In the desert, the first nuclear power unit is about to complete the construction work and put into trial operation.

"What is the result of N36 preparation?"

Zhang Xingyang came to the materials laboratory and asked.

Su Xiao's face was tired, "The first batch of N36 prepared has an unsatisfactory composition ratio. ”

"I've had them re-prepare."

"However, we are really not that skilled in vacuum self-consumable arc smelting."

"It may take some time to be able to prepare a qualified N36 material."

The two stood in the lab chatting, and the researchers at the workstations around them were peeking at the two.

In particular, the Hyosung faction, who thinks that the two are together, uses communication software while peeking at the same time.

In their field of vision, a love drama has been made up in their brains.

It's just that the two parties have a completely different feeling.

Zhang Xingyang said, "Try to finish it within a month, so that it can be just in time for the trial operation of Unit 1." ”

"Simultaneous completion of the strong radiation test of the material."

As an integral part of the heat exchanger, which is the heart of the reactor, the N36 zirconium alloy must be able to withstand strong radiation.

Under the irradiation of strong radiation, general materials will inevitably have a shorter service life and a decrease in strength.

Zirconium alloys are the most suitable materials for nuclear reactor applications.

It has a low atomic thermal neutron absorption cross section.

This allows the zirconium alloy to still not show a significant decrease in strength in a strong radiation environment.

"I understand, I'll speed it up." Su Xiao nodded slightly.

Looking at Su Xiao's somewhat haggard face, Zhang Xingyang said:

"But also pay attention to your body, don't exhaust yourself."

After speaking, I took a turn in the laboratory and looked at everyone's work progress.

Zhang Xingyang left the materials laboratory.

As the head of the entire nuclear research institute, there are many things that need to be done by him.

The time available in one department is limited.

Not to mention, Zhang Xingyang also has to take care of the construction of the nuclear power plant on the side.

It's even more incompetent.

"Sister Su, what did the director tell you just now?"

As soon as Zhang Xingyang left, someone came over to inquire.

"Next, we're busy."

Su Xiao said to everyone in the laboratory.

"Within a month, we will be developing the N36 alloy!"

In the laboratory, there was a wail.

Prior to this, they had already tried to prepare the material.

Of course, it's clear that a month is not a complete development effort.

But such a short period of time means that each of them has to work high-intensity overtime to be able to complete it with quality and quantity.

"In a month's time, Unit 1 will be put into trial operation, and if the development work is not completed by then."

"Then we have to wait for the next running cycle."

"It's going to take at least three months."

Su Xiao explained the key to this.

The amount of nuclear radiation in different operating cycles of nuclear reactors is not exactly the same.

In order for N36 zirconium alloy to be put into use, it is necessary to complete the full-cycle experiment of several operation cycles.

It's not that everyone in the lab is unaware of the importance of time.

It's just a matter of complaining and making a mouthful.

At the construction site of Unit 1, the scaffolding with intertwined steel pipes has not yet been dismantled.

Zhang Xingyang stood in the still messy operation room of Unit 1, "Lao Li, can you really complete all the preliminary work of Unit 1 within a month?" ”

Zhang Xingyang does not have much relevant experience in the nuclear power construction cycle.

Although I have also gained a lot of theoretical knowledge from different ways.

However, it is obviously not as experienced as Li Fei, an expert who has been engaged in the nuclear power industry for many years.

"The construction of the reactor can actually be completed, but some supporting facilities, such as substations, have not yet been completed."

Li Fei pointed to the place that was still empty and said.

"So our trial run time, or does it stay the same?"

Zhang Xingyang said with some uncertainty.

"Can security be guaranteed?"

Li Fei laughed and said, "Of course there is no problem, our reactor is a third-generation reactor. ”

"The use of double-layer concrete shells has great advantages in dealing with crises in all aspects."

"Even if it is an enemy's ground-penetrating bomb, it will take a lot of effort to break our nuclear reactor."

"What about earthquake resistance?" Zhang Xingyang then asked.

Li Fei said puzzled, "Although I don't know what you think." ”

"But as you proposed, we still made everything in the nuclear power plant shock-proof and shock-absorbing design."

"According to current design standards, it can withstand at least a magnitude 8 earthquake."

