What is Power Plant UK '87?Power Plant UK '87, the largest exhibition of itskind ever staged in the UK, is to be held inGloucester, UK, from the 23rd to 27th June1987.

Sponsored by the Central ElectricityGenerating Board and the BritishElectrotechnical and Allied Manufacturers'Association, Power Plant UK '87 will be a worldshowcase for British engineering expertise andmanufacturing. Over 200 companies are takingpart in this unique exhibition of everythingneeded to build a power station.

With 165 stands in six massive tented hallsat the home of CEGB's GenerationDevelopment & Construction Division, PowerPlant UK '87 will not only provide theopportunity to examine the extent of theBritish power industry, but also will enablevisitors to meet colleagues to discuss mattersof mutual interest. Recognising this importantfacet of the exhibition, the CEGB will beorganising technical discussions and visits to itspower stations. Visitors will be able to see theproducts or services under operatingconditions and will be able to meet engineersat the power stations.

The whole spectrum of the power industryin the UK will be represented at Power PlantUK '87, from manufacturers of giantturbogenerators and boilers to the smallestthermocouple: civil engineers, engineeringconsultants, cable manufacturers, computersoftware companies, instrument makers,financial institutions and publishers, to list buta few.

The impetus for the exhibition was asuccessful 'open day' held at the CEGB'sGloucester site in the summer of 1986. Theproposal to hold Power Plant UK '87 wasenthusiastically welcomed by potentialexhibitors, and within a month of theannouncement, exhibition space was alreadysold out; additional space has now also beentaken and a waiting list is growing of thosecompanies who would wish to take part ifspace became available.

Unique event

Invitations to this unique event have beensent around the world. The British powerindustry is looking forward to the internationalexchange of experience and ideas which willtake place at Power Plant UK '87.

Conveniently located for road and railtransport, Gloucester is a charming cathedralcity, less than 200 km west of London. Specialtrains will be run from London to Gloucestereach day of the exhibition, easing visitors'travel arrangements. For those wanting a littlerelaxation during their visit, there is tennis atWimbledon, racing at Ascot, rowing at Henleyand cricket at Lords, all within days of PowerPlant UK '87!

Power Plant UK '87 represents the vastrange of expertise taken to the furthestcorners of the globe by British ElectricityInternational. Never before will so much of theUK's power industry have been gatheredtogether in one place at one time.

Developments infast reactorsBarnwood's Divisional Director explains some aspects of thework undertaken at Barnwood relating to the UK's fastreactor programme

by R. N. G. BurbridgeIt is the function of the CEGB to provide asecure, safe and reliable supply of electricity forthe consumer at a competitive price. In orderto fulfil this obligation the CEGB maintains aninterest, and frequently an active involvement,in the development of new energytechnologies. Foremost amongst these is theliquid-metal-cooled fast-breeder reactor(LMFBR): the prime reason for its developmentis the 'breeding' characteristic, which allows afactor of 50 or more increase in the energyextractable from a given amount of uranium.

Thus the CEGB has for many years beeninvolved with the development of fast-reactor

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engineering and technology: this has beenprincipally in association with the design workof the National Nuclear Corporation (NNC), andwith the substantial R&D programme of theUnited Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority(UKAEA), which has included the constructionand operation of the 250 MWe Prototype FastReactor (PFR), which went critical in 1973, andthe prototype reprocessing plant (essential forcompletion of the fuel cycle) whichcommenced operation in 1980.

Developments in Continental Europe haveincluded the construction in France of thePhenix prototype which went critical in 1972,

POWER ENGINEERING JOURNAL JULY 1987

and the start in 1973 of the SNR300 project inGermany as a joint DeBeNe (Germany, Belgium,Netherlands) undertaking with a smallparticipation by the CEGB. The utilities of thehost countries were involved in these projectsto varying extents and in different ways.

In France 1986 has seen the power-raisingstage of the 1200 MWe Super-Phenix powerstation, built by a grouping of French, DeBeNeand Italian utilities—at present this is thelargest fast reactor plant in the world.

TimingAt one time it was expected that the rapid

expansion of generating capacity worldwidewould be such that sodium-cooled breederreactors would need to be introduced in largenumbers by the end of the century if ashortage of uranium was to be avoided.However, following the oil crisis of 1974 therewas a dramatic cutback in energy demandworldwide, and the rate of installation ofthermal reactors fell accordingly. In the UK itwas accepted that the low growth of demandand the abundance of uranium on the worldmarket would shift the need to order a seriesof commercial fast reactors for the generatingsystem to at least the first decade of the nextcentury, and that the national programmewould consequently have to be adjusted.

In view of the changed timing and need forthe fast reactor, the Government carried out inthe early 1980s a review of the UK fast-reactorpolicy during which the generating boards, theUKAEA and industry were consulted. Thisreview confirmed the strategic need for fastreactors in the UK, but in recognition of thelonger timescale available for their introductionit was decided that development shouldcontinue at a reduced, albeit still substantial,level of funding and further that this shouldinclude direct contributions from the electricitysupply industry.

As a result of exploratory discussions overmany years with other countries theGovernment concluded that a strengthening ofinternational collaboration was the appropriatemeans of achieving full commercial status ofthe fast reactor system, and negotiations werestarted to this end.

