Fuel Behaviour at High During RIA and LOCA Accidents; Comportamiento del Combustible de Alto Quemado en Accidents RIA y LOCA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barrio del Juanes, M.T.; Garcia Cuesta, J.C.; Vallejo Diaz, I.; Herranz Puebla

2001-07-01

Safety analysis of high burnup fuel requires ensuring the acceptable performance under design basis accidents, in particular during conditions representative of Reactivity Accidents (RIA) and Loss-of-Coolant Accidents (LOCA). The report's objective is to compile the state of the art on these issues. This is mainly focused in the effort made to define the applicability of safety criteria to the high burnup fuel. Irradiation damage modifies fuel rod properties, thus the probability of fuel to withstand thermal and mechanical loads during an accident could be quite different compared with unirradiated fuel. From the thermal point of view, fuel conductivity is the most affected property, decreasing notably with irradiation. From the mechanical point of view, a change in the pellet microstructure at its periphery is observed at high burnup (remiffect). Cladding is also effected during operation, showing a significant external and internal corrosion. All these phenomena result in the decrease of efficiency in heat transfer an in the reduction of capability to accommodate mechanical loads; this situation is especially significant at high burnup, when pellet-cladding mechanical interaction is present. Knowledge about these phenomena is not possible without appropriate experimental programmes. The most relevant have been performed in France, Japan, United States and Russia. Results obtained with fuel at high burnup show significant differences with respect to the phenomena observed in fuel at the present discharge burnup. Indeed, this is the encouragement to research about this occurrence. This study is framed within the CSN-CIEMAT agreement, about Fuel Thermo-Mechanical Behaviour at High Burnup. (Author) 172 refs.

Compendium of ECCS [Emergency Core Cooling Systems] research for realistic LOCA [loss-of-coolant accidents] analysis: Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1988-12-01

In the United States, Emergency Core Cooling Systems (ECCS) are required for light water reactors (LWRs) to provide cooling of the reactor core in the event of a break or leak in the reactor piping or an inadvertent opening of a valve. These accidents are called loss-of-coolant accidents (LOCA), and they range from small leaks up to a postulated full break of the largest pipe in the reactor cooling system. Federal government regulations provide that LOCA analysis be performed to show that the ECCS will maintain fuel rod cladding temperatures, cladding oxidation, and hydrogen production within certain limits. The NRC and others have completed a large body of research which investigated fuel rod behavior and LOCA/ECCS performance. It is now possible to make a realistic estimate of the ECCS performance during a LOCA and to quantify the uncertainty of this calculation. The purpose of this report is to summarize this research and to serve as a general reference for the extensive research effort that has been performed. The report: (1) summarizes the understanding of LOCA phenomena in 1974; (2) reviews experimental and analytical programs developed to address the phenomena; (3) describes the best-estimate computer codes developed by the NRC; (4) discusses the salient technical aspects of the physical phenomena and our current understanding of them; (5) discusses probabilistic risk assessment results and perspectives, and (6) evaluates the impact of research results on the ECCS regulations. 736 refs., 412 figs., 66 tabs

Quantification of LOCA core damage frequency based on thermal-hydraulics analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cho, Jaehyun; Park, Jin Hee; Kim, Dong-San; Lim, Ho-Gon

2017-01-01

Highlights: • We quantified the LOCA core damage frequency based on the best-estimated success criteria analysis. • The thermal-hydraulic analysis using MARS code has been applied to Korea Standard Nuclear Power Plants. • Five new event trees with new break size boundaries and new success criteria were developed. • The core damage frequency is 5.80E−07 (/y), which is 12% less than the conventional PSA event trees. - Abstract: A loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) has always been significantly considered one of the most important initiating events. However, most probabilistic safety assessment models, up to now, have undoubtedly adopted the three groups of LOCA, and even an exact break size boundary that used in WASH-1400 reports was published in 1975. With an awareness of the importance of a realistic PSA for a risk-informed application, several studies have tried to find the realistic thermal-hydraulic behavior of a LOCA, and improve the PSA model. The purpose of this research is to obtain realistic results of the LOCA core damage frequency based on a success criteria analysis using the best-estimate thermal-hydraulics code. To do so, the Korea Standard Nuclear Power Plant (KSNP) was selected for this study. The MARS code was used for a thermal hydraulics analysis and the AIMS code was used for the core damage quantification. One of the major findings in the thermal hydraulics analysis was that the decay power is well removed by only a normal secondary cooling in LOCAs of below 1.4 in and by only a high pressure safety injection in LOCAs of 0.8–9.4 in. Based on the thermal hydraulics results regarding new break size boundaries and new success criteria, five new event trees (ETs) were developed. The core damage frequency of new LOCA ETs is 5.80E−07 (/y), which is 12% less than the conventional PSA ETs. In this research, we obtained not only thermal-hydraulics characteristics for the entire break size of a LOCA in view of the deterministic safety

Quantification of LOCA core damage frequency based on thermal-hydraulics analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cho, Jaehyun, E-mail: chojh@kaeri.re.kr; Park, Jin Hee; Kim, Dong-San; Lim, Ho-Gon

2017-04-15

Highlights: • We quantified the LOCA core damage frequency based on the best-estimated success criteria analysis. • The thermal-hydraulic analysis using MARS code has been applied to Korea Standard Nuclear Power Plants. • Five new event trees with new break size boundaries and new success criteria were developed. • The core damage frequency is 5.80E−07 (/y), which is 12% less than the conventional PSA event trees. - Abstract: A loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) has always been significantly considered one of the most important initiating events. However, most probabilistic safety assessment models, up to now, have undoubtedly adopted the three groups of LOCA, and even an exact break size boundary that used in WASH-1400 reports was published in 1975. With an awareness of the importance of a realistic PSA for a risk-informed application, several studies have tried to find the realistic thermal-hydraulic behavior of a LOCA, and improve the PSA model. The purpose of this research is to obtain realistic results of the LOCA core damage frequency based on a success criteria analysis using the best-estimate thermal-hydraulics code. To do so, the Korea Standard Nuclear Power Plant (KSNP) was selected for this study. The MARS code was used for a thermal hydraulics analysis and the AIMS code was used for the core damage quantification. One of the major findings in the thermal hydraulics analysis was that the decay power is well removed by only a normal secondary cooling in LOCAs of below 1.4 in and by only a high pressure safety injection in LOCAs of 0.8–9.4 in. Based on the thermal hydraulics results regarding new break size boundaries and new success criteria, five new event trees (ETs) were developed. The core damage frequency of new LOCA ETs is 5.80E−07 (/y), which is 12% less than the conventional PSA ETs. In this research, we obtained not only thermal-hydraulics characteristics for the entire break size of a LOCA in view of the deterministic safety

Preliminary Results Of LOCA Problem For APR1400 Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Le Dai Dien; Hoang Minh Giang; Le Thi Thu; Vo Thi Huong; Le Van Hong

2011-01-01

Several features of NPP with APR1400 nuclear reactor during a loss of coolant accident (LOCA) are investigated in this study. The report describes some main design characteristics of an engineering safety systems of APR1400 and the thermal hydraulic calculation results for steady-state using MARS and RELAP/SCDAPSIM codes. Large Break LOCA accident has been analyzed and evaluated based on acceptable criteria for ECCS given by US NRC. The results from cold leg break LOCA with broken area of 0.0465 m 2 in case of high pressure safety injection system (HPSI) failed to operate or 2 and 4 HPSI pumps are activated. The preliminary results of this work is a part of collaboration between INST researchers and KAERI experts in using RELAP tool for safety analysis of NPPs. (author)

Scenarios simulation of severe accident type small loss of coolant (Loca), with the code MELCOR version 2.1 for the nuclear power plant of Laguna Verde

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cardenas V, J.; Mugica R, C. A.; Godinez S, V.

2013-10-01

In this work was carried out the analysis of two scenarios of the accident type with loss of coolant in a recirculation loop for a break with smaller ares to 0.1 ft 2 (4.6 cm 2 ), which is classified according to their size like small Loca. The first simulated scenario was a small Loca without action of the emergency coolant injection systems, and the second was a small Loca with only the available system LPCS. This design base accident was taken into account for its relevance with regard to the damage to the core and the hydrogen generation. Was also observed and analyzed the response of the action of the ECCS that depend of the loss of coolant reason and this in turn depends of the size and type of the pipe break. The specified scenarios were simulated by means of the use of MELCOR model for the nuclear power plant of Laguna Verde that has the Comision Nacional de Seguridad Nuclear y Salvaguardias. (Author)

Sensitivity analysis of local uncertainties in large break loss-of-coolant accident (LB-LOCA) thermo-mechanical simulations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arkoma, Asko, E-mail: asko.arkoma@vtt.fi; Ikonen, Timo

2016-08-15

Highlights: • A sensitivity analysis using the data from EPR LB-LOCA simulations is done. • A procedure to analyze such complex data is outlined. • Both visual and quantitative methods are used. • Input factors related to core design are identified as most significant. - Abstract: In this paper, a sensitivity analysis for the data originating from a large break loss-of-coolant accident (LB-LOCA) analysis of an EPR-type nuclear power plant is presented. In the preceding LOCA analysis, the number of failing fuel rods in the accident was established (Arkoma et al., 2015). However, the underlying causes for rod failures were not addressed. It is essential to bring out which input parameters and boundary conditions have significance to the outcome of the analysis, i.e. the ballooning and burst of the rods. Due to complexity of the existing data, the first part of the analysis consists of defining the relevant input parameters for the sensitivity analysis. Then, selected sensitivity measures are calculated between the chosen input and output parameters. The ultimate goal is to develop a systematic procedure for the sensitivity analysis of statistical LOCA simulation that takes into account the various sources of uncertainties in the calculation chain. In the current analysis, the most relevant parameters with respect to the cladding integrity are the decay heat power during the transient, the thermal hydraulic conditions in the rod’s location in reactor, and the steady-state irradiation history of the rod. Meanwhile, the tolerances in fuel manufacturing parameters were found to have negligible effect on cladding deformation.

Modification of fuel performance code to evaluate iron-based alloy behavior under LOCA scenario

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Giovedi, Claudia; Martins, Marcelo Ramos, E-mail: claudia.giovedi@labrisco.usp.br, E-mail: mrmartin@usp.br [Laboratorio de Analise, Avaliacao e Gerenciamento de Risco (LabRisco/POLI/USP), São Paulo, SP (Brazil); Abe, Alfredo; Muniz, Rafael O.R.; Gomes, Daniel de Souza; Silva, Antonio Teixeira e, E-mail: ayabe@ipen.br, E-mail: dsgomes@ipen.br, E-mail: teixiera@ipen.br [Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), São Paulo, SP (Brazil)

2017-07-01

Accident tolerant fuels (ATF) has been studied since the Fukushima Daiichi accident in the research efforts to develop new materials which under accident scenarios could maintain the fuel rod integrity for a longer period compared to the cladding and fuel system usually utilized in Pressurized Water Reactors (PWR). The efforts have been focused on new materials applied as cladding, then iron-base alloys appear as a possible candidate. The aim of this paper is to implement modifications in a fuel performance code to evaluate the behavior of iron based alloys under Loss-of-Coolant Accident (LOCA) scenario. For this, initially the properties related to the thermal and mechanical behavior of iron-based alloys were obtained from the literature, appropriately adapted and introduced in the fuel performance code subroutines. The adopted approach was step by step modifications, where different versions of the code were created. The assessment of the implemented modification was carried out simulating an experiment available in the open literature (IFA-650.5) related to zirconium-based alloy fuel rods submitted to LOCA conditions. The obtained results for the iron-based alloy were compared to those obtained using the regular version of the fuel performance code for zircaloy-4. The obtained results have shown that the most important properties to be changed are those from the subroutines related to the mechanical properties of the cladding. The results obtained have shown that the burst is observed at a longer time for fuel rods with iron-based alloy, indicating the potentiality of this material to be used as cladding with ATF purposes. (author)

Modification of fuel performance code to evaluate iron-based alloy behavior under LOCA scenario

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Giovedi, Claudia; Martins, Marcelo Ramos; Abe, Alfredo; Muniz, Rafael O.R.; Gomes, Daniel de Souza; Silva, Antonio Teixeira e

2017-01-01

Accident tolerant fuels (ATF) has been studied since the Fukushima Daiichi accident in the research efforts to develop new materials which under accident scenarios could maintain the fuel rod integrity for a longer period compared to the cladding and fuel system usually utilized in Pressurized Water Reactors (PWR). The efforts have been focused on new materials applied as cladding, then iron-base alloys appear as a possible candidate. The aim of this paper is to implement modifications in a fuel performance code to evaluate the behavior of iron based alloys under Loss-of-Coolant Accident (LOCA) scenario. For this, initially the properties related to the thermal and mechanical behavior of iron-based alloys were obtained from the literature, appropriately adapted and introduced in the fuel performance code subroutines. The adopted approach was step by step modifications, where different versions of the code were created. The assessment of the implemented modification was carried out simulating an experiment available in the open literature (IFA-650.5) related to zirconium-based alloy fuel rods submitted to LOCA conditions. The obtained results for the iron-based alloy were compared to those obtained using the regular version of the fuel performance code for zircaloy-4. The obtained results have shown that the most important properties to be changed are those from the subroutines related to the mechanical properties of the cladding. The results obtained have shown that the burst is observed at a longer time for fuel rods with iron-based alloy, indicating the potentiality of this material to be used as cladding with ATF purposes. (author)

Long-term aging and loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) testing of electrical cables

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nelson, C.F.; Gauthier, G.; Carlin, F.

1996-10-01

Experiments were performed to assess the aging degradation and loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) behavior of electrical cables subjected to long-term aging exposures. Four different cable types were tested in both the U.S. and France: (1) U.S. 2 conductor with ethylene propylene rubber (EPR) insulation and a Hypalon jacket. (2) U.S. 3 conductor with cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) insulation and a Hypalon jacket. (3) French 3 conductor with EPR insulation and a Hypalon jacket. (4) French coaxial with polyethylene (PE) insulation and a PE jacket. The data represent up to 5 years of simultaneous aging where the cables were exposed to identical aging radiation doses at either 40 degrees C or 70 degrees C; however, the dose rate used for the aging irradiation was varied over a wide range (2-100 Gy/hr). Aging was followed by exposure to simulated French LOCA conditions. Several mechanical, electrical, and physical-chemical condition monitoring techniques were used to investigate the degradation behavior of the cables. All the cables, except for the French PE cable, performed acceptably during the aging and LOCA simulations. In general, cable degradation at a given dose was highest for the lowest dose rate, and the amount of degradation decreased as the dose rate was increased

Fuel Behaviour at High During RIA and LOCA Accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barrio del Juanes, M. T.; Garcia Cuesta, J. C.; Vallejo Diaz, I.; Herranz Puebla

2001-01-01

Safety analysis of high burnup fuel requires ensuring the acceptable performance under design basis accidents, in particular during conditions representative of Reactivity Accidents (RIA) and Loss-of-Coolant Accidents (LOCA). The report's objective is to compile the state of the art on these issues. This is mainly focused in the effort made to define the applicability of safety criteria to the high burnup fuel. Irradiation damage modifies fuel rod properties, thus the probability of fuel to withstand thermal and mechanical loads during an accident could be quite different compared with unirradiated fuel. From the thermal point of view, fuel conductivity is the most affected property, decreasing notably with irradiation. From the mechanical point of view, a change in the pellet microstructure at its periphery is observed at high burnup (remiffect). Cladding is also effected during operation, showing a significant external and internal corrosion. All these phenomena result in the decrease of efficiency in heat transfer an in the reduction of capability to accommodate mechanical loads; this situation is especially significant at high burnup, when pellet-cladding mechanical interaction is present. Knowledge about these phenomena is not possible without appropriate experimental programmes. The most relevant have been performed in France, Japan, United States and Russia. Results obtained with fuel at high burnup show significant differences with respect to the phenomena observed in fuel at the present discharge burnup. Indeed, this is the encouragement to research about this occurrence. This study is framed within the CSN-CIEMAT agreement, about Fuel Thermo-Mechanical Behaviour at High Burnup. (Author) 172 refs

Qinshan NPP large break LOCA safety analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shi Guobao; Tang Jiahuan; Zhou Quanfu; Wang Yangding

1997-01-01

Qinshan NPP is the first nuclear power plant in the mainland of China, a 300 MW(e) two-loop PWR. Large break LOCA is the design-basis accident of Qinshan NPP. Based on available computer codes, the own analysis method which complies with Appendix k of 10 CFR 50 has been established. The RELAP4/MOD7 code is employed for the calculations of blowdown, refill and reflood phase of the RCS respectively. The CONTEMPT-LT/028 code is used for the containment pressure and temperature analysis. The temperature transient in the hot rod is calculated using the FRAP-6T code. Conservative initial and functional assumptions were adopted during Qinshan NPP large break LOCA analysis. The results of the analysis show the applicable acceptance criteria for the loss-of-coolant accident are met

CANDU fuel behaviour under LOCA conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kohn, E.

