ASTRID project : Main progress on safety design provisions

Overview & Synopsis

ASTRID is the Advanced Sodium Technological Reactor for Industrial Demonstration which is intended to prepare the Generation IV reactor, with improvements in safety and operability. In order to comply with the related specifications, the Astrid project integrates innovative options. In the earlier phase of ASTRID project, a specific safety approach was set and its main guidelines were agreed by the French Nuclear Safety Authority. This safety design guide is currently applied as reference for the choices of the design options. The paper presents: - The main design provisions, to prevent any severe accident, as far as reasonably possible; - The design approach, called “top-down” approach, relating to the radiological “confinement” safety function.