International collaborationIn January 1984 the UK Government opened

the way for collaboration by signing with thegovernments of France, West Germany, Italyand Belgium a Memorandum of Understandingfor co-operation in the field of LMFBRs. Thismemorandum is essentially an umbrellaagreement which provides for a number ofsupplementary agreements to be entered intobetween the respective organisations involvedin R&D, design, the fuel cycle and electricitysupply, the last including possible cross-investment in demonstration plants. Since thatdate negotiations have progressed betweenthe various possible partners, and the varioussupplementary agreements have either beensigned or are in an advanced stage of drafting.

The objective of the collaboration is the

POWER ENGINEERING JOURNAL JULY 1987

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achievement of full commercial status of thefast reactor system with a reduction ofdevelopment costs to the individual partnersand a minimisation of the development risk.Current design activities are targetted to thisobjective.

The utilities have also agreed that it isnecessary to construct a demonstrationreprocessing plant capable of handling the fuelfrom the demonstration reactor plants, so thatthe essential area of fuel reprocessing can beproven to be both technically and commerciallyviable. Accordingly, plans are being discussedto build the plant in one of the participatingcountries—possibly the UK. While the CEGBand the other utilities will be involved in thespecification for the reprocessing plant, theywill not carry direct responsibility for the plant.

At the present time, the design phase forthe second large fast reactor in France, Super-Phenix 2, is reaching completion. In Germanywork is continuing on the design of the SNR2plant.

Barnwood activitiesIn preparation for effective participation in

the collaborative programme, significantchanges have taken place in the organisationof the UK activities, with the CEGB nowplaying a more influential role. Thus thefunding for the fast-reactor design andcomponent development work at the NNC isprovided by the CEGB, the UKAEA, the Southof Scotland Electricity Board (SSEB) and NNC:the contract is beween the CEGB and NNC andthe management of the contract is theresponsibility of Barnwood. The programme ofactivities is jointly agreed by all parties.

The CEGB is now also responsible forapproximately 30% of the UKAEA annual fast-reactor budget and is responsible for technicaladvice to the Department of Energy on thewhole of the UKAEA fast-reactor programme.

The engineering and technology aspects ofCEGB involvement, including the managementof the contracts with NNC and UKAEA,together with the establishment of firmtechnical links with overseas partners, arecontrolled by Barnwood's Fast ReactorEngineering and Technology Branch, whichwas formed at the beginning of 1984.

General agreement

On the international front, progress hasbeen made in preparation for full joint working.As a first step, facilitated by a bilateral generalagreement on fast-reactor collaborationbetween CEGB and the French utility (EdF), athorough assessment has been carried out, inassociation with NNC and the UKAEA, of theEdF pre-project report for Super-Phenix 2.Detailed discussions have taken place with EdFand Novatome on the results of thisassessment, and arrangements have now beenagreed and implemented by EdF by which NNCengineers are working in association withNovatome on critical areas of the plant. TwoBarnwood engineers have been seconded tothe EdF design offices in Lyons.

Similarly, close association has been

maintained with the German utility group (SBK)who are responsible for the construction ofSNR 300 and for managing the design work onSNR 2 being carried out by Interatom. AgainCEGB and SBK have agreed arrangements bywhich NNC engineers are working withInteratom on key areas of the design of thisplant.

Eventual requirementsThese arrangements with EdF and SBK are

to help ensure that when a decision is madeon the lead plant the design will becomparable with the eventual requirements ofthe CEGB for a later plant in the intendedfuture programme.

Within the UK, it is recognised by the CEGBthat an essential short-term objective of theUK programme should be to secure thecontinued operation of PFR at full power withhigh availability. Arrangements have beenmade between Barnwood and the UKAEAsuch that the number of CEGB staff secondedto PFR has been raised significantly. Theintention is that CEGB experience in powerplant operation, maintenance and planningmay be applied to the plant; thesesecondments also enable the CEGB to gainoperational experience with a large-scaleLMFBR.

Whilst the major part of the UK designeffort is concerned with work on the leadEuropean plants, there is important activity infurther developing those features of the UKdesign which are likely to take their place inthe Continental plant, and in assessing thesuitability of safety-related items for theiracceptability to UK procedures. The pursuit ofcapital cost reductions, essential for the long-term acceptability of the fast reactor, willcontinue to pervade all aspects of design.

Technical expertise

The source of technical expertise within theCEGB necessary to carry out the activitiesindicated above includes both the Barnwoodspecialist teams, and also the long-standingresearch programme carried out in the threemain CEGB laboratories. The Barnwood FastReactor Branch Head acts as the ProgrammeManager for this research work, which includesstudies in safety, sodium technology, fuel andthe fuel cycle, structural integrity (includingdesign methods development and materialsproperties studies), theoretical andexperimental thermal hydraulics, and heatexchangers. For the last of these in particularthe CEGB's large body of experience of theperformance of fossil and nuclear boilersrepresents a valuable infeed into the UK andthe international programmes. The laboratory-based research work has been supplementedby the secondment of scientists to centres offast-reactor expertise in France, West Germanyand the USA in addition to the UK's Dounreaysite.

Ron Burbridge, OBE, is Divisional Director, CEGB,Barnwood, Gloucester GL4 7RS, UK. He is an IEEFellow

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