1989-07-01

This report summarizes the current understanding of CANDU fuel-element behaviour under loss-of-coolant (LOCA) accidents. It focuses on a key in-reactor verification experiment conducted at Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) and on three Canadian in-reactor tests. The in-reactor data, and the considerable body of supporting information developed from out-reactor tests, support the general conclusion that CANDU fuel behaviour during LOCA transients is well understood. Four elements of 37-element CANDU fuel-bundle design were tested under conditions typical of a large-break LOCA blowdown in a CANDU reactor. The purpose of the test was to confirm our current understanding of fuel behaviour under loss-of-coolant accident blowdown conditions. The test also provided data for comparison with predictions made with the steady-state and transient fuel-element performance codes ELESIM and ELOCA. Key components of typical LOCA transients were incorporated in the test: namely, a rapid depressurization rate of the hot coolant, a simultaneous power increase before decreasing to decay values (a power pulse), and prototype fuel element under pre-transient power and burnup conditions. The test was successfully completed in the Power Burst Facility (PBF) reactor at INEL under contract to Ontario Hydro and AECL. The three CANDU Owners Group LOCA tests performed at Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories measured both the thermal-mechanical response and fission-gas release resulting from exposure to a LOCA transient. Results from these three tests provided further confirmation that the behaviour of the fuel under LOCA conditions is understood

CATHARE Assessment of PACTEL LOCA Experiments with Accident Management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luben Sabotinov

2010-01-01

Full Text Available This paper summarizes the analysis results of three PACTEL experiments, carried out with the advanced thermal-hydraulic system computer CATHARE 2 code as a part of the second work package WP2 (analytical work of the EC project “Improved Accident Management of VVER nuclear power plants” (IMPAM-VVER. The three LOCA experiments, conducted on the Finnish test facility PACTEL (VVER-440 model, represent 7.4% cold leg breaks with combination of secondary bleed and primary bleed and feed and different actuation modes of the passive safety injection. The code was used for both defining and analyzing the experiments, and to assess its capabilities in predicting the associated complex VVER-related phenomena. The code results are in reasonable agreement with the measurements, and the important physical phenomena are well predicted, although still further improvement and validation might be necessary.

The Effect of External Vessel Cooling for a 2 inch LOCA Severe Accident Scenario at SMART with MIDAS/SMR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Jong Hwa; Kim, Dong Ha; Chung, Young Jong; Park, Sun Hee; Cho, Seong Won

2010-01-01

KAERI is developing a new concept of reactor that all the main components such as the steam generator, the coolant pumps and the pressurizer are located inside the reactor vessel. This feature may prevent the large size of LOCA. However it is necessary to estimate the hypothetical severe accidents progression for improving the degree of safety and identifying the unknown weakness of the system against an accident. To simulate a hypothetical severe accident for the SMART, we adopt the MIDAS/SMR code which was developed by KAERI

Taipower's approach in development of in-house LOCA analysis capability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, L.C.

2004-01-01

One lesson learned from the Three Mile Island (TMI) accident was the analysis methods used by Nuclear Steam Supply System (NSSS) vendors and/or nuclear fuel suppliers for small break Loss Of Coolant Accident (LOCA) analysis for compliance with appendix K to 10CFR50 should be revised, so, a technology transfer program and a training program of a new LOCA analysis methodology for Taipower's engineers is briefly described in this paper. Also, an other lesson learned from the TMI accident was the plant-specific calculations using NRC-approved models for small-break LOCA to show compliance with 10CFR50.46 should be submitted for NRC approval, so, a study by Taiwan Power Company (TPC) under the guidance of Yankee Atomic Electric Company (YAEC) has been undertaken to perform this analysis for Maanshan nuclear power plant. The results of the 4 inch line break LOCA analysis is described in this paper. (author)

NPP Krsko small break LOCA analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mavko, B.; Petelin, S.; Peterlin, G.

1987-01-01

Parametric analysis of small break loss of coolant accident for the Krsko NPP was calculated by using RELAP5/MOD1 computer code. The model that was used in our calculations has been improved over several years and was previously tested in simulation (s) of start-up tests and known NPP Krsko transients. In our calculations we modelled automatic actions initiated by control, safety and protection systems. We also modelled the required operator actions as specified in emergency operating instructions. In small-break LOCA calculations, we varied break sizes in the cold leg. The influence of steam generator tube plugging on small break LOCA accidents was also analysed. (author)

Modeling study of droplet behavior during blowdown period of large break LOCA based on experimental data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sakaba, Hiroshi; Umezawa, Shigemitsu; Teramae, Tetsuya; Furukawa, Yuji

2004-01-01

During LOCA (Loss Of Coolant Accident) in PWR, droplets behavior during blowdown period is one of the important phenomena. For example, the spattering from falling liquid film that flows from upper plenum generates those droplets in core region. The behavior of droplets in such flow has strong effect for cladding temperature behavior because these droplets are able to remove heat from a reactor core by its direct contact on fuel rods and its evaporation at the surface. For safety analysis of LOCA in PWR, it is necessary to evaluate droplet diameter precisely in order to predict fuel cladding temperature changing by the calculation code. Based on the test results, a new droplet behavior model was developed for the MCOBRA/TRC code that predicts the droplet behavior during such LOCA events. Furthermore, the verification calculations that simulated some blowdown tests were performed using by the MCOBRA/TRAC code. These results indicated the validity of this droplet model during blow down cooling period. The experiment was focused on investigating the Weber number of steady droplet in the blow down phenomenon of large break LOCA. (author)

Generic Safety Issue (GSI) 171 -- Engineered Safety Feature (ESF) failure from a loop subsequent to LOCA: Assessment of plant vulnerability and CDF contributions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martinez-Guridi, G.; Samanta, P.; Chu, L.; Yang, J.

1998-01-01

Generic Safety Issue 171 (GSI-171), Engineered Safety Feature (ESF) from a Loss Of Offsite Power (LOOP) subsequent to a Loss Of Coolant Accident (LOCA), deals with an accident sequence in which a LOCA is followed by a LOOP. This issue was later broadened to include a LOOP followed by a LOCA. Plants are designed to handle a simultaneous LOCA and LOOP. In this paper, the authors address the unique issues that are involved i LOCA with delayed LOOP (LOCA/LOOP) and LOOP with delayed LOCA (LOOP/LOCA) accident sequences. LOCA/LOOP accidents are analyzed further by developing event-tree/fault-tree models to quantify their contributions to core-damage frequency (CDF) in a pressurized water reactor and a boiling water reactor (PWR and a BWR). Engineering evaluation and judgments are used during quantification to estimate the unique conditions that arise in a LOCA/LOOP accident. The results show that the CDF contribution of such an accident can be a dominant contributor to plant risk, although BWRs are less vulnerable than PWRs

Estimation of LOCA break size using cascaded Fuzzy neural networks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Choi, Geon Pil; Yoo, Kwae Hwan; Back, Ju Hyun; Na, Man Gyun [Dept. of Nuclear Engineering, Chosun University, Gwangju (Korea, Republic of)

2017-04-15

Operators of nuclear power plants may not be equipped with sufficient information during a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA), which can be fatal, or they may not have sufficient time to analyze the information they do have, even if this information is adequate. It is not easy to predict the progression of LOCAs in nuclear power plants. Therefore, accurate information on the LOCA break position and size should be provided to efficiently manage the accident. In this paper, the LOCA break size is predicted using a cascaded fuzzy neural network (CFNN) model. The input data of the CFNN model are the time-integrated values of each measurement signal for an initial short-time interval after a reactor scram. The training of the CFNN model is accomplished by a hybrid method combined with a genetic algorithm and a least squares method. As a result, LOCA break size is estimated exactly by the proposed CFNN model.

Hydrogen production in a PWR during LOCA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cassette, P.

1983-12-01

The purpose of this paper is to provide information on hydrogen generation during LOCA in French 900 MW PWR power plants. The design basis accident is taken into account as well as more severe accidents assuming failure of emergency systems

A thermohydraulic analysis for LOCA accident of a CANDU 600 reactor core charged with SEU 43 fuel by means of FIREBIRD code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Serbanel, M.; Catana, A.

2001-01-01

This report presents a comparative analysis of the behaviour of primary circuit during a LOCA 20% RIH accident for two types of reactor core, namely, normally charged, i.e., with clusters of 37 rods and charged with clusters of 43 rods, respectively. This type of accident was chosen since Canadian analyses showed that the associated transient regime stress the fuel elements. The void reactivity as a function of coolant average density was calibrated for a reference regime (LOCA 20% RIH) so that the results of the model be able to reproduce the average distribution in the reference transient regime. The computation makes use of CERBERUS and FIREBIRD codes externally coupled by files. The void reactivity of the hot pencil was obtained this way. An extremely conservative hypothesis was used, namely that the momentary power of the cluster hosting the pencil is the maximal power over the cluster for the corresponding half reactor core. To carry out this work the following steps were covered: 1. The scenario for the LOCA 20% RIH accident was worked out and the input data corresponding to the thermohydraulic and neutronic modules, for the complex model and the 37 rod clusters, were checked; 2. The input data corresponding to the thermohydraulic module for the complex model and the 43 rod cluster were checked; 3. The kinetic parameters corresponding to the 37 rod cluster were computed; 4. The kinetic parameters corresponding to the 43 rod cluster were computed and the file for the input data in the neutronic module was built; 5. A sub-routine for writing files with the thermohydraulic and neutronic quantities, in a format adequate to the other programs, was implemented; 6. The two transient regimes considered were implemented and the archives containing the quantities were built ;7. The results obtained were analyzed. The conclusion of this work is that in case of LOCA 20% RIH accident the 43 bar clusters have a better behaviour than the 37 bar clusters

Research on loss of coolant accident of pressurized-water reactor based on PSO algorithm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma Jie; Guo Lifeng; Peng Qiao

2012-01-01

In order to improve the diagnosis performance of Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA), based on Back Propagation (BP) algorithm study, a fault diagnosis network is established based on Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm in this paper. The PSO algorithm is used to train the weights and the thresholds of neural network, which can conquer part convergence problem of BP algorithm. The test results show that the diagnosis network has higher accuracy of LOCA. (authors)

LOCA analysis of the IRIS reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bajs, T.; Grgic, D.; Cavlina, N.

2003-01-01

The IRIS reactor (International Reactor Innovative and Secure) is an integral, light water cooled, medium power reactor. IRIS has been selected as an International Near Term Deployable (INTD) reactor, within the Generation IV International Forum activities. The IRIS concept addresses the key-requirements defined by the US DOE for next generation reactors, i.e. enhanced reliability and safety, and improved economics. It features innovative, advanced engineering, but it is firmly based on the proven technology of pressurized water reactors (PWR). An innovative safety approach has been developed to mitigate the IRIS response to small-to-medium Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA). This strategy is based on the interaction of IRIS compact containment with the reactor vessel to limit initial blowdown, and on depressurization through the use of a passive Emergency Heat Removal System (EHRS). A small Automatic Depressurization System (ADS) provides supplementary depressurization capability. A pressure suppression system is provided to limit the pressure peak following the initial blowdown to well below the containment design limit. The ultimate result is that during a small-to-medium LOCA, the core remains covered for an extended period of time, without credit for emergency water injection or external core makeup. The IRIS LOCA response is based on 'maintaining water inventory' rather than on the principle of safety injection. This novel safety approach poses significant issues for computational and analysis methods since the IRIS vessel and containment are strongly coupled, and the system response is based on the interaction between the two. The small break LOCA was calculated using RELAP5/mod3.3 and GOTHIC codes. Break of the largest line connected to the IRIS Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV) was analyzed. The results of the calculations confirmed good performance of the IRIS system during LOCA. (author)

Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA) / Emergency Core Coolant System (ECCS Evaluation of Risk-Informed Margins Management Strategies for a Representative Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Szilard, Ronaldo Henriques [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

2016-09-01

A Risk Informed Safety Margin Characterization (RISMC) toolkit and methodology are proposed for investigating nuclear power plant core, fuels design and safety analysis, including postulated Loss-of-Coolant Accident (LOCA) analysis. This toolkit, under an integrated evaluation model framework, is name LOCA toolkit for the US (LOTUS). This demonstration includes coupled analysis of core design, fuel design, thermal hydraulics and systems analysis, using advanced risk analysis tools and methods to investigate a wide range of results.

Statistics and integral experiments in the verification of LOCA calculations models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Margolis, S.G.

1978-01-01

The LOCA (loss of coolant accident) is a hypothesized, low-probability accident used as a licensing basis for nuclear power plants. Computer codes which have been under development for at least a decade have been the principal tools used to assess the consequences of the hypothesized LOCA. Models exist in two versions. In EM's (Evaluation Models) the basic engineering calculations are constrained by a detailed set of assumptions spelled out in the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR 50, Appendix K). In BE Models (Best Estimate Models) the calculations are based on fundamental physical laws and available empirical correlations. Evaluation models are intended to have a pessimistic bias; Best Estimate Models are intended to be unbiased. Because evaluation models play a key role in reactor licensing, they must be conservative. A long-sought objective has been to assess this conservatism by combining Best Estimate Models with statisticallly established error bounds, based on experiment. Within the last few years, an extensive international program of LOCA experiments has been established to provide the needed data. This program has already produced millions of measurements of temperature, density, and flow and millions of more measurements are yet to come

A synopsis of experimental activities on small-break LOCA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hein, D.

