indeed penetrate the concrete. No simulator is required to verify that. It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue - Queen Elizabeth II
The person who said that probably knows nothing about nuclear power, but plays an expert hand for equally clueless journos.
Just as there is always an excuse to do nothing if you don't want to do it, there are always good reasons to do things that you actually want done. Governments like nuclear, it's modern, it's clean (!), its popular with corporate sponsors and anything that could go wrong will happen long after you've retired. What's not to like ? keep to the Fen Causeway
Fukushima I was the first nuclear plant to be constructed and run entirely by the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO). ... The reactors for units 1, 2, and 6 were supplied by General Electric, those for units 3 and 5 by Toshiba, and unit 4 by Hitachi. Architectural design for General Electric's units was done by Ebasco. All construction was done by Kajima. From September 2010, unit 3 has been fueled by mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel. Units 1-5 had/have a Mark 1 type (light bulb torus) containment structure, unit 6 has Mark 2 type (over/under) containment structure. Unit 1 is a 439 MW boiling water reactor (BWR3) constructed in July 1967. It commenced commercial electrical production on March 26, 1971, and was scheduled for shutdown in March, 2011. It was damaged during the 2011 Sendai earthquake and tsunami. Unit 1 was designed for a peak ground acceleration of 0.18 g (1.74 m/s2) and a response spectrum based on the 1952 Kern County earthquake. All units were inspected after the 1978 Miyagi earthquake when the ground acceleration was 0.125 g (1.22 m/s2) for 30 seconds, but no damage to the critical parts of the reactor was discovered.
...
The reactors for units 1, 2, and 6 were supplied by General Electric, those for units 3 and 5 by Toshiba, and unit 4 by Hitachi. Architectural design for General Electric's units was done by Ebasco. All construction was done by Kajima. From September 2010, unit 3 has been fueled by mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel. Units 1-5 had/have a Mark 1 type (light bulb torus) containment structure, unit 6 has Mark 2 type (over/under) containment structure.
Unit 1 is a 439 MW boiling water reactor (BWR3) constructed in July 1967. It commenced commercial electrical production on March 26, 1971, and was scheduled for shutdown in March, 2011. It was damaged during the 2011 Sendai earthquake and tsunami. Unit 1 was designed for a peak ground acceleration of 0.18 g (1.74 m/s2) and a response spectrum based on the 1952 Kern County earthquake. All units were inspected after the 1978 Miyagi earthquake when the ground acceleration was 0.125 g (1.22 m/s2) for 30 seconds, but no damage to the critical parts of the reactor was discovered.
Check this out for pretty pictures: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/basic-ref/teachers/03.pdf Peak oil is not an energy crisis. It is a liquid fuel crisis.
It could be that such considerations and limits were more significant than the issue of the required AC power. If all that were needed was AC power, they should have been able to bring such power in by air or sea. After all, in Hawaii nuclear subs have been used to supply emergency power to islands that suffered power loss. So much of this does not make sense to me. "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
Water exiting the fuel channels at the top guide is about 12 to 15% saturated steam (by mass), typical core flow may be 45,000,000 kg/h (100,000,000 lb/h) with 6,500,000 kg/h (14,500,000 lb/h) steam flow. However, core-average void fraction is a significantly higher fraction (~40%). These sort of values may be found in each plant's publicly available Technical Specifications, Final Safety Analysis Report, or Core Operating Limits Report.
Apparently normal operating pressure is around 75 Atmospheres, so running at over double normal pressure it must have been an adventure to open any valves on the outside of the pressure vessel Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.
he cooling water is maintained at about 75 atm (7.6 MPa, 1000-1100 psi) so that it boils in the core at about 285 °C (550 °F).
by Frank Schnittger - Dec 8 25 comments
by Oui - Dec 4 48 comments
by Frank Schnittger - Dec 1 4 comments
by Frank Schnittger - Nov 27 71 comments
by Frank Schnittger - Nov 23 37 comments
by Frank Schnittger - Nov 20 72 comments
by Oui - Nov 21 2 comments
by Oui - Nov 15 9 comments
by Frank Schnittger - Dec 825 comments
by Oui - Dec 448 comments
by Frank Schnittger - Dec 14 comments
by Frank Schnittger - Nov 2771 comments
by gmoke - Nov 26
by Frank Schnittger - Nov 2337 comments
by Oui - Nov 212 comments
by Frank Schnittger - Nov 2072 comments
by Oui - Nov 159 comments
by ATinNM - Nov 135 comments
by Oui - Nov 134 comments
by Oui - Nov 124 comments
by Frank Schnittger - Nov 10115 comments
by Oui - Nov 428 comments
by Oui - Oct 2916 comments