The choice of the coolant is one of the main technical issues concerning fast reactor design, since it determines design approach as well as safety, technical and economic characteristics of the system. This publication provides a comprehensive summary of the status of the liquid metal coolant technology development for fast reactors with regard to basic data and main technological challenges. It starts with remarks on the history of nuclear power development, provides a complete survey of physical and chemical properties of liquid metals, and discusses the coolant quality control and thermal-hydraulics studies for both sodium and lead alloys systems. Other chapters elaborate on radioactivity of coolants and describe past experiences as well as current projects. Finally, the design objectives, and main research and technology development challenges of innovative fast reactors having sodium, lead-bismuth eutectic, and lead as coolant, currently under investigation in the Russian Federation, as well as the status of the respective research and development activities, are summarized.

Cable ageing and the need for condition monitoring are the most important aspects of plant life extension when it comes to instrumentation and control systems. Cables, especially their insulation and jacket material, are vulnerable to ageing degradation during normal operation, and means must be established to ensure that cable ageing does not lead to unsafe operation. This publication addresses all relevant issues related to cable ageing and contains introductory level materials that present a summary of key issues in cable ageing in nuclear power plants. In particular, it provides guidelines for cable qualification and cable ageing management in nuclear facilities, reflecting the technical advances of the past 15 years.

A research reactor is an extraordinary tool that can contribute to a country’s scientific resources, improve health care, and help to increase industrial and agricultural productivity, if it is appropriately conceived, managed and supported. This requires a strong policy and technical infrastructure, and management of long term financial liabilities. This publication sets out the four phases of a research reactor project with their associated milestones, starting with a careful assessment of the need for the research reactor, the issues it raises and the measures to address them. The publication provides a framework for self-assessment of readiness for a research reactor project and the resource requirements that it will impose. The guidance provided in this publication will be helpful for decision makers from governments, operating organizations and regulatory bodies as well as project sponsors and planners.

This publication has been developed to help Member States ensure that appropriate sites for a nuclear power plant are identified, assessed and licensed, in a well planned and efficient manner, taking into account all relevant factors and lessons learned from recent events. It is applicable to countries with existing nuclear facilities as well as those introducing nuclear power in their energy mix. This IAEA Nuclear Energy Series publication provides guidance on the complex organizational, engineering, socioeconomic and environmental issues of siting. It complements the IAEA Safety Guides related to site selection and integrates existing IAEA documentation on the subject into a more compact and user friendly guidebook.

The investigation of the thorium fuel cycle is a collaborative INPRO (International Project on Innovative Nuclear Reactors and Fuel Cycles) activity within the main area of global vision of sustainable nuclear energy for the 21st century. The current publication reports on the sustainability of nuclear power by re-examining the potential of thorium based fuel cycles to support future large scale deployment of nuclear energy systems by increasing the availability of nuclear material. Special attention is paid to the thorium fuel cycle from the point of view of economics and proliferation resistance.

This publication describes the characteristics of the electrical grid system that are required for the connection and successful operation of a nuclear power plant, as well as the characteristics of a nuclear power plant that are significant for the design and operation of the electrical grid system. It addresses the issues to be considered when a nuclear power plant is being planned and describes the information exchange necessary between the developer of a nuclear power plant and the organization responsible for the electrical grid. The particular issue of a large nuclear unit connected to a small system is also discussed. A new topic introduced in this publication is the need for cyber security to protect the grid system near the nuclear power plant. Several case studies of Member State experiences in developing new nuclear units and experiences with grid events during operation are included.

Project management is a leadership function primarily concerned with the organization, coordination and control of large undertakings, with the aim of achieving technical excellence by working to quality standards, optimizing the schedule and the supply chain, and minimizing costs. Competent project management can reduce costs through more efficient work sequences, higher productivity, shorter activity durations and the parallel reduction of accumulated interest during construction of nuclear power plants. Based on past proven practices in Member States, this publication provides guidance on project management from the preparatory phase to plant turnover to commissioning of nuclear power plants. The guidelines and experiences described will enable project managers to obtain better performance in nuclear power plant construction.

This publication presents the main elements of policies and strategies for decommissioning activities of nuclear and radiological facilities. It is intended to help in facilitating proper and systematic planning, and safe, timely and cost effective implementation of all decommissioning activities. The policy establishes the principles for decommissioning, and the strategy contains the approaches for implementation of the policy. The publication will be a useful guide for strategic planners, waste managers, operators of facilities under decommissioning, regulators and other stakeholders.

This publication is intended to present a basic overview of instrumentation and control (I&C) systems in nuclear power plants and to serve as a reference guide on the subject. Furthermore, it provides an explanation of the significant role I&C systems have in maintaining and improving safety, plant performance and economic returns. Numerous publications have been prepared to address these issues; the present publication places those technical publications within the context of a global view of nuclear power plant I&C systems and their life cycles.

This publication serves as a guide to the tools and steps that support plans for constructing nuclear power plants, and, consequently, improve technical and management skills. It details information on the conventional and recently introduced advanced techniques and methods being used in different aspects of the construction phase of a project, both in the nuclear industry and in non-nuclear industries.

This publication emphasizes the integrity and interdependence of various activities related to invitation of bids, their technical and economic evaluation, and contracting. It updates information included in existing IAEA publications in order to better reflect the developments in the nuclear and energy industry, and constitutes a compact and user friendly guidebook integrating the existing IAEA publications on the subject. It provides the information necessary to organize, guide and realize the activities related to the invitation of bids, their technical and economic evaluation, and contracting as an integrated process. Furthermore, this publication indicates how and to what degree the activities preceding the preparation of the bid invitation specification, the evaluation of bids and contracting can influence the process.

The average operating age of existing nuclear power plants is increasing and safety and performance of these ageing plants must be achieved by effectively managing material degradations within an acceptable level. Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) is a significant material degradation for major components of both pressurized water reactors (PWRs) and boiling water reactors (BWRs), and is still an important outstanding technical issue. This publication provides general descriptions of degradation mechanisms of different types of SCC which are concerned with systems, structures and components in PWRs and BWRs. It includes examples of good practices in preventing, mitigating and repairing SCC damage and summarizes related national and international research and development programmes. Practical operational experience and practices in Member States are also presented in this overview.