1984-01-01

Through reactor safety studies like WASH 1400 or the ''Deutsche Risiko-Studie'' the attention has turned from large break loss of coolant accidents to small breaks because of the high contribution of this type of accidents to core meltdown. But only after the TMI-2 accident were also the main activities in the experimental fields shifted world-wide to the small break LOCAs. Since TMI numerous research programs have either been finished or are underway. This review paper presents: a classification of the various types of transients according to break size; a discussion of major physical phenomena associated with a small break LOCA, and a description of a few selected research programs and the most important results achieved. (author)

Analysis for Passive Safety Injection of IPSS in Various LOCAs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Sangho; Chang, Soonheung

2013-01-01

The Fukushima accident shows US the possibility of accidents that are beyond a designed imagination. Lots of lessons can be shortly summarized into three issues. First of all, the original cause was the occurrence of a Station Black-Out (SBO). Even if engineers considered the possibility of a loss of offsite power enough to be managed, the failure of EDGs seemed to be unnoticed. The second is poor operation and accident management. They could not understand the overall system and did not check the availability of alternating systems. The third is the large release of radioactive materials outside the containment. Even if SBO occurred and the accident was not managed well, all the means must have prevented the large release out of containment. After that, lots of problems were pointed and numerous actions were carried out in each country. The representative proposals are AAC, additional physical barrier, bunker concept and large big tank. Integrated passive safety system (IPSS) was proposed as one of the solutions for enhancing the safety. IPSS can cope with a SBO and accidents with a SBO. IPSS has five functions which are passive decay heat removal, passive safety injection, passive containment cooling, passive in-vessel retention and filtered venting system. The results showed a high performance of removing decay heat through steam generator cooling by forming natural circulation in the primary circuit. The design concept of passive safety injection system (PSIS) consists of the injection line from integrated passive safety tank (IPST) to reactor vessel. The previous works were only focused on a double ended guillotine break LOCA in SBO. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the performance of PSIS in IPSS for various LOCAs by using MARS (Multi-dimensional Analysis of Reactor Safety) code. The simulated accidents were LOCAs which were accompanied with a SBO. The conditions of the LOCAs were varied only for the size of break. It shall show the capability of PSIS

Scenarios simulation of severe accident type small loss of coolant (Loca), with the code MELCOR version 2.1 for the nuclear power plant of Laguna Verde; Simulacion de escenarios de accidente severo tipo perdida de refrigerante (Loca) pequeno, con el codigo MELCOR version 2.1 para la central nucleo-electrica de Laguna Verde

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cardenas V, J.; Mugica R, C. A.; Godinez S, V., E-mail: Jaime.cardenas@cnsns.gob.mx [Comision Nacional de Seguridad Nuclear y Salvaguardias, Dr. Jose Ma. Barragan No. 779, Col. Narvarte, 03020 Mexico D. F. (Mexico)

2013-10-15

In this work was carried out the analysis of two scenarios of the accident type with loss of coolant in a recirculation loop for a break with smaller ares to 0.1 ft{sup 2} (4.6 cm{sup 2}), which is classified according to their size like small Loca. The first simulated scenario was a small Loca without action of the emergency coolant injection systems, and the second was a small Loca with only the available system LPCS. This design base accident was taken into account for its relevance with regard to the damage to the core and the hydrogen generation. Was also observed and analyzed the response of the action of the ECCS that depend of the loss of coolant reason and this in turn depends of the size and type of the pipe break. The specified scenarios were simulated by means of the use of MELCOR model for the nuclear power plant of Laguna Verde that has the Comision Nacional de Seguridad Nuclear y Salvaguardias. (Author)

Rate theory scenarios study on fission gas behavior of U 3 Si 2 under LOCA conditions in LWRs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Miao, Yinbin; Gamble, Kyle A.; Andersson, David; Mei, Zhi-Gang; Yacout, Abdellatif M.

2018-01-01

Fission gas behavior of U3Si2 under various loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) conditions in light water reactors (LWRs) was simulated using rate theory. A rate theory model for U3Si2 that covers both steady-state operation and power transients was developed for the GRASS-SST code based on existing research reactor/ion irradiation experimental data and theoretical predictions of density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The steady-state and LOCA condition parameters were either directly provided or inspired by BISON simulations. Due to the absence of in-pile experiment data for U3Si2's fuel performance under LWR conditions at this stage of accident tolerant fuel (ATF) development, a variety of LOCA scenarios were taken into consideration to comprehensively and conservatively evaluate the fission gas behavior of U3Si2 during a LOCA.

Preliminary Analysis of Severe Accident Progression Initiated from Small Break LOCA of a SMART Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jin, Young Ho; Park, Jong Hwa; Kim, Dong Ha; Cho, Seong Won

2010-01-01

SMART (System integrated Modular Advanced ReacTor), is under the development at Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI). SMART is an integral type pressurized water reactor which contains a pressurizer, 4 reactor coolant pumps (RCPs), and 8 steam generator cassettes(S/Gs) in a single reactor vessel. This reactor has substantially enhanced its safety with an integral layout of its major components, 4 trains of safety injection systems (SISs), and an adoption of 4 trains of passive residual heat removal systems (PRHRS) instead of an active auxiliary feedwater system . The thermal power is 330 MWth. During the conceptual design stage, a preliminary PSA was performed. PSA results identified that a small break loss of coolant accident (SLOCA) with all safety injections unavailable is one of important severe core damage sequences. Clear understanding of this sequence helps in the developing accident mitigation strategies. MIDAS/SMR computer code is used to simulate the severe accident progression initiated from a small break LOCA in SMART reactor. This code has capability to model a helical steam generator which is adopted in SMART reactor. The important accident progression results for SMART reactor are then compared with the typical pressurized water reactor (PWR) result

Fast instrumentation for loss of coolant accident (LOCA) experimental studies pertaining to nuclear reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Venkat Raj, V.; Sreenivas Rao, G.; Belokar, D.G.; Dolas, P.K.

1989-01-01

The loss of coolant accident (LOCA) which involves a breach in the pressure boundary of the primary coolant system (PCS) is one of the postulated accident conditions against which the safety of the reactor system is to be ensured. Mathematical models have been developed to analyse this kind of transients. However, because of the extremely complicated nature of the phenomena involved, it is necessary to validate the analytical models with appropriate experimental data. Many parameters are to be measured during the experiments, out of which temperature, pressure, void fraction and two-phase mass flow rate are the most important parameters. Since the phenomenon is very fast, special fast response instruments are required. This paper deals with the considerations that govern the selection of appropriate instruments and the development of suitable instruments for transient two-phase flow and void fraction measurements. The requirements of the associated fast data acquisition system are also discussed. (author). 4 figs

Loss of Coolant Accidents (LOCA): Study of CAREM Reactor Response

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gonzalez, Jose; Gimenez, Marcelo

2000-01-01

We analyzed the neutronic and thermohydraulic response of CAREM25 reactor and the safety systems involved in a Loss Of Coolant Accident (LOCA).This parametric analysis considers several break diameters (1/2inch, 3/4inch, 1inch, 1.1/2inch and 2inches) in the vapor zone of the Reactor Pressure Vessel.For each accidental sequence, the successful operation of the following safety systems is modeled: Second Safety System (SSS), Residual Heat Removal System (RHRS) and Safety Injection System (SIS). Availability of only one module is postulated for each system.On the other hand, the unsuccessful operation of all safety systems is postulated for each accidental sequence.In both cases the First Shutdown System (FSS) actuates, and the loss of Steam Generator secondary flow and Chemical and Control of Volume System (CCVS) unavailability are postulated.Maximum loss of coolant flow, reactor power and time for safety systems operation are analyzed, as well as its set point parameters.We verified that safety systems are dimensioned to satisfy the 48 hours cooling criteria

Beyond designed functional margins in CANDU type NPP. Radioactive nuclei assessment in an LOCA type accident

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Budu Andrei Razvan

2015-01-01

Full Text Available European Union's energy roadmap up to year 2050 states that in order to have an efficient and sustainable economy, with minimum or decreasing greenhouse gas emissions, along with use of renewable resources, each constituent state has the option for nuclear energy production as one desirable option. Every scenario considered for tackling climate change issues, along with security of supply positions the nuclear energy as a recommended option, an option that is highly competitive with respect to others. Nuclear energy, along with other renewable power sources are considered to be the main pillars in the energy sector for greenhouse gas emission mitigation at European level. European Union considers that nuclear energy must be treated as a highly recommended option since it can contribute to security of energy supply. Romania showed excellent track-records in operating in a safe and economically sound manner of Cernavoda NPP Units 1&2. Both Units are in top 10 worldwide in terms of capacity factor. Due to Romania's need to ensure the security of electricity supply, to meet the environmental targets and to move to low carbon generation technologies, Cernavoda Units 3&4 Project appears as a must. This Project was started in 2010 and it is expected to have the Units running by 2025. Cost effective and safety operation of a Nuclear Power Plant is made taking into consideration functional limits of its equipment. As common practice, every nuclear reactor type (technology used is tested according to the worse credible accident or equipment failure that can occur. For CANDU type reactor, this is a Loss of Cooling Accident (LOCA. In a LOCA type accident in a CANDU NPP, using RELAP/SCDAP code for fuel bundle damage assessment the radioactive nuclei are to be quantified. Recently, CANDU type NPP accidents are studied using the RELAP/SCDAP code only. The code formerly developed for PWR type reactors was adapted for the CANDU geometry and can assess the

A passive decay heat removal strategy of the integrated passive safety system (IPSS) for SBO combined with LOCA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Sang Ho; Chang, Soon Heung; Choi, Yu Jung; Jeong, Yong Hoon

2015-01-01

Highlights: • A new PDHR strategy is proposed to cope with SBO-combined accidents. • The concept of integrated passive safety system (IPSS) is used in this strategy. • This strategy performs the functions of passive safety injection and SG gravity injection. • LOCAs in SBO are classified by the pressures in reactor coolant system for passive functions. • The strategy can be integrated with EOP and SAMG as a complementary strategy for ensuring safety. - Abstract: An integrated passive safety system (IPSS), to be achieved by the use of a large water tank placed at high elevation outside the containment, was proposed to achieve various passive functions. These include decay heat removal, safety injection, containment cooling, in-vessel retention through external reactor vessel cooling, and containment filtered venting. The purpose of the passive decay heat removal (PDHR) strategy using the IPSS is to cope with SBO and SBO-combined accidents under the assumption that existing engineered safety features have failed. In this paper, a PDHR strategy was developed based on the design and accident management strategy of Korean representative PWR, the OPR1000. The functions of a steam generator gravity injection and a passive safety injection system in the IPSS with safety depressurization systems were included in the PDHR strategy. Because the inadvertent opening of pressurizer valves and seal water leakage from RCPs could cause a loss of coolant in an SBO, LOCAs during a SBO were simulated to verify the performance of the strategy. The failure of active safety injection in LOCAs could also be covered by this strategy. Although LOCAs have generally been categorized according to their equivalent break diameters, the RCS pressure is used to classify the LOCAs during SBOs. The criteria values for categorization were determined from the proposed systems, which could maintain a reactor in a safe state by removing the decay heat for the SBO coping time of 8 h. The

A passive decay heat removal strategy of the integrated passive safety system (IPSS) for SBO combined with LOCA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Sang Ho [Department of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, 291, Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34141 (Korea, Republic of); Chang, Soon Heung [Handong Global University, 558, Handong-ro, Buk-gu, Pohang Gyeongbuk 37554 (Korea, Republic of); Choi, Yu Jung [Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co.—Central Research Institute, 70, 1312-gil, Yuseong-daero, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34101 (Korea, Republic of); Jeong, Yong Hoon, E-mail: jeongyh@kaist.ac.kr [Department of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, 291, Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34141 (Korea, Republic of)

2015-12-15

Highlights: • A new PDHR strategy is proposed to cope with SBO-combined accidents. • The concept of integrated passive safety system (IPSS) is used in this strategy. • This strategy performs the functions of passive safety injection and SG gravity injection. • LOCAs in SBO are classified by the pressures in reactor coolant system for passive functions. • The strategy can be integrated with EOP and SAMG as a complementary strategy for ensuring safety. - Abstract: An integrated passive safety system (IPSS), to be achieved by the use of a large water tank placed at high elevation outside the containment, was proposed to achieve various passive functions. These include decay heat removal, safety injection, containment cooling, in-vessel retention through external reactor vessel cooling, and containment filtered venting. The purpose of the passive decay heat removal (PDHR) strategy using the IPSS is to cope with SBO and SBO-combined accidents under the assumption that existing engineered safety features have failed. In this paper, a PDHR strategy was developed based on the design and accident management strategy of Korean representative PWR, the OPR1000. The functions of a steam generator gravity injection and a passive safety injection system in the IPSS with safety depressurization systems were included in the PDHR strategy. Because the inadvertent opening of pressurizer valves and seal water leakage from RCPs could cause a loss of coolant in an SBO, LOCAs during a SBO were simulated to verify the performance of the strategy. The failure of active safety injection in LOCAs could also be covered by this strategy. Although LOCAs have generally been categorized according to their equivalent break diameters, the RCS pressure is used to classify the LOCAs during SBOs. The criteria values for categorization were determined from the proposed systems, which could maintain a reactor in a safe state by removing the decay heat for the SBO coping time of 8 h. The

Safety studies on LOCA for N.S. Mutsu

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kawasaki, Masayuki; Yaguchi, Shinnosuke

1978-01-01

A number of safety studies are under way concerning the reactor plant of N.S. Mutsu. One such study relates to Loss of Coolant Accidents (LOCA), which has been conducted to cover mainly the two subjects of experiments to ascertain the integrity of stainless steel fuel cladding under the action of the Emergency Core Cooling System (ECCS), and analysis of containment integrity following a LOCA. The stainless steel cladding tests were conducted to test swelling, rupture, oxidation and compression characteristics. Few reports are known to have been published in this domain, so that the present results should prove useful for future studies related to ECCS evaluation analyses on stainless steel fuel cladding. The containment integrity analysis covered variations of containment pressure and temperature following a LOCA, performed separately for short- and long-term periods. Estimates were also made on the changes in the hydrogen concentration present inside the containment after a LOCA. The results obtained should serve in determining the characteristic response to LOCA of marine reactor plants

Replacement divider plate performance under LOCA loading

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huynk, H.M.; MClellan, G.H.; Schneider, W.G.