Zhang Xingyang lowered his head slightly and looked at the ground under his feet.

"It's nothing, it's just a rainy day."

If it is said that two years later, there will be a magnitude 8 super earthquake in China.

Even with Zhang Xingyang's current status, it is difficult to believe.

It can only be affected from other aspects, from the side.

Prior to this, Zhang Xingyang had repeatedly proposed that public facilities built in the southwest region, such as schools and hospitals, should have earthquake-resistant design.

And it must be able to withstand at least an earthquake of magnitude 8.

Most of Zhang Xingyang's salary, bonuses, etc., have been invested in the Hope Primary School project in the southwest region.

The only requirement is that these primary schools have adequate seismic design.

"Then what you think about is really thoughtful."

Li Fei didn't think too much about it.

Thinking about Zhou Xiang in advance was what they should do.

A little attention in this regard, there is no big problem.

"In terms of water use, I have also negotiated with the local government so that we can take water directly from the reservoir."

Third-generation reactors still need a lot of water.

The main thing is that when the steam turbine works, a large amount of water is needed to form steam and propel the steam turbine to operate.

Fortunately, there is a very large reservoir in the area.

Able to supply the operational needs of Unit 1.

"Although the water vapor of the steam turbine does not carry any amount of radiation."

After listening to this, Zhang Xingyang said, "But we must still do a good job of relevant countermeasures, and we must do a good job in testing the discharge water." ”

"Don't let the local residents have a bad impression of us."

In the public eye, nuclear power plants are filled with all kinds of nuclear radiation.

Even if you live in the surrounding area, you will be affected by nuclear radiation all year round.

Not to mention the water discharged from the nuclear power plant.

If it is not handled well, it is easy to cause all kinds of problems.

In fact, the attenuation of nuclear radiation is very fast.

Less than half a meter of concrete is enough to stop 99 percent of the radiation.

In the last century, the militia training manual included nuclear warfare.

It is mentioned that when a nuclear bomb explodes, try to hide behind a concrete wall, or under a layer of soil of more than one meter.

All of these can effectively reduce the effects of nuclear radiation.

"This is natural, and this is not the first time we have built a nuclear power plant, and we still have experience in this area." Li Fei said.

As a professional nuclear power plant construction team in China, they have a lot of experience before this.

The domestic civil nuclear power industry, after 30 years of development, is no longer the time when you didn't understand anything.

In all aspects, a set of relatively standardized systems and systems have been established.

——

A month later, the No. 1 nuclear power unit successfully completed the relevant construction work, as well as the inspection of various supporting equipment.

The corresponding nuclear fuel rods have also been transported.

It is housed in a specially made radiation-proof chamber and is only waiting to be inserted into the nuclear reactor.

You can start work on a nuclear reactor.

Beneath the blue water, pieces of lack are quietly waiting for their time.

"Unit 1 has completed all pre-start-up inspections and can start trial operation."

Unlike other power stations, both trial and formal operation of nuclear power plants must pass inspections by the Nuclear Safety Agency before they can be carried out.

Otherwise, it will not be operational.

The Nuclear Safety Agency (NSA) is very strict about the inspections of official operations.

In general, it takes 3-5 years to complete the inspection work after the construction of a nuclear power plant.

However, considering the minimum operating life of nuclear power plants of 50 years, such inspection time is actually nothing.

The test run is relatively simpler.

Zhang Xingyang: It only took them two months to get the license for trial operation.

"Let's start the first test run."

Zhang Xingyang looked at the nuclear fuel rods in the monitoring and said.

Fuel rods, which are only a few tens of centimeters long, are inserted into the nuclear reactor.

Inside the pressure vessel, a high pressure is quickly presented.

The water flow at high pressure carries a large amount of heat into the heat exchanger through the 690 alloy pipe.

The water on the other side is heated to drive the steam turbine.

Leave aside the nuclear reactor and look only at the steam turbine part.

It is not much different from the coal-fired power stations of a hundred years ago.

That's why it's said that the essence of human energy is boiling water.

From the beginning of firewood to make hot water, it has progressed to the industrial age to use coal and oil to make hot water, and then to the atomic age to use nuclear fuel to make hot water.

