I and C Design Changes for the Enhanced CANDU 6 Reactor

Abstract

AECL has incorporated a number of I and C design enhancements into the Enhanced CANDU 6 (EC6) design. The EC6 nuclear power plant is a mid-sized Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) design, based on the highly successful CANDU 6 family of power plants, upgraded to meet today’s Canadian and international safety requirements and to satisfy Generation 3 expectations. Recent events at Fukushima NPPs in Japan have highlighted the importance of defense in depth and severe accident management capability. The EC6 PHWR design has incorporated a number of improvements in these and other areas. The design is based on natural uranium fuel, but is able to utilize additional fuel options, including the use of Recovered Uranium (RU) and Thorium based fuels. The EC6 offers the provenness of the CANDU 6 reference design, together with enhancements that provide added benefits in safety, operating margin, and plant performance. This paper highlights the advantages of the existing CANDU 6 design, provides an overview of the major enhancements in the EC6 design and describes the advanced instrumentation and control features being incorporated.