Collectifission on Nostr: I had a late night thought: why do we build the domes of PWR plants with concrete ...

I had a late night thought: why do we build the domes of PWR plants with concrete actually? Hear me out:

The function of a dome, or containment, is to play a critical role in the most severe nuclear reactor accidents, it is only designed to contain or condense steam in the short term.

Polymers can do that, no sweat.

So, why don’t we build plastic domes?

There’s a concern on radiation containment, and I get that, concrete is great for blocking radiation. So, outside the dome we build one or two layers of cheap concrete ‘lego’ blocks (see picture below). Cheap and super fast to construct. Think days instead of months.

Can people in the know chime in on this? Given that 60% of a PWR plant is nuclear grade concrete, this could actually bring construction costs down considerably, while having no effect on safety.

And before people read stuff I didn’t say: I’m not saying we replace all the concrete with polymers. A core catcher for example would probably need to be made from concrete still. But a dome?

Let’s hear it, I’m interested 🙂