There hasn't been much progress in the way energy is used.

However, from the perspective of energy utilization, the amount of energy used by human beings is getting bigger and bigger.

One kilogram of dry wood provides 1.2×10^7J of heat.

One kilogram of coal can provide 2.9×10^7J heat.

One kilogram of oil is capable of providing 4.4×10^7J heat.

The gap between them is not too big.

But in the age of nuclear power, the amount of energy used has changed dramatically.

Just 1g of UO2 nuclear fuel with an enrichment of 2.45% is equivalent to 50 kg of standard coal heat!

A nuclear power plant with an annual output of 8 billion kilowatt hours of electricity only needs 1.5 tons of nuclear fuel a year.

Equivalent to nearly one million tons of standard coal!

"The unit 1 reactor is in good working condition and has a stable output power."

After several hours of testing, the first test run of the nuclear reactor was a complete success.

"What about the radiation content of the wastewater?"

Zhang Xingyang asked Li Fei beside him.

"The radiation content meets the drinking water standard, and the normal discharge work can be carried out."

Li Fei said with a smile on his face.

The success of the construction of a nuclear power plant is also a great honor for him.

Outside the window, inside the huge cooling tower, clouds formed by clumps of condensation.

Slowly and leisurely floating into the sky, it seems to be a cloud-making machine.

"The results of the N36 zirconium alloy strong radiation experiment have come out, and this is the raw data."

Su Xiao had two big dark circles on his face, and handed over a thick stack of data sheets to Zhang Xingyang.

Even if he was used to staying up late and being physically and mentally haggard, Zhang Xingyang was still shocked.

"You'd better go back and rest first, and report that I'll sort it out myself later."

Su Xiao didn't say anything more, and turned around and walked directly in the direction of his dormitory.

"Xiao Su, what's wrong, I feel like I'm about to die." Li Fei looked at Su Xiao who was going away in disbelief and said.

The two of them had met a few times before, when Su Xiao first came.

At that time, Su Xiao left a deep impression on him.

Of course, as long as it's a woman here, it can impress everyone.

There are very few female students in the entire nuclear power plant and nuclear research institute.

"I'm tired of high-intensity work this month."

Zhang Xingyang said while looking at the data record sheet in his hand.

The table is full of raw data and has not undergone a series of processing.

In terms of details, you can't see it more thoroughly.

But the general trend is still relatively easy to see.

One of the more important is the change in intensity under strong radiation, as well as the change in corrosion resistance.

In general, pressurized water reactors or boiling water reactors pay more attention to the change in strength.

But as a heat exchange tube material for future molten salt reactors.

Zhang Xingyang attaches more importance to its changes in corrosion resistance.

The data sheet clearly states that the tensile strength is 2100Mpa in a strong radiation environment.

Compared with the previous tensile strength in a radiation-free environment, it has decreased by about 30Mpa.

The drop in intensity is not significant, less than two percent.

It is still within the scope of acceptance.

There is hardly much change in corrosion resistance, and the alloy surface is under the impact of high-temperature molten salt at high flow rates.

Neither the surface film layer nor the internal structure of the alloy has changed much.

This also shows that the strong radiation environment has little effect on the corrosion resistance of N36 alloy.

It's not even as great as the effect of high-temperature molten salt on alloys.

Comparative experiments have been done on high-temperature molten salt and high-temperature water flow before.

The corrosiveness of high-temperature molten salt is at least 25 percent higher than that of high-temperature water.

The impact is huge!

"Prepare for shutdown, the first test run to achieve such results is considered a success."

After Zhang Xingyang finished reading the data record sheet in his hand, he said to Li Fei beside him.

"However, today's trial operation has also exposed a lot of problems, so I still have to summarize it."

The first time I ran it, there were some problems too.

It is mainly focused on personnel operations.

The first staff they trained, were not too skilled.

In the process of work, although there were no mistakes, the response was very slow.

In fact, the reactor was supposed to start operating at 9 o'clock.

It was also delayed by fifteen minutes.

It is because the operator is not familiar with his own work process.

Li Fei nodded, "There are also my reasons for this, I will let them retrain again!" (End of chapter)