History of France's civil nuclear program

One of France's distinctive features is the standardization of its nuclear power plants: all 56 PWR reactors use the same technology and are technically similar. They are located at 18 nuclear power plant sites, with each plant comprising between 2 and 6 reactors (or “tranche”).Reactors are classified according to their model - known as a “tier” - and the electrical power they deliver: 900 megawatts electrical (MWe), 1300 MWe and 1450 MWe.

There are 32 900 MWe reactors: 4 CP0 reactors (4 at Bugey), and 28 CPY reactors (4 at Tricastin, 6 at Gravelines, 4 at Dampierre, 4 at Blayais, 4 at Chinon, 4 at Cruas and 2 at Saint-Laurent).

The 20 1,300 MWe reactors are divided into two levels: the P4 level with 8 reactors (4 at Paluel, 2 at Saint-Alban and 2 at Flamanville) and the P'4 level with 12 reactors (2 at Belleville sur Loire, 4 at Cattenom, 2 at Golfech, 2 at Nogent sur Seine and 2 at Penly).

There are 4 1,450 MWe reactors in the N4 range (2 at Chooz and 2 at Civaux).

2-dimensional drawing versus 3d modeling

The U.S. Army's nuclear power program operated pressurized water reactors (REP) from 1954 to 1974.

The CPO, CPY, P4 and P'4 reactors are REP technology and were designed in the 1960s (American Westinghouse license)

·         At the time, 3d modeling didn't exist

The N4 stage, for “new 4 loops ”1, is the third and final stage in France's second-generation nuclear reactor fleet.

The project was born in 1979 and initiated in 1982. The N4 level marks the francization of the company's reactors, which are no longer dependent on the American Westinghouse license (unlike the reactors in the previous CP0, CPY and P4/P'4 levels).

·         EDF's first fully 3D AVEVA PDMS project