1997-01-01

A primary divider plate in a nuclear steam generator is required to perform its partitioning function with a minimum of cross leakage, without degradation in operating performance and without loss of structural integrity resulting from normal and accident loading. The design of the replacement divider plate for normal operating conditions is discussed in some detail in reference 1 and 2. This paper describes the structural response of the replacement divider plate to the severe loading resulting from a burst primary pipe. The loads for which the divider plate structural performance must be evaluated are mild to severe differential pressure transients resulting from several postulated sizes and types of pipe break scenarios. In the unlikely event of a severe Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA) the divider plate or parts thereof must not exit the steam generator nor completely block the outlet nozzle. For the milder LOCA loads, the integrity of the divider plate and seat bars must be maintained. Analysis for the milder LOCA loads was carried out employing a conservative approach which ignores the actual interaction between the structure and the primary fluid. For these load cases it was shown that the divider plate does not become disengaged from the seat bars. For the more severe pipe breaks, the thermal-hydraulic analysis was coupled iteratively with the structural analysis, thereby taking into account divider plate deformation, in order to obtain a better prediction of the behaviour of the divider plate. In this manner substantial reduction in divider plate response to the more severe LOCA loading was achieved. It has been shown that, for the case of a postulated large LOCA (100% reactor inlet header), the disengagement of the divider plate from the seat bars resulted in an opening smaller than 1% of the divider plate area. (author)

An estimation of the accident sequence of the LOCA groups for the PSA model of the KSNP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Han, Seok Jung; Yang, Joon Eon

2004-01-01

A new trend of the probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) technology is to improve and enhance the current PSA model to be adequate for risk-informed applications (RIA). Requirements of a PSA model for the RIA are summarized as (1) reduction of the conservatism in the model utilizing all available information and (2) consideration of the specific features of a plant as designed, as operated. This is because the PSA based on conservatism and insufficient consideration of the plant-specific features resulted in a shadow effect on the assessment results. When a PSA model is used in a risk-informed application, more precise risk-information is more helpful to decision making process, so the reduction of the conservatism and the consideration of the plant-specific features in a PSA model are the most essential elements. Recently, an effort has been performed to modify the current PSA model for the Korea Standard Nuclear Power plant (KSNP) to be used in risk-informed applications. A re-estimation of the accident sequence of the loss of coolant accident (LOCA) groups for the PSA model of the KSNP has been performed

Accomplishments of LOCA/ECCS experimental research at Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tasaka, Kanji; Murao, Yoshio; Koizumi, Yasuo

1984-01-01

Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute has investigated loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA)/emergency core cooling system (ECCS) from 1970. Major results of the LOCA/ECCS research are summarized in this report. ROSA-II program was LOCA/ECCS research for a pressurized water reactor (PWR) and ROSA-III program was for a boiling water reactor (BWR). The both test facilities were scaled at approximately 1/400 of the respective reference PWR and BWR. Large scale reflood test is research on reflood phenomena during a large break LOCA of PWR. The test facility is scaled at approximately 1/20 of the reference PWR and the research is still being continued. (author)

Mitigating Capability Analysis during LOCA for Korean Standard Nuclear Power Plants in Containment Integrity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Choi, Young; Park, Soo Yong; Kim, D. H.; Song, Y. M. [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2007-07-01

The objective of this paper is to establish Containment spray operational technical bases for the typical Korean Standard Nuclear Power plants (Ulchin units 3 and 4) by modeling the plant, and analyzing a loss of coolant accident (LOCA) using the MAAP code. The severe accident phenomena at nuclear power plants have large uncertainties. For the integrity of the reactor vessel and containment safety against severe accidents, it is essential to understand severe accident sequences and to assess the accident progression accurately by computer codes. Furthermore, it is important to attain the capability to analyze a advanced nuclear reactor design for a severe accident prevention and mitigation.

A simplified time-dependent recovery model as applied to RCP seal LOCAs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kohut, P.; Bozoki, G.; Fitzpatrick, R.

1991-01-01

In Westinghouse-designed reactors, the reactor coolant pump (RCP) seals constantly require a modest amount of cooling. This cooling function depends on the service water (SW) system. Upon the loss of the cooling function due to the unavailability of the SW, component cooling water system or electrical power (station blackout), the RCP seals may degrade, resulting in a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA). Recent studies indicate that the frequency of the loss of SW initiating events is higher than previously thought. This change significantly increases the core damage frequency contribution from RCP seal failure. The most critical/dominant element in the loss of SW events was found to be the SW-induced RCP seal failure. For these potential accident scenarios, there are large uncertainties regarding the actual frequency of RCP seal LOCA, the resulting leakage rate, and time-dependent behavior. The roles of various recovery options based on the time evolution of the seal LOCA have been identified and taken into account in recent NUREG-1150 probabilistic risk assessment PRA analyses. In this paper, a consistent time-dependent recovery model is described that takes into account the effects of various recovery actions based on explicit considerations given to a spectrum of time- and flow-rate dependencies. The model represents a simplified approach but is especially useful when extensive seal leak rate and core uncovery information is unavailable

Evaluation of post-LOCA long term cooling performance in Korean standard nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bang, Young Seok; Jung, Jae Won; Seul, Kwang Won; Kim, Hho Jung

2001-01-01

The post-LOCA long term cooling (LTC) performance of the Korean Standard Nuclear Power Plant (KSNPP) is analyzed for both small break loss-of-coolant accidents (LOCA) and large break LOCA at cold leg. The RELAP5/MOD3.2.2 beta code is used to calculate the LTC sequences based on the LTC plan of the Korean Standard Nuclear Power Plants (KSNPP). A standard input model is developed such that LOCA and the followed LTC sequence can be calculated in a single run for both small break LOCA and large break LOCA. A spectrum of small break LOCA ranging from 0.02 to 0.5 ft 2 of break area and a double-ended guillotine break are analyzed. Through the code calculations, the thermal-hydraulic behavior and the boron behavior are evaluated and the effect of the important action including the safety injection tank (SIT) isolation and the simultaneous injection in LTC procedure is investigated. As a result, it is found that the sufficient margin is available in avoiding the boron precipitation in the core. It is also found that a further specific condition for the SIT isolation action need to be setup and it is recommended that the early initiation of the simultaneous injection be taken for larger break LTC sequences. (author)

Sensitivity Study on Analysis of Reactor Containment Response to LOCA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chung, Ku Young; Sung, Key Yong

2010-01-01

As a reactor containment vessel is the final barrier to the release of radioactive material during design basis accidents (DBAs), its structural integrity must be maintained by withstanding the high pressure conditions resulting from DBAs. To verify the structural integrity of the containment, response analyses are performed to get the pressure transient inside the containment after DBAs, including loss of coolant accidents (LOCAs). The purpose of this study is to give regulative insights into the importance of input variables in the analysis of containment responses to a large break LOCA (LBLOCA). For the sensitivity study, a LBLOCA in Kori 3 and 4 nuclear power plant (NPP) is analyzed by CONTEMPT-LT computer code

Sensitivity Study on Analysis of Reactor Containment Response to LOCA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chung, Ku Young; Sung, Key Yong [Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2010-10-15

As a reactor containment vessel is the final barrier to the release of radioactive material during design basis accidents (DBAs), its structural integrity must be maintained by withstanding the high pressure conditions resulting from DBAs. To verify the structural integrity of the containment, response analyses are performed to get the pressure transient inside the containment after DBAs, including loss of coolant accidents (LOCAs). The purpose of this study is to give regulative insights into the importance of input variables in the analysis of containment responses to a large break LOCA (LBLOCA). For the sensitivity study, a LBLOCA in Kori 3 and 4 nuclear power plant (NPP) is analyzed by CONTEMPT-LT computer code

LOCA, LOFA and LOVA analyses pertaining to NET/ITER safety design guidance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ebert, E.; Raeder, J.

1991-01-01

The analyses presented pertain to loss of coolant accidents (LOCA), loss of coolant flow accidents (LOFA) and loss of vacuum accidents (LOVA). These types of accidents may jeopardise components and plasma vessel integrity and cause radioactivity mobilisation. The analyses reviewed have been performed under the assumption that the plasma facing components are protected by a carbon based armour. Accidental temperatures and pressure transients are quantified, the possibility of reaction products combustion is investigated and worst case accidental public doses are assessed. On this basis, design recommendations are given and design features such as low plasma facing components armour temperatures (on almost the entire surface) and inert gas adjacent to the vacuum vessel have been implemented. (orig.)

An IPSN research programme to resolve pending LOCA issues

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mailliat, A.; Grandjean, C.; Clement, B.

2001-01-01

Studies performed in IPSN and elsewhere pointed out that high burnup may induce specific effects under LOCA conditions, especially those related with fuel relocation. Uncertainties exist regarding how much these effects might affect the late evolution of the accident transient and the associated safety issues. IPSN estimates that a better knowledge of specific phenomena is required in order to resolve the pending uncertainties related to LOCA criteria. IPSN is preparing the so called APRP-Irradie (High Burnup fuel LOCA) programme. One of the important aspect of this programme is in-pile experiments involving bundle geometries in the PHEBUS facility located at Cadarache, France. A feasibility study for such an experimental programme is underway and should provide soon, a finalized project including cost and schedule aspects. (authors)

MELCOR ex-vessel LOCA simulations for ITER+

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gaeta, M.J.; Merrill, B.J.; Bartels, H.W.

1995-01-01

Ex-vessel Loss-of-Coolant-Accident (LOCA) simulations for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) were performed using the MELCOR code. The main goals of this work were to estimate the ultimate pressurization of the heat transport system (HTS) vault in order to gauge the potential for stack releases and to estimate the total amount of hydrogen generated during a design basis ex-vessel LOCA. Simulation results indicated that the amount of hydrogen produced in each transient was below the flammability limit for the plasma chamber. In addition, only moderate pressurization of the HTS vault indicated a very small potential for releases through the stack

Prediction of Golden Time for Recovering the Safety Injection System in Severe LOCA Circumstances

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoo, Kwae Hwan; Kim, Dong Young; Choi, Geon Pil; Back, Ju Hyun; Na, Man Gyun

2015-01-01

In this study, the core uncovery and RV failure according to LOCA break sizes were analyzed by using the MAAP4 code when safety injection system (SIS) was not operating normally. We predicted the golden time of SIS recovery for accomplishing the reactor cold shutdown and preventing RV failure. MAAP4 code was used for severe accident analysis. The LOCA simulations were performed with break size in order to predict the golden time to recovery SIS. We predicted the golden time according to the SIS operation cases through the simulation of OPR1000. When LOCA occurred, the normal operation of SIS is very important in maintaining the integrity of NPPs. However if the SIS does not work or its actuation is delayed due to failure of the equipment, the DBA will lead to a severe accident. In this study, accident situations that SIS does not work normally were assumed and a number of MAAP4 code simulations were conducted. In addition, core uncovery time and RV failure time were predicted. If the recovery time of SIS for accident recovery is predicted, the core will not be exposed through appropriate action

In-core LOCA (PTR) analysis with poisoned moderator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, S. R.; Kim, B. G.; Kim, T. M.; Choi, J. H.; Kim, Yun Ho; Choi, Hoon

2005-01-01

CANDU reactors have been analyzed and evaluated for the postulated in-core LOCA while the reactor is operating normally with low moderator poison concentration. However, when the reactor is operating with relatively large amounts of boron and/or gadolinium poisons in the moderator, the assessment for fuel integrity was required for pressure tube rupture (PTR) accident. The methodology of in-core LOCA analysis with poisoned moderator is developed to determine the effective trip parameters, evaluate the fuel integrity, and establish the standard reactor start-up model for CANDU reactor recently. The developed methodology and results are presented

LOCA analysis of SCWR-M with passive safety system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, X.J., E-mail: xiaojingliu@sjtu.edu.cn [School of Nuclear Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dong Chuan Road, Shanghai 200240 (China); Fu, S.W. [Navy University of Engineering, Wuhan, Hubei (China); Xu, Z.H. [Shanghai Nuclear Engineering Research and Design Institute, Shanghai (China); Yang, Y.H. [School of Nuclear Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dong Chuan Road, Shanghai 200240 (China); Cheng, X. [Institute of Fusion and Nuclear Technology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Kaiserstr. 12, 76131 Karlsruhe (Germany)

2013-06-15

Highlights: • Application of the ATHLET-SC code to the trans-critical analysis for SCWR. • Development of a passive safety system for SCWR-M. • Analysis of hot/cold leg LOCA behaviour with different break size. • Introduction of some mitigation measures for SCWR-M -- Abstract: A new SCWR conceptual design (mixed spectrum supercritical water cooled reactor: SCWR-M) is proposed by Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU). R and D activities covering core design, safety system design and code development of SCWR-M are launched at SJTU. Safety system design and analysis is one of the key tasks during the development of SCWR-M. Considering the current advanced reactor design, a new passive safety system for SCWR-M including isolation cooling system (ICS), accumulator injection system (ACC), gravity driven cooling system (GDCS) and automatic depressurization system (ADS) is proposed. Based on the modified and preliminarily assessed system code ATHLET-SC, loss of coolant accident (LOCA) analysis for hot and cold leg is performed in this paper. Three different break sizes are analyzed to clarify the hot and cold LOCA characteristics of the SCWR-M. The influence of the break location and break size on the safety performance of SCWR-M is also concluded. Several measures to induce the core coolant flow and to mitigate core heating up are also discussed. The results achieved so far demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed passive safety system to keep the SCWR-M core at safety condition during loss of coolant accident.

Critical heat flux concerns during the flow instability phase of a DEGB LOCA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shadday, M.A. Jr.

1990-08-01

Arguments are presented that support the proposal that a separate burnout risk analysis, for the Flow Instability (FI) phase of a LOCA, not be required for reactor restart. With expected reactor power limits, flow instability will occur before critical heat flux (CHF). Since FI power limits preclude the occurrence of flow instability in a bounding accident, a DEGB LOCA, the risk of CHF and attendant burnout is negligible. A review of RDAP data revealed that in the past reactor assemblies operated at flow and power conditions similar to those expected in a LOCA without burnout occurring. This is strong bounding empirical evidence, without the scaling concerns of laboratory experiments. A bounding analysis of the influences of assembly non-idealities on CHF, power tilts, and channel eccentricity, is included. The margin between operating heat fluxes, during the postulated LOCA, and CHF was quantified by scoping calculations. Based on measured azimuthal power variations, the local heat flux would have to be more than 20 standard deviations above the calculated mean heat flux for CHF to occur

ANALISIS KONDISI TERAS REAKTOR DAYA MAJU AP1000 PADA KECELAKAAN SMALL BREAK LOCA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andi Sofrany Ekariansyah

2015-06-01

Full Text Available ABSTRAK ANALISIS KONDISI TERAS REAKTOR DAYA MAJU AP1000 PADA KECELAKAAN SMALL BREAK LOCA. Kecelakaan yang diakibatkan oleh kehilangan pendingin (loss of coolant accident / LOCA dari sistem reaktor merupakan kejadian dasar desain yang tetap diantisipasi dalam desain reaktor daya yang mengadopsi teknologi Generasi II hingga IV. LOCA ukuran kecil (small break LOCA memiliki dampak yang lebih signifikan terhadap keselamatan dibandingkan LOCA ukuran besar (large break LOCA seperti terlihat pada kejadian Three-Mile Island (TMI. Fokus makalah adalah pada analisis small break LOCA pada reaktor daya maju Generasi III+ yaitu AP1000 dengan mensimulasikan tiga kejadian pemicu yaitu membukanya katup Automatic Depressurization System (ADS secara tak disengaja, putusnya salah satu pipa Direct Vessel Injection (DVI secara double-ended, dan putusnya pipa lengan dingin dengan diameter bocoran 10 inci. Metode yang digunakan adalah simulasi kejadian pada model AP1000 yang dikembangkan secara mandiri menggunakan program perhitungan RELAP5/SCDAP/Mod3.4. Dampak yang ingin dilihat adalah kondisi teras selama terjadinya small break LOCA yang terdiri dari pembentukan mixture level dan transien temperatur kelongsong bahan bakar. Hasil simulasi menunjukkan bahwa mixture level untuk semua kejadian small break LOCA berada di atas tinggi teras aktif yang menunjukkan tidak terjadinya core uncovery. Adanya mixture level berpengaruh pada transien temperatur kelongsong yang menurun dan menunjukkan pendinginan bahan bakar yang efektif. Hasil di atas juga identik dengan hasil perhitungan program lain yaitu NOTRUMP. Keefektifan pendinginan teras juga disebabkan oleh berfungsinya injeksi pendingin melalui fitur keselamatan pasif yang menjadi ciri reaktor daya AP1000. Secara keseluruhan, hasil analisis menunjukkan model AP1000 yang telah dikembangkan dengan RELAP5 dapat digunakan untuk keperluan analisis kecelakaan dasar desain pada reaktor daya maju AP1000. Kata kunci: analisis

Current status of accident analysis for Korean HCCR TBS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ahn, Mu-Young, E-mail: myahn74@nfri.re.kr [National Fusion Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Jin, Hyung Gon [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Cho, Seungyon [National Fusion Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Dong Won [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Ku, Duck Young; Park, Yi-Hyun; Kim, Chang-Shuk; Lee, Youngmin [National Fusion Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2014-10-15

Korea has decided to test Helium Cooled Ceramic Reflector (HCCR) Test Blanket Module (TBM) in ITER and design of the TBM with its ancillary systems, i.e. Test Blanket System (TBS), is under progress. Since the TBM is operated at elevated temperature with high heat load, safety consideration is essential in design procedure. In this paper, preliminary accident analysis results for the current HCCR TBS design on selected scenarios are presented as an important part of safety assessments. To simulate transient thermo-hydraulic behavior, GAMMA-FR code which has been developed in Korea for fusion applications was used. The main cooling and tritium extraction circuit systems, as well as the TBM, were simulated and the main components in the TBS were modeled as the associated heat structures. The important accident scenarios were produced and summarized in the paper considering the HCCR TBS design and ITER conditions, which cover in-vessel Loss Of Coolant Accident (LOCA), in-box LOCA, ex-vessel LOCA, Loss Of Flow Accident (LOFA), Loss Of Heat Sink Accident (LOHSA) and purge pipe rupture case. The accident analysis based on the selected scenarios was performed and it was found that the current design of the HCCR TBS meets the thermo-hydraulic safety requirements.

Current status of accident analysis for Korean HCCR TBS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahn, Mu-Young; Jin, Hyung Gon; Cho, Seungyon; Lee, Dong Won; Ku, Duck Young; Park, Yi-Hyun; Kim, Chang-Shuk; Lee, Youngmin

2014-01-01

Korea has decided to test Helium Cooled Ceramic Reflector (HCCR) Test Blanket Module (TBM) in ITER and design of the TBM with its ancillary systems, i.e. Test Blanket System (TBS), is under progress. Since the TBM is operated at elevated temperature with high heat load, safety consideration is essential in design procedure. In this paper, preliminary accident analysis results for the current HCCR TBS design on selected scenarios are presented as an important part of safety assessments. To simulate transient thermo-hydraulic behavior, GAMMA-FR code which has been developed in Korea for fusion applications was used. The main cooling and tritium extraction circuit systems, as well as the TBM, were simulated and the main components in the TBS were modeled as the associated heat structures. The important accident scenarios were produced and summarized in the paper considering the HCCR TBS design and ITER conditions, which cover in-vessel Loss Of Coolant Accident (LOCA), in-box LOCA, ex-vessel LOCA, Loss Of Flow Accident (LOFA), Loss Of Heat Sink Accident (LOHSA) and purge pipe rupture case. The accident analysis based on the selected scenarios was performed and it was found that the current design of the HCCR TBS meets the thermo-hydraulic safety requirements

Restructuring of an Event Tree for a Loss of Coolant Accident in a PSA model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lim, Ho-Gon; Han, Sang-Hoon; Park, Jin-Hee; Jang, Seong-Chul

2015-01-01

Conventional risk model using PSA (probabilistic Safety Assessment) for a NPP considers two types of accident initiators for internal events, LOCA (Loss of Coolant Accident) and transient event such as Loss of electric power, Loss of cooling, and so on. Traditionally, a LOCA is divided into three initiating event (IE) categories depending on the break size, small, medium, and large LOCA. In each IE group, safety functions or systems modeled in the accident sequences are considered to be applicable regardless of the break size. However, since the safety system or functions are not designed based on a break size, there exist lots of mismatch between safety system/function and an IE, which may make the risk model conservative or in some case optimistic. Present paper proposes new methodology for accident sequence analysis for LOCA. We suggest an integrated single ET construction for LOCA by incorporating a safety system/function and its applicable break spectrum into the ET. Integrated accident sequence analysis in terms of ET for LOCA was proposed in the present paper. Safety function/system can be properly assigned if its applicable range is given by break set point. Also, using simple Boolean algebra with the subset of the break spectrum, final accident sequences are expressed properly in terms of the Boolean multiplication, the occurrence frequency and the success/failure of safety system. The accident sequence results show that the accident sequence is described more detailed compared with the conventional results. Unfortunately, the quantitative results in terms of MCS (minimal Cut-Set) was not given because system fault tree was not constructed for this analysis and the break set points for all 7 point were not given as a specified numerical quantity. Further study may be needed to fix the break set point and to develop system fault tree

Restructuring of an Event Tree for a Loss of Coolant Accident in a PSA model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lim, Ho-Gon; Han, Sang-Hoon; Park, Jin-Hee; Jang, Seong-Chul [KAERI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2015-05-15

Conventional risk model using PSA (probabilistic Safety Assessment) for a NPP considers two types of accident initiators for internal events, LOCA (Loss of Coolant Accident) and transient event such as Loss of electric power, Loss of cooling, and so on. Traditionally, a LOCA is divided into three initiating event (IE) categories depending on the break size, small, medium, and large LOCA. In each IE group, safety functions or systems modeled in the accident sequences are considered to be applicable regardless of the break size. However, since the safety system or functions are not designed based on a break size, there exist lots of mismatch between safety system/function and an IE, which may make the risk model conservative or in some case optimistic. Present paper proposes new methodology for accident sequence analysis for LOCA. We suggest an integrated single ET construction for LOCA by incorporating a safety system/function and its applicable break spectrum into the ET. Integrated accident sequence analysis in terms of ET for LOCA was proposed in the present paper. Safety function/system can be properly assigned if its applicable range is given by break set point. Also, using simple Boolean algebra with the subset of the break spectrum, final accident sequences are expressed properly in terms of the Boolean multiplication, the occurrence frequency and the success/failure of safety system. The accident sequence results show that the accident sequence is described more detailed compared with the conventional results. Unfortunately, the quantitative results in terms of MCS (minimal Cut-Set) was not given because system fault tree was not constructed for this analysis and the break set points for all 7 point were not given as a specified numerical quantity. Further study may be needed to fix the break set point and to develop system fault tree.

Oxidation of SiC cladding under Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA) conditions in LWRs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Y.; Yue, C.; Arnold, R. P.; McKrell, T. J.; Kazimi, M. S.

2012-01-01

An experimental assessment of Silicon Carbide (SiC) cladding oxidation rate in steam under conditions representative of Loss of Coolant Accidents (LOCA) in light water reactors (LWRs) was conducted. SiC oxidation tests were performed with monolithic alpha phase tubular samples in a vertical quartz tube at a steam temperature of 1140 deg. C and steam velocity range of 1 to 10 m/sec, at atmospheric pressure. Linear weight loss of SiC samples due to boundary layer controlled reaction of silica scale (SiO 2 volatilization) was experimentally observed. The weight loss rate increased with increasing steam flow rate. Over the range of test conditions, SiC oxidation rates were shown to be about 3 orders of magnitude lower than the oxidation rates of zircaloy 4. A SiC volatilization correlation for developing laminar flow in a vertical channel is formulated. (authors)

Loss of coolant accident (LOCA) analysis for McMaster Nuclear Reactor through probabilistic risk assessment (PRA)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ha, T.; Garland, W.J. [McMaster Univ., Dept. of Engineering Physics, Hamilton, Ontario (Canada)]. E-mail: hats@mcmaster.ca

2006-07-01

A probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) was conducted for the loss of coolant accident (LOCA) sequence in the McMaster Nuclear Reactor (MNR). A level 1 PRA was completed including event sequence modeling, system modeling, and quantification. To support the quantification of the accident sequence identified, data analysis using the Bayesian method and human reliability analysis (HRA) using the ASEP approach were performed. Since human performance in research reactors is significantly different from that in power reactors, a different time-oriented HRA model was proposed and applied for the estimation of the human error probability (HEP) of core relocation. This HEP estimate was less than that by the ASEP approach by a factor of about 2. These two HEP estimates were used for sensitivity analysis, and modeling uncertainty in the PRA models was quantified. This showed the necessity of appropriate human reliability models in PRA for research reactors. This method could be implemented for the operators' actions which require extensive manual execution with little cognitive load, as might be the case for some maintenance operations in power reactors. (author)

Postulated accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ullrich, W.

1980-01-01

This lecture on 'Postulated Accidents' is the first of a series of lectures on the dynamic and transient behaviour of nuclear power plants, especially pressurized water reactors. The main points covered will be: Reactivity Accidents, Transients (Intact Loop) and Loss of Cooland Accidents (LOCA) including small leak. This lecture will discuss the accident analysis in general, the definition of the various operational phases, the accident classification, and, as an example, an accident sequence analysis on the basis of 'Postulated Accidents'. (orig./RW)

A PWR reactor downcomer modification for reduction of ECC bypass flow during LOCA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Popov, N.; Bosevski, T.

1986-01-01

The ECC bypass phenomenon in the PWR reactor down-comer, which delays the reactor vessel refilling, after cold leg large break LOCA accident, has been subject of analysis in this paper. In the paper, a particular construction modification of the reactor down-comer has been suggested by inserting vertical ribs, aimed to intensify the reactor ECC refilling following the LOCA accident, and to advance the thermal-hydraulics safety of post-accidental cooling of the PWR reactors. To verify the effectiveness of the suggested down-comer construction modification, some properly selected results, obtained by corresponding verified mathematical model, have been presented in this paper. (author)

Sensitivity Verification of PWR Monitoring System Using Neuro-Expert For LOCA Detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muhammad Subekti

2009-01-01

Sensitivity Verification of PWR Monitoring System Using Neuro-Expert For LOCA Detection. The present research was done for verification of previous developed method on Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA) detection and perform simulations for knowing the sensitivity of the PWR monitoring system that applied neuro-expert method. The previous research continuing on present research, has developed and has tested the neuro-expert method for several anomaly detections in Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) typed Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR). Neuro-expert can detect the LOCA anomaly with sensitivity of primary coolant leakage of 7 gallon/min and the conventional method could not detect the primary coolant leakage of 30 gallon/min. Neuro expert method detects significantly LOCA anomaly faster than conventional system in Surry-1 NPP as well so that the impact risk is reducible. (author)

Complete BWR--EM LOCA analysis using the WRAP--EM system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beckmeyer, R.R.; Gregory, M.V.; Buckner, M.R.

1979-01-01

The Water Reactor Analysis Package, Evaluation Model (WRAP--EM), provides a complete analysis of postulated loss-of-coolant accidents (LOCA's) in light--water nuclear power reactors. The system is being developed at the Savannah River Laboratory (SRL) for use by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to interpret and evaluate reactor vendor, evaluation model (EM) analyses. The initial version of the WRAP--EM system for analysis of boiling water reactors (BWR's) is operational. To demonstrate the complete capability of the WRAP--BWR--EM system, a LOCA analysis has been performed for the Hope Creek Plant

Uncertainties in radioactivity release from LWR plants under LOCA conditions - magnitude and consequences

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mattila, L.J.

1977-01-01

Standardized, deterministic, and supposedly conservative calculation methods and parameter values are applied in radiological safety analyses required for licensing individual nuclear power plants. As realistic as possible and comprehensive analyses are, however, absolutely necessary for many purposes, such as developing improved designs, comparisons between nuclear and non-nuclear power plant alternatives or entire energy production strategies, and also formulating improved acceptance criteria for plant licensing. A specific type of LOCA, called design basis accident (DBA), has obtained an exceptionally important status in the licensing procedure of light water reactor nuclear power plants. This postulated accident has a decisive influence on plant siting and on the design of the various engineered safety features. To avoid certain potential negative effects of the highly standardized guideline-based accident analysis procedure - such as introduction of apparent design ''improvements'', wrong priorization of research efforts, etc. - and to provide a realistic view about the safety of light water reactors to supplement the conservative results from regulatory analyses, a comprehensive understanding of the radiological consequences of LOCA's is indispensable. Estimates of fission product release from LWR plants under different LOCA conditions are associated with uncertainties due to deficient knowledge and truly random variability. The following steps of the fission product transport chain are discussed: generation of activity, fission product release from fuel to fuel pin voids prior to the accident, fuel rod puncturing and fission product release from punctured rods during the accident, further release from fuel during the transient, transport to the containment and finally removal in and leakage from the containment. Numerical examples are given by comparing assumptions, parameter values, and results from the following four analyses: the present guideline

Modelling of LOCA Tests with the BISON Fuel Performance Code

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Williamson, Richard L [Idaho National Laboratory; Pastore, Giovanni [Idaho National Laboratory; Novascone, Stephen Rhead [Idaho National Laboratory; Spencer, Benjamin Whiting [Idaho National Laboratory; Hales, Jason Dean [Idaho National Laboratory

2016-05-01

BISON is a modern finite-element based, multidimensional nuclear fuel performance code that is under development at Idaho National Laboratory (USA). Recent advances of BISON include the extension of the code to the analysis of LWR fuel rod behaviour during loss-of-coolant accidents (LOCAs). In this work, BISON models for the phenomena relevant to LWR cladding behaviour during LOCAs are described, followed by presentation of code results for the simulation of LOCA tests. Analysed experiments include separate effects tests of cladding ballooning and burst, as well as the Halden IFA-650.2 fuel rod test. Two-dimensional modelling of the experiments is performed, and calculations are compared to available experimental data. Comparisons include cladding burst pressure and temperature in separate effects tests, as well as the evolution of fuel rod inner pressure during ballooning and time to cladding burst. Furthermore, BISON three-dimensional simulations of separate effects tests are performed, which demonstrate the capability to reproduce the effect of azimuthal temperature variations in the cladding. The work has been carried out in the frame of the collaboration between Idaho National Laboratory and Halden Reactor Project, and the IAEA Coordinated Research Project FUMAC.

Monitoring severe accidents using AI techniques

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

No, Young Gyu; Ahn, Kwang Il [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Ju Hyun; Na, Man Gyun [Dept. of Nuclear Engineering, Chosun University, Gwangju (Korea, Republic of); Lim, Dong Hyuk [Korea Institute of Nuclear Nonproliferation and Control, Daejon (Korea, Republic of)

2012-05-15

After the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011, there has been increasing concern regarding severe accidents in nuclear facilities. Severe accident scenarios are difficult for operators to monitor and identify. Therefore, accurate prediction of a severe accident is important in order to manage it appropriately in the unfavorable conditions. In this study, artificial intelligence (AI) techniques, such as support vector classification (SVC), probabilistic neural network (PNN), group method of data handling (GMDH), and fuzzy neural network (FNN), were used to monitor the major transient scenarios of a severe accident caused by three different initiating events, the hot-leg loss of coolant accident (LOCA), the cold-leg LOCA, and the steam generator tube rupture in pressurized water reactors (PWRs). The SVC and PNN models were used for the event classification. The GMDH and FNN models were employed to accurately predict the important timing representing severe accident scenarios. In addition, in order to verify the proposed algorithm, data from a number of numerical simulations were required in order to train the AI techniques due to the shortage of real LOCA data. The data was acquired by performing simulations using the MAAP4 code. The prediction accuracy of the three types of initiating events was sufficiently high to predict severe accident scenarios. Therefore, the AI techniques can be applied successfully in the identification and monitoring of severe accident scenarios in real PWRs.

