Research and development on nuclear steam supply systems at EDF. Current and future

Research and development on nuclear steam supply systems can be broken down into two parts: on the one hand, acquisition of basic knowledge and development of experimental or computer tools, and, on the other, more concrete activities consisting in finding answers to short-term questions posed by the other Divisions. This article deals with the nuclear side of nuclear plants and therefore not touch upon more conventional aspects: water systems, turbines, generators or controls. The main subject of the article is thus the primary system with the reactor and the steam generators. The studies carried out cover the design, safety operation and maintenance of the system components. The cost of the studies performed inside EDF comes to around 600 MF