Monitoring severe accidents using AI techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

No, Young Gyu; Ahn, Kwang Il; Kim, Ju Hyun; Na, Man Gyun; Lim, Dong Hyuk

2012-01-01

After the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011, there has been increasing concern regarding severe accidents in nuclear facilities. Severe accident scenarios are difficult for operators to monitor and identify. Therefore, accurate prediction of a severe accident is important in order to manage it appropriately in the unfavorable conditions. In this study, artificial intelligence (AI) techniques, such as support vector classification (SVC), probabilistic neural network (PNN), group method of data handling (GMDH), and fuzzy neural network (FNN), were used to monitor the major transient scenarios of a severe accident caused by three different initiating events, the hot-leg loss of coolant accident (LOCA), the cold-leg LOCA, and the steam generator tube rupture in pressurized water reactors (PWRs). The SVC and PNN models were used for the event classification. The GMDH and FNN models were employed to accurately predict the important timing representing severe accident scenarios. In addition, in order to verify the proposed algorithm, data from a number of numerical simulations were required in order to train the AI techniques due to the shortage of real LOCA data. The data was acquired by performing simulations using the MAAP4 code. The prediction accuracy of the three types of initiating events was sufficiently high to predict severe accident scenarios. Therefore, the AI techniques can be applied successfully in the identification and monitoring of severe accident scenarios in real PWRs.

Accident sequences simulated at the Juragua nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carbajo, J.J.

1998-01-01

Different hypothetical accident sequences have been simulated at Unit 1 of the Juragua nuclear power plant in Cuba, a plant with two VVER-440 V213 units under construction. The computer code MELCOR was employed for these simulations. The sequences simulated are: (1) a design-basis accident (DBA) large loss of coolant accident (LOCA) with the emergency core coolant system (ECCS) on, (2) a station blackout (SBO), (3) a small LOCA (SLOCA) concurrent with SBO, (4) a large LOCA (LLOCA) concurrent with SBO, and (5) a LLOCA concurrent with SBO and with the containment breached at time zero. Timings of important events and source term releases have been calculated for the different sequences analyzed. Under certain weather conditions, the fission products released from the severe accident sequences may travel to southern Florida

Severe accident sequences simulated at the Grand Gulf Nuclear Station

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carbajo, J.J.

1999-01-01

Different severe accident sequences employing the MELCOR code, version 1.8.4 QK, have been simulated at the Grand Gulf Nuclear Station (Grand Gulf). The postulated severe accidents simulated are two low-pressure, short-term, station blackouts; two unmitigated small-break (SB) loss-of-coolant accidents (LOCAs) (SBLOCAs); and one unmitigated large LOCA (LLOCA). The purpose of this study was to calculate best-estimate timings of events and source terms for a wide range of severe accidents and to compare the plant response to these accidents

MELCOR based severe accident simulation for WWER-440 type nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vegh, E.; Buerger, L.; Gacs, A.; Gyenes, F.G.; Hozer, Z.; Makovi, P.

1997-01-01

SUBA is a MELCOR based severe accident simulator, installed this summer at the Hungarian Nuclear Safety Directorate. In this simulator the thermohydraulics, chemical reactions and material transport in the primary and secondary systems are calculated by the MELCOR code, but the containment, except the cavity, is modelled by the HERMET code, developed in our Institute. The instrumentation and control, the safety systems and the plant logic, are calculated by our models. This paper describes the main features of the used models and presents three different test transients. The presented transients are as follows: a small break LOCA, a cold leg large break LOCA, and the station blackout, without Diesel generators. In each treated transients the most important parameters are presented as time functions and the most significant events are analysed. (author)

Probabilistic Dose Assessment from SB-LOCA Accident in Ujung Lemahabang Using TMI-2 Source Term

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sunarko

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Probabilistic dose assessment and mapping for nuclear accident condition are performed for Ujung Lemahabang site in Muria Peninsula region in Indonesia. Source term is obtained from Three-Mile Island unit 2 (TMI-2 PWR-type SB-LOCA reactor accident inverse modeling. Effluent consisted of Xe-133, Kr-88, I-131, and Cs-137 released from a 50 m stack. Lagrangian Particle Dispersion Method (LPDM and 3-dimensional mass-consistent wind field are employed to obtain surface-level time-integrated air concentration and spatial distribution of ground-level total dose in dry condition. Site-specific meteorological data is obtained from hourly records obtained during the Site Feasibility Study period in Ujung Lemahabang. Effluent is released from a height of 50 meters in uniform rate during a 6-hour period and the dose is integrated during this period in a neutrally stable atmospheric condition. Maximum dose noted is below regulatory limit of 1 mSv and radioactive plume is spread mostly to the W-SW inland and to N-NE from the proposed plant to Java Sea. This paper has demonstrated for the first time a probabilistic analysis method for assessing possible spatial dose distribution, a hypothetical release, and a set of meteorological data for Ujung Lemahabang region.

Effect of parameter variation of reactor coolant pump on loss of coolant accident consequence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dang Gaojian; Huang Daishun; Gao Yingxian; He Xiaoqiang

2015-01-01

In this paper, the analyses were carried out on Ling'ao nuclear power station phase II to study the consequence of the loss of coolant accident when the homologous characteristic curves and free volumes of the reactor coolant pump changed. Two different pumps used in the analysis were 100D (employed on Ling'ao nuclear power station phase II) and ANDRITZ. The thermal characteristics in the large break LOCA accident were analyzed using CATHRE GB and CONPATE4, and the reactor coolant system hydraulics load during blow-clown phase of LOCA accident was analyzed using ATHIS and FORCET. The calculated results show that the homologous characteristic curves have great effect on the thermal characteristics of reactor core during the reflood phase of the large break LOCA accident. The maximum cladding surface temperatures are quite different when the pump's homologous characteristic curves change. On the other hand, the pump's free volume changing results in the variation of the LOCA rarefaction wave propagation, and therefore, the reactor coolant system hydraulic load in LOCA accident would be different. (authors)

Comparison of LOCA safety analysis in the USA, FRG, and Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leach, L.P.; Ybarrondo, L.J.; Hicken, E.F.; Tasaka, K.

1983-01-01

The bases for loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) safety analysis required by reactor licensing regulations in the United States of America (USA), Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), and Japan are investigated and related to new data obtained since the regulations were established. The licensing approaches used in the three countries are similar in that a conservative calculation is called for, the necessary conservatism is unspecified, and new research data have had only limited effect on changing the regulations

Accidents and transients analyses of a super fast reactor with single flow pass core

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sutanto,; Oka, Yoshiaki

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Safety analysis of a Super FR with single flow pass core is conducted. • Loss of feed water flow leads to a direct effect on the loss of fuel channel flow. • The core pressure is sensitive to LOCA accidents due to the direct effect. • Small LOCA introduces a critical break. • The safety criteria for all selected events are satisfied. - Abstract: The supercritical water cooled fast reactor with single flow pass core has been designed to simplify refueling and the structures of upper and lower mixing plenums. To evaluate the safety performance, safety analysis has been conducted with regard to LOCA and non-LOCA accidents including transient events. Safety analysis results show that the safety criteria are satisfied for all selected events. The total loss of feed water flow is the most important accident which the maximum cladding surface temperature (MCST) is high due to a direct effect of the accident on the total loss of flow in all fuel assemblies. However, actuation of the ADS can mitigate the accident. Small LOCA also introduces a critical break at 7.8% break which results high MCST at BOC because the scram and ADS are not actuated. Early ADS actuation is effective to mitigate the accident. In large LOCA, 100% break LOCA results a high MCST of flooding phase at BOC due to high power peaking at the bottom part. Use of high injection flow rate by 2 LPCI units is effective to decrease the MCST

Comparison of thermal behavior of different PWR fuel rod simulators for LOCA experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Casal, V.; Malang, S.; Rust, K.

1982-10-01

For experimental investigations of a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) of a PWR electrical heater rods are applied as thermal fuel rod simulators. To substitute heater rods from the SEMISCALE program by INTERATOM-KfK heater rods in a current experimental program at the Instituut for Energiteknikk-(OECD-Halden), the thermodynamic behavior of different heater rods during a LOCA were compared. The results show, that SEMISCALE-heater rods can be replaced by those fabricated by INTERATOM. (orig.) [de

Numerical Simulation of Fluid Mixing in Upper Annular Space of SMART during Early Stage of non-LOCA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bae, Youngmin; Kim, Young-In; Kim, Keung Koo [KAERI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2015-05-15

KAERI (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute) is developing a passive safety injection system (PSIS) to supply cold borated water into a reactor coolant system (RCS) without any operator actions or AC power under the occurrence of postulated design basis accidents. The PSIS consists of four independent trains, each of which is furnished with a gravity drained core makeup tank (CMT) and a safety injection tank (SIT). The CMT is designed to provide makeup and boration functions to the RCS during the early stage of a loss of coolant accident (LOCA) and a non-LOCA. In this paper, we investigate numerically the fluid mixing characteristics in the upper annular space of SMART, especially when single-phase natural circulation is formed between the CMT and RCS following a non-LOCA such as a main steam line break. In this paper, the fluid mixing characteristics in the upper annular space of SMART are investigated numerically when single-phase natural circulation is formed between the RCS and CMT during the early stage of a non-LOCA.

Numerical Simulation of Fluid Mixing in Upper Annular Space of SMART during Early Stage of non-LOCA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bae, Youngmin; Kim, Young-In; Kim, Keung Koo

2015-01-01

KAERI (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute) is developing a passive safety injection system (PSIS) to supply cold borated water into a reactor coolant system (RCS) without any operator actions or AC power under the occurrence of postulated design basis accidents. The PSIS consists of four independent trains, each of which is furnished with a gravity drained core makeup tank (CMT) and a safety injection tank (SIT). The CMT is designed to provide makeup and boration functions to the RCS during the early stage of a loss of coolant accident (LOCA) and a non-LOCA. In this paper, we investigate numerically the fluid mixing characteristics in the upper annular space of SMART, especially when single-phase natural circulation is formed between the CMT and RCS following a non-LOCA such as a main steam line break. In this paper, the fluid mixing characteristics in the upper annular space of SMART are investigated numerically when single-phase natural circulation is formed between the RCS and CMT during the early stage of a non-LOCA

Thermal stresses at nozzles of nuclear steel containments under LOCA-conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanchez Sarmiento, G.; Bergmann, A.N.

1986-01-01

During a loss of coolant accident (LOCA) of a PWR-nuclear power plant, a considerable heating of the containment atmosphere is expected to occur. Transient thermal stresses will appear at the containment as a consequence of a non-uniform rise of its temperature. Applying computer codes based on the finite element method, dimensionless general thermal stresses at nozzles of spherical steel containment have been calculated, varying the principal geometrical parameters and the Biot number for the containment internal surface. Atmosphere temperature and Biot number are assumed constant after the accident. Several plots of the maximum principal stresses are provided, which constitute general results applicable to stress analysis of any particular containment of this kind. (orig.)

Detection and control of potential core damage during a small-break LOCA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thomas, G.R.; Zebroski, E.L.

1981-01-01

A refreshing development in small-break LOCA analysis and testing is the recognition that this work can be of real value to a plant operator. Event-trees, or safety sequence diagrams, are being made increasingly realistic and are being used to develop and to test the abnormal transient operating guidelines (ATOGs) which provide a basis for operator response, training, and simulator work now under way. Perhaps the most monumental lesson of the TMI-2 accident is that the tradition of extreme worst-case analysis and data gathering can provide a directly negative contribution to safety if it is used as the basis for designing procedures and training of operator response. The event-trees for guiding operator response to abnormal conditions, ATOGs, must be based on physically realistic, best-estimate models. Possibly, the most dramatic risk reduction achieved will be attained through the use of realistic accident analysis, which leads to realistic operator guidelines and training, improved display of the critical information to the operator, and improved management structure. Given the dominant contribution of small-break LOCAs to the overall public risk envelope, realism should be the primary banner for future work in this field

Primary LOCA in VVER-1000 by pressurizer PORV failure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sabotinov, L.; Lutsanych, S.; Kadenko, I.

2013-01-01

The paper presents the calculations and analysis of the design basis accident of a standard VVER-1000/V320 reactor with inadvertent opening and stuck in open position of the pressurizer pilot operated relief valve (PORV). The objective is the independent assessment of this accident applying the French best estimate thermal-hydraulic computer code CATHARE 2 and verification to meet the safety criteria for such kind of the accident. The 'Inadvertent opening and stuck in open position of PORV' is a design basis accident classified as Medium Break Loss of Coolant Accident (MB LOCA) with the equivalent diameter of the break D- 68 mm. This accident is particularly interesting to be calculated and analyzed, because it took place at operating NPP with VVER-1000 reactors (Rovno NPP) in 2009. The calculations have been carried out with conservative conditions as usual for DBA analysis. The NPP model corresponds to a real VVER-1000/V320 configuration and comprises all safety systems, adopted for one of the latest CATHARE 2 versions. The results of CATHARE 2 calculations are compared with available results of RELAP5 calculations. There is similarity of the thermal-hydraulic parameters behavior, but also some differences can be observed basically due to the break flow prediction, which causes differences in primary pressure evaluation. Both calculations show that there is no boiling crisis in the reactor core and reliable cooldown is achieved. The calculations performed with CATHARE2 code demonstrate the ability of the code to predict reasonably the break flow, pressures, temperatures etc. for considered LOCA scenario and to be applied for safety studies

Comprehensive safety analysis code system for nuclear fusion reactors III: Ex-vessel LOCA analyses considering passive safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Honda, T.; Okazaki, T.; Maki, K.; Uda, T.; Seki, Y.; Aoki, I.; Kunugi, T.

1996-01-01

Ex-vessel loss-of-coolant accidents (LOCAs) in a fusion reactor have been analyzed to investigate the possibility of passive plasma shutdown. For this purpose, a hybrid code of the plasma dynamics and thermal characteristics of the reactor structures, which has been modified to include the impurity emission from plasma-facing components (PFCs), has been developed. Ex-vessel LOCAs of the cooling system during the ignition operation in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), in which graphite PFCs were employed in conceptual design activity, were assumed. When double-ended break occurs at the cold leg of the divertor cooling system, the copper cooling tube begins to melt within 3 s after the LOCA, even though the plasma is passively shut down at nearly 4 s. An active plasma shutdown system will be needed for such rapid transient accidents. On the other hand, when a small (1%) break LOCA occurs there, the plasma is passively shut down at nearly 36 s, which happens before the copper cooling tube begins to melt. When the double-ended break LOCA occurs at the cold leg of the first-wall cooling system, there is enough time (nearly 100 s) to shut down the plasma with a controllable method before the reactor structures are damaged. 21 refs., 8 figs

Hydrogen and steam distribution following a small-break LOCA in large dry containment

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

DENG Jian; CAO Xuewu

2007-01-01

The hydrogen deflagration is one of the major risk contributors to threaten the integrity of the containment in a nuclear power plant, and hydrogen control in the case of severe accidents is required by nuclear regulations.Based on the large dry containment model developed with the integral severe-accident analysis tool, a small-break loss-of-coolant-accident (LOCA) without HPI, LPI, AFW and containment sprays, leading to the core degradation and large hydrogen generation, is calculated. Hydrogen and steam distribution in containment compartments is investigated. The analysis results show that significant hydrogen deflagration risk exits in the reactor coolant pump (RCP)compartment and the cavity during the early period, if no actions are taken to mitigate the effects of hydrogen accumulation.

Fission Product Transport Models Adopted in REFPAC Code for LOCA Conditions in PWR and WWER NPPS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strupczewski, A.

2003-01-01

The report presents assumptions and physical models used for calculations of fission product releases from nuclear reactors, their behavior inside the containment and leakages to the environment after large break loss of coolant accident LB LOCA. They are the basis of code REFPAC (RElease of Fission Products under Accident Conditions), designed primarily to represent significant physical processes occurring after LB LOCA. The code describes these processes using three different models. Model 1 corresponds to established US and Russian practice, Model 2 includes all conservative assumptions that are in agreement with the actual state-of-the-art, and Model 3 incorporates formulae and parameter values actually used in EU practice. (author)

Assessment of CONTAIN and MELCOR for performing LOCA and LOVA analyses in ITER

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Merrill, B.J.; Hagrman, D.L.; Gaeta, M.J.; Petti, D.A.

1994-09-01

This report describes the results of an assessment of the CONTAIN and MELCOR computer codes for ITER LOCA and LOVA applications. As part of the assessment, the results of running a test problem that describes an ITER LOCA are presented. It is concluded that the MELCOR code should be the preferred code for ITER severe accident thermal hydraulic analyses. This code will require the least modification to be appropriate for calculating thermal hydraulic behavior in ITER relevant conditions that include vacuum, cryogenics, ITER temperatures, and the presence of a liquid metal test module. The assessment of the aerosol transport models in these codes concludes that several modifications would have to be made to CONTAIN and/or MELCOR to make them applicable to the aerosol transport part of severe accident analysis in ITER

BWR fuel clad behaviour following LOCA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chaudhry, S.M.; Vyas, K.N.; Dinesh Babu, R.

1996-01-01

Flow and pressure through the fuel coolant channel reduce rapidly following a loss of coolant accident. Due to stored energy and decay heat, fuel and cladding temperatures rise rapidly. Increase in clad temperature causes deterioration of mechanical properties of clad material. This coupled with increase of pressure inside the cladding due to accumulation of fission gases and de-pressurization of coolant causes the cladding to balloon. This phenomenon is important as it can reduce or completely block the flow passages in a fuel assembly causing reduction of emergency coolant flow. Behaviour of a BWR clad is analyzed in a design basis LOCA. Fuel and clad temperatures following a LOCA are calculated. Fission gas release and pressure is estimated using well established models. An elasto-plastic analysis of clad tube is carried out to determine plastic strains and corresponding deformations using finite-element technique. Analysis of neighbouring pins gives an estimate of flow areas available for emergency coolant flow. (author). 7 refs, 6 figs, 3 tabs

Status of efforts to evaluate LOCA frequency estimates using combined PRA and PFM approaches

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilkowski, G.; Rudland, D.; Tregoning, R.; Scott, P.

2002-01-01

The risk-informed reevaluation of 10 CFR 50.46 (along with Appendix K and GDC 35), the emergency core cooling system (ECCS) requirements, utilizes loss of coolant accident (LOCA) initiating event frequencies to evaluate the technical basis for potential related rule changes. A longer-term effort is considering redefining the maximum design basis pipe break size for sizing the ECCS system. In the past few years, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has utilized NUREG/CR-5750 pipe-break LOCA estimated for initiating event frequencies. However, several failure mechanisms have recently emerged at plants which have not been evident within the service period covered by the NUREG/CR-5750 estimates. The concern is that these and other potential aging-related mechanisms may not be adequately represented within the NUREG/CR-5750 LOCA estimates. Additionally, LOCAs can occur from failure of active components (e.g. safety relief valves, reactor coolant pump seals, etc.) and other non-pipe break passive failures (e.g. steam generator tubes). The LOCA contributions from these additional sources must also be considered in deciding the design basis break size. The LOCA estimates must also attempt to capture expected future changes in the LOCA frequencies so that the estimates are pertinent up through the end of the license renewal period. (orig.)

Severe damage analysis of VVER 1000 following large break LOCA using Astec code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chatterjee, B.; Mukhopadhyay, D.; Lele, H.G.; Ghosh, A.K.; Kushwaha, H.S.

2007-01-01

Severe accident analysis of a reactor is an important aspect in the evaluation of source term. This in turn helps in emergency planning. An analysis has been carried out for VVER-1000 (V320) reactor following Large Break LOCA (loss of coolant accident) along with Station Blackout (SBO). Computer code ASTEC (jointly developed by IRSN, France, and GRS, Germany) is used for analyzing the transient. This integral code has been designed to be used as reference code for PSA2 studies. Severe accident analysis is carried out for an accident initiated by Large break LOCA along with SBO. Two cases have been analysed with the version ASTEC V1.2-rev1. In the first case hydro-accumulators are considered not available while the second case has been analysed with hydro accumulators. In this paper, ASTEC predictions have been studied for the in-vessel phase of the accident till vessel failure. The vessel failure was observed at 6979 s when accumulators were assumed not available. The vessel failure was quite delayed (19294 s) with operating accumulators. The hydrogen production was found to be very large (22% of total Zr inventory) in the case with accumulators compared to the case without accumulators (1.5% of total Zr inventory)

Basic study on BWR plant behavior under the condition of severe accident (2)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ozaki, Yoshihiko; Ueda, Masataka; Sasaki, Hajime

2016-01-01

In this paper, we report on the results using the BWR plant simulator about the plant behavior under the condition of the two types of severe accidents that LOCA occurs but ECCS fails the water irrigation into the reactor core and SBO occurs and at the same time the reclosed failure of SRV occurs. The simulation experiments were carried out for the cases that LOCA has occurred in the main feed-water piping. As for the results about the relationship between the LOCA area and the time from LOCA occurs until the fuel temperature rise start, the effect that RCIC operated was extremely big for small and middle LOCA area. In the case of main feed-water system LOCA, the core water level suddenly decreased for large LOCA of 2000 cm"2 area, however, if the irrigation into the reactor core was carried out 30 min after LOCA occurrence, the core had little damage. In addition, the H_2 concentration in the containment vessel did not exceed both limits of H_2 explosion nor detonation. The pressure of the containment vessel was around 3 kg/cm"2 of design value, so the soundness of the containment vessel was confirmed. On the other hand, for the accident of SBO with reclosed failure of SRV, it has been shown that the accidents continue to progress rapidly as compared with the case of normally operating of SRV. Because SRV has the function that keep the inside pressure of reactor core by repeating opened and closed in response of the inside pressure and prevent the decrease of water level inside reactor core. However, if the irrigation into the reactor core was carried out 30 min after SBO occurrence, the core had little damage and also the H_2 concentration in the containment vessel did not exceed limits of H_2 explosion. Further, as for the accident of reclosed failure of SRV, it has been shown that there are very good correspondence with the simulation results of main steam piping LOCA of area 180 cm"2 corresponding to the inlet cross-sectional area SRV installed on the piping

A LOCA analysis for AHWR caused by ECCS header rupture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chatterjee, B.; Gawai, Amol; Gupta, S.K.; Kushwaha, H.S.

2000-01-01

Loss of coolant accident (LOCA) analyses for the proposed 750 MWth Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR), initiated by the rupture of 8 inch NB ECCS header has been carried out. This paper narrates the description of AHWR and associated ECCS, postulated scenario with which the analyses is carried out, results, discussion and conclusion

Development of Advanced Non-LOCA Analysis Methodology for Licensing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jang, Chansu; Um, Kilsup; Choi, Jaedon

2008-01-01

KNF is developing a new design methodology on the Non-LOCA analysis for the licensing purpose. The code chosen is the best-estimate transient analysis code RETRAN and the OPR1000 is aimed as a target plant. For this purpose, KNF prepared a simple nodal scheme appropriate to the licensing analyses and developed the designer-friendly analysis tool ASSIST (Automatic Steady-State Initialization and Safety analysis Tool). To check the validity of the newly developed methodology, the single CEA withdrawal and the locked rotor accidents are analyzed by using a new methodology and are compared with current design results. Comparison results show a good agreement and it is concluded that the new design methodology can be applied to the licensing calculations for OPR1000 Non-LOCA

Safety assessment of the advanced CANDU reactor in postulated LOCA/LOECC events

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hazen Hezhi Fan; Zoran Bilanovic

2005-01-01

The Advanced CANDU Reactor TM (ACR TM ) retains the proven strengths and features of CANDU reactors, and incorporates innovative new features and state-of-the-art technology. In addition to the enhanced emergency core cooling system, the reserve water system is designed to be available to inject reserve water by gravity into the reactor inlet headers after a postulated loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA). To assist in the ACR design and analysis of beyond the design basis events, simulations are needed to demonstrate the effectiveness of these two independent systems on core cooling, and to assess the consequences of the postulated accident coincident with the impairment of either of the two systems. The current paper is subject to an assessment of a postulated large LOCA coincident with loss of the emergency core cooling (LOECC) system. A postulated LOCA/LOECC has very low probability, in the range usually associated with severe core damage events. However, in the CANDU design, including ACR, the presence of moderator water surrounding the fuel channels acts as an effective heat sink, together with other safety features, to prevents severe core damage following a postulated LOCA/LOECC. Therefore, it is possible to analyse LOCA/LOECC using the same deterministic tools that are used for analysis of events with much higher frequencies, in the design basis event range. The assessment is conducted based on the current ACR-700 design. However, the analysis methodology, scope, computer tools, and the results in principle, are applicable to larger ACR designs. This assessment includes system (circuit), fuel channel, and fuel analyses. Some assessment results are needed in subsequent moderator analysis and containment analysis. In the assessment, several simulations were performed to analyse the full circuit and individual fuel channel transient behaviours, as well as the fission product release behaviour. The assessment has captured the key responses of the reactor heat

Small break LOCA analysis for RCP trip strategy for YGN 3 and 4 emergency procedure guidelines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suh, Jong Tae; Bae, Kyoo Hwan

1995-01-01

A continued operation of RCPs during a certain small break LOCA may increase unnecessary inventory loss from the RCS causing a severe core uncovery which might lead to a fuel failure. After TMI-2 accident, the CEOG developed RCP trip strategy called 'Trip-Two/Leave-Two' (T2/L2) in response to NRC requests and incorporated it in the generic EPG for CE plants. The T2/L2 RCP trip strategy consists of tripping the first two RCPs on low RCS pressure and then tripping the remaining two RCPs if a LOCA has occurred. This analysis determines the RCP trip setpoint and demonstrates the safe operational aspects of RCP trip strategy during a small break LOCA for YGN 3 and 4. The trip setpoint of the first two RCPs for YGN 3 and 4 is calculated to be 1775 psia in pressurizer pressure based on the limiting small break LOCA with 0.15 ft 2 break size in the hot leg. The analysis results show that YGN 3 and 4 can maintain the core coolability even if the operator fails to trip the second two RCPs or trips at worst time. Also, the YGN 3 and 4 RCP trip strategy demonstrates that both the 10 CFR 50.46 requirements on PCT and the ANSI standards 58.8 requirements on operator action time can be satisfied with enough margin. Therefore, it is concluded that the T2/L2 RCP trip strategy with a trip setpoint of 1775 psia for YGN 3 and 4 can provide improved operator guidance for the RCP operation during accidents. 11 figs., 4 tabs., 9 refs. (Author)

Analysis of a LOCA crash into a reactor containment PWR-W with the GOTHIC code; Analisis de un accidente LOCA en contencion de un reactor PWR-W con el codigo GOTHIC

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Perianez Alvarez, V.

2013-07-01

The main objective of the work is the simulation of a severe accident, type LOCA with the GOTHIC-code, calculations of pressure and temperature in the containment levels, as well as the three-dimensional distribution of the inventory within the containment.

The phenomenology of a small break LOCA in a complex thermal hydraulic loop

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Di Marzo, M.; Almenas, K.K.; Hsu, Y.Y.; Wang, Z.

1988-01-01

A phenomenological description of the thermal hydraulics events that take place during a simulated Small Break Loss of Coolant Accident (SB-LOCA) is presented. The SB-LOCA transient is described in detail and the various mass and energy transport modes are identified. Similar behavior is observed in other facilities designed for the simulation of this type of accidents. Previous investigations suggest a simple modelling of the phenomena based on fluid mechanic considerations. An extensive experimental program conducted at the experimental facility of the University of Maryland reveals that condensation is a dominant driving force for this type of transients. This finding has significant implications in the modelling of enthalpy transport for some of the flow modes which occur during the transient. In particular it affects the Interruption and Resumption Mode (IRM) during which enthalpy is transported by periodic flow of a two phase mixture. The efforts to predict the flow interruption based on fluid mechanic criteria of phase separation in the hot leg are shown to be misdirected since thermodynamic phenomena taking place in the horizontal portion of the cold legs and in the reactor vessel downcomer are mostly responsible for that transition. For flow resumption to occur the liquid-vapor mixture swelling in the vertical portion of the hot leg determines the occurrence of the liquid spill over the top of the candy cane. (orig.)

PWR cold-leg small break loca with faulty HPI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumamaru, H.; Kukita, Y.

1991-01-01

The ROSA-IV Large Scale Test Facility (LSTF) is a 1/48 volumetrically-scaled model of a pressurized water reactor (PWR). At the LSTF are performed cold-leg small-break loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) tests with faulty high pressure injection (HPI) system for break areas from 0.5% to 10% and an intentional primary system depressurization test following a small-break LOCA test. A simple prediction model is proposed for prediction of times of major events. Test data and calculations show that intentional primary system depressurization with use of the pressurizer power-operated relief valves (PORVs) is effective for break areas of approximately 0.5% or less, is unnecessary for breaks of 5% or more, and is insufficient for intermediate break areas to maintain adequate core cooling. (author)

Passive Decay Heat Removal Strategy of Integrated Passive Safety System (IPSS) for SBO-combined Accidents

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Sang Ho; Chang, Soon Heung; Jeong, Yong Hoon [Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2014-10-15

The weak points of nuclear safety would be in outmoded nuclear power plants like the Fukushima reactors. One of the systems for the safety enhancement is integrated passive safety system (IPSS) proposed after the Fukushima accidents. It has the five functions for the prevention and mitigation of a severe accident. Passive decay heat removal (PDHR) strategy using IPSS is proposed for coping with SBO-combined accidents in this paper. The two systems for removing decay heat before core-melt were applied in the strategy. The accidents were simulated by MARS code. The reference reactor was OPR1000, specifically Ulchin-3 and 4. The accidents included loss-of-coolant accidents (LOCA) because the coolant losses could be occurred in the SBO condition. The examples were the stuck open of PSV, the abnormal open of SDV and the leakage of RCP seal water. Also, as LOCAs with the failure of active safety injection systems were considered, various LOCAs were simulated in SBO. Based on the thermal hydraulic analysis, the probabilistic safety analysis was carried out for the PDHR strategy to estimate the safety enhancement in terms of the variation of core damage frequency. AIMS-PSA developed by KAERI was used for calculating CDF of the plant. The IPSS was applied in the PDHR strategy which was developed in order to cope with the SBO-combined accidents. The estimation for initiating SGGI or PSIS was based on the pressure in RCS. The simulations for accidents showed that the decay heat could be removed for the safety duration time in SBO. The increase of safety duration time from the strategy provides the increase of time for the restoration of AC power.

Benchmark Calculations on Halden IFA-650 LOCA Test Results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ek, Mirkka; Kekkonen, Laura; Kelppe, Seppo; Stengaard, J.O.; Josek, Radomir; Wiesenack, Wolfgang; Aounallah, Yacine; Wallin, Hannu; Grandjean, Claude; Herb, Joachim; Lerchl, Georg; Trambauer, Klaus; Sonnenburg, Heinz-Guenther; Nakajima, Tetsuo; Spykman, Gerold; Struzik, Christine

2010-01-01

The assessment of the consequences of a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) is to a large extent based on calculations carried out with codes especially developed for addressing the phenomena occurring during the transient. Since the time of the first LOCA experiments, which were largely conducted with fresh fuel, changes in fuel design, the introduction of new cladding materials and in particular the move to high burnup have not only generated a need to re-examine the LOCA safety criteria and to verify their continued validity, but also to confirm that codes show an appropriate performance especially with respect to high burnup phenomena influencing LOCA fuel behaviour. As part of international efforts, the OECD Halden Reactor Project program implemented a test series to address particular LOCA issues. Based on recommendations of a group of experts from the US NRC, EPRI, EDF, FRAMATOME-ANP and GNF, the primary objective of the experiments were defined as 1. Measure the extent of fuel (fragment) relocation into the ballooned region and evaluate its possible effect on cladding temperature and oxidation. 2. Investigate the extent (if any) of 'secondary transient hydriding' on the inner side of the cladding above and below the burst region. The Halden LOCA series, using high burnup fuel segments, contains test cases well suited for checking the ability of LOCA analysis codes to predict or reproduce the measurements and to provide clues as to where the codes need to be improved. The NEA Working Group on Fuel Safety, WGFS, therefore decided to conduct a code benchmark based on the Halden LOCA test series. Emphasis was on the codes' ability to predict or reproduce the thermal and mechanical response of fuel and cladding. Before starting the benchmark, participants were given the opportunity to tune their codes to the experimental system applied in the Halden LOCA tests. To this end, the data from the two commissioning runs were made available. The first of these runs went

Estimate of LOCA-FI plenum pressure uncertainty for a five-ring RELAP5 production reactor model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Griggs, D.P.

1993-03-01

The RELAP5/MOD2.5 code (RELAP5) is used to perform best-estimate analyses of certain postulated Design Basis Accidents (DBAs) in SRS production reactors. Currently, the most limiting DBA in terms of reactor power level is an instantaneous double-ended guillotine break (DEGB) loss of coolant accident (LOCA). A six-loop RELAP5 K Reactor model is used to analyze the reactor system behavior dozing the Flow Instability (FI) phase of the LOCA, which comprises only the first 5 seconds following the DEGB. The RELAP5 K Reactor model includes tank and plenum nodalizations having five radial rings and six azimuthal sectors. The reactor system analysis provides time-dependent plenum and tank bottom pressures for use as boundary conditions in the FLOWTRAN code, which models a single fuel assembly in detail. RELAP5 also performs the system analysis for the latter phase of the LOCA, denoted the Emergency Cooling System (ECS) phase. Results from the RELAP analysis are used to provide boundary conditions to the FLOWTRAN-TF code, which is an advanced two-phase version of FLOWTRAN. The RELAP5 K Reactor model has been tested for LOCA-FI and Loss-of-Pumping Accident analyses and the results compared with equivalent analyses performed with the TRAC-PF1/MOD1 code (TRAC). An equivalent RELAP5 six-loop, five-ring, six-sector L Reactor model has been benchmarked against qualified single-phase system data from the 1989 L-Area In-Reactor Test Program. The RELAP5 K and L Reactor models have also been subjected to an independent Quality Assurance verification

Special LOFT features for improved monitoring and survival of LOCA transients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goodrich, L.D.; Leach, L.P.; Klingler, T.B.; Morrow, J.C.; Phoenix, W.C.; Satterwhite, D.G.; Sumpter, K.C.; Rouhani, S.Z.; Welland, H.J.

1980-01-01

LOFT is designed to monitor and survive Loss-Of-Coolant-Accidents (LOCAs). This report presents the primary design difference from LPWRs that were required to accomplish this. These design differences may be of interest to the nuclear power generator industry. This report should be revised semi-annually or as developments in the LOFT Program require

Identification of Error of Commissions in the LOCA Using the CESA Method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tukhbyet-olla, Myeruyert; Kang, Sunkoo; Kim, Jonghyun [KEPCO international nuclear graduate school, Ulsan (Korea, Republic of)

2015-10-15

An Errors of commission (EOCs) can be defined as the performance of any inappropriate action that aggravates the situation. The primary focus in current PSA is placed on those sequences of hardware failures and/or EOOs that lead to unsafe system states. Although EOCs can be treated when identified, a systematic and comprehensive treatment of EOC opportunities remains outside the scope of PSAs. However, some past experiences in the nuclear industry show that EOCs have contributed to severe accidents. Some recent and emerging human reliability analysis (HRA) methods suggest approaches to identify and quantify EOCs, such as ATHEANA, MERMOS, GRS, MDTA, and CESA. The CESA method, developed by the Risk and Human Reliability Group at the Paul Scherrer Institute, is to identify potentially risk-significant EOCs, given an existing PSA. The main idea underlying the method is to catalog the key actions that are required in the procedural response to plant events and to identify specific scenarios in which these candidate actions could erroneously appear to be required. This paper aims at identifying EOCs in the LOCA by using the CESA method. This study is focused on the identification of EOCs, while the quantification of EOCs is out of scope. Then, this paper applies the CESA method to the emergency operating procedure (EOP) of LOCA for APR1400. Finally, this study presents potential EOCs that may lead to the aggravation in the mitigation of LOCA. This study has identified the EOC events for APR1400 in the LOCA using CESA method. The result identified three candidate EOCs event using operator action catalog and RAW cutset of LOCA. These candidate EOC events are inappropriate terminations of safety injection system, safety injection tank and containment spray system. Then after reviewing top 100 accident sequences of PSA, this study finally identified one EOC scenario and EOC path, that is, inappropriate termination of safety injection system.

Effective water cooling of very hot surfaces during the LOCA accident.

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Štepánek, J.; Bláha, V.; Dostál, V.; Entler, Slavomír

2017-01-01

Roč. 124, November (2017), s. 1211-1214 ISSN 0920-3796. [SOFT 2016: Symposium on Fusion Technology /29./. Prague, 05.09.2016-09.09.2016] Institutional support: RVO:61389021 Keywords : LOCA * Quenching * Divertor cooling * Heat transfer * Rewetting Subject RIV: JF - Nuclear Energetics OBOR OECD: Nuclear related engineering Impact factor: 1.319, year: 2016 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0920379617303733

Analysis of the bubble condenser structure of WWER-440 NPP under LOCA loading

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zeman, P.

2003-01-01

Two problems may arise in relation to the title topic: (1) problem with the uplift of the beams I 600 of the first floor, and (2) possible plastic collapse of the wall on the 12th floor. The problems were tacked by computer calculations. The FEM model of the bubble condenser was created in the ANSYS 6.0 environment and analyzed for the pressure loading defined for the LOCA accident in IAEA TECDOC 803. The model of the bubble condenser structure so created included all geometrical and material non-linearities. The duration of the pressure wave was 0.4 s, amplitude 30 kPa. The analyses revealed that a plastic collapse of the tank wall is not the most critical failure mode. Instead, weld connections appear to be the most critical parts of structure. The tank walls are very ductile and the results of the analyses are in agreement with the test simulating the LOCA accident. The tank walls suffered no damage during the tests

Reliability of piping system components. Volume 2: PSA LOCA data base. Review of methods for LOCA evaluation since the WASH-1400

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nyman, R.; Erixon, S. [Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate, Stockholm (Sweden); Tomic, B. [ENCONET Consulting GmbH, Vienna (Austria); Lydell, B. [RSA Technologies, Visat, CA (United States)

1996-09-01

The Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate has undertaken a project to establish a comprehensive passive components database, validate failure rate parameter estimates and model framework for enhancement of integrating passive components failures in existing PSAs. Phase 1 of the project produced a relational database on worldwide piping system failure. Approx. 2300 failure events allowed for data exploration in Phase 2 to develop a sound basis for PSA treatment of piping system failure. In addition, a comprehensive review of the current consideration of LOCA in PSA and of all available literature in this area was undertaken. This report is devoted to identification of treatment of LOCA in PSAs. The report contains a detailed review of many programs and dozens of specific PSA studies for different reactor types. This collection and analysis of information together with information for the relational database was used to develop a matrix approach on contribution to LOCA events from different components which are part of the reactor coolant system pressure boundary. The overall conclusion of the work is that although there are some further developments in this area, there is still no significant enhancement of ways how LOCA are considered in PSAs as compared to the mid 70s, only selected studies attempted to address LOCAs in a more comprehensive way. Later phases of this project are expected to contribute to enhancement of treatment of LOCA events in PSA studies. 54 refs, 25 tabs.

Reliability of piping system components. Volume 2: PSA LOCA data base. Review of methods for LOCA evaluation since the WASH-1400

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nyman, R.; Erixon, S.; Tomic, B.; Lydell, B.

1996-09-01

The Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate has undertaken a project to establish a comprehensive passive components database, validate failure rate parameter estimates and model framework for enhancement of integrating passive components failures in existing PSAs. Phase 1 of the project produced a relational database on worldwide piping system failure. Approx. 2300 failure events allowed for data exploration in Phase 2 to develop a sound basis for PSA treatment of piping system failure. In addition, a comprehensive review of the current consideration of LOCA in PSA and of all available literature in this area was undertaken. This report is devoted to identification of treatment of LOCA in PSAs. The report contains a detailed review of many programs and dozens of specific PSA studies for different reactor types. This collection and analysis of information together with information for the relational database was used to develop a matrix approach on contribution to LOCA events from different components which are part of the reactor coolant system pressure boundary. The overall conclusion of the work is that although there are some further developments in this area, there is still no significant enhancement of ways how LOCA are considered in PSAs as compared to the mid 70s, only selected studies attempted to address LOCAs in a more comprehensive way. Later phases of this project are expected to contribute to enhancement of treatment of LOCA events in PSA studies. 54 refs, 25 tabs

Improvement on models associated with LOCA and loss of RHR accidents during shutdown

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, W. P.; Chung, Y. J.; Kim, W. S.; Kim, K. D.; Lee, S. J.; Jung, J. J.; Ha, G. S.; Son, Y. S.; Chung, B. D.; Han, D. H.; Lee, Y. J.; Hwang, T. S.; Lee, S. Y.; Park, C. Y.; Choi, H. R.; Lee, S. Y.; Choi, J. H.; Ban, C. H.; Bae, G. H.

1997-07-01

The characteristics of the best estimate codes available in Korea have been studied through literature surveys for the reliability on LOCA analyses and then, a feasibility study on reduction of capacities of existing safety systems in YGN 3/4 have been carried out using the codes. Since it has been expected to adopt DVI + 4 -Train HPSI in the next generation reactor, the core uncoveries under one DVI line break and 6 cold leg break, which is a requirement for advance d reactor by EPRI, in addition to LBLOCA for reduction effect of SIT capacity, have been analyzed. Finally, an effort on finding the way how the system could be simplified, has been made through the analysis of SIT injection characteristics. On the other hand, the best estimate methodology consisting of uncertainties of the code itself, bias, and application have been developed first and quantification of the uncertainty has been made the case of KORI unit 3 afterward. The prediction capabilities of the best estimate codes and major physical models on the accident under loss of RHR during shutdown have been assessed suing the large scale experimental data delivered from France and then, the assessed codes have been used to provide essential data required for description of operation procedures in YGN 3/4. (author). 64 refs., 45 figs

Analysis of a LOCA crash into a reactor containment PWR-W with the GOTHIC code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perianez Alvarez, V.

2013-01-01

The main objective of the work is the simulation of a severe accident, type LOCA with the GOTHIC-code, calculations of pressure and temperature in the containment levels, as well as the three-dimensional distribution of the inventory within the containment.

Review of RIA and LOCA criteria for WWER fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hozer, Z.

2006-01-01

The RIA and LOCA fuel safety criteria are under revision in the international community of fuel suppliers, authorities and research organizations. The main criteria will be reviewed in the paper for WWER fuel. Experimental data on the fuel failure behaviour under reactivity-initiated accident (RIA) conditions produced in the last decade in French and Japanese test reactors indicated low failure enthalpy for high burnup fuel compared to fresh fuel. However the high burnup was not the only phenomenon influencing the fuel failure. The oxide scale on the external surface of the fuel rod, hydrogen content of the Zr cladding and the local hydriding seemed also be responsible for the failure at low enthalpy. Furthermore differences have been found between Western design fuel and Russian type WWER fuel. The burnup dependence of fuel failure for WWER fuel was found much less, probably due to the low oxidation during normal operational conditions compared to other PWRs. The recently published Vitanza and KAERI correlations for RIA failure enthalpy have been applied to 23 WWER tests. Experimental data from Russian IGR and BIGR reactors have been used. The calculations have shown that both burnup and cladding oxidation effects must be considered, however the pulse width dependence of failure enthalpy has not been confirmed. During loss of coolant accidents (LOCA) the peak cladding temperature and local oxidation criteria have to be met. The oxidation criterion is under discussion today in many laboratories. The AEKI carried out several experimental series with Zr1%Nb cladding used in WWER reactors. The paper will describe the main results of the tests and present the limit for ductile-brittle transition derived from ring compression test. The behaviour of Zr1%Nb (E110) and Zircaloy-4 claddings under LOCA conditions will be compared as well. (author)

Analysis and development of the automated emergency algorithm to control primary to secondary LOCA for SUNPP safety upgrading

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, V.; Kuznetsov, V.; Balakan, G.; Gromov, G.; Krushynsky, A.; Sholomitsky, S.; Lola, I.

2007-01-01

The paper presents the results of the study conducted to support planned modernization of the South Ukraine nuclear power plant. The objective of the analysis has been to develop the automated emergency control algorithm for primary to secondary LOCA accident for SUNPP WWER-1000 safety upgrading. According to the analyses performed in the framework of safety assesment report, given accident is the most complex for control and has the largest contribution into the core damage frequency value. This is because of initial event diagnostics is difficult, emergency control is complicated for personnel, time available for decision making and actions performing is limited with coolant inventory for make-up, probability of steam dump valves on affected steam generator non-closing after opening is high, and as a consequence containment bypass, irretrievable loss of coolant and radioactive materials release into the environment are possible. Unit design modifications are directed on expansion of safety systems capabilities to overcome given accident and to facilitate the personnel actions on emergency control. Safety systems modification according to developed algorithm will allow to simplify accident control by personnel and enable to control the ECCS discharge limiting pressure below the affected steam generator steam dump valve opening pressure, and decrease the probability of the containment bypass sequences. The analysis of the primary-to-secondary LOCA thermal-hydraulics has been conducted with RELAP5/Mod 3.2, and involved development of the dedicated analytical model, calculations of various plant response accident scenarios, conducting of plant personnel intervention analyses using full-scale simulator, development and justification of the emergency control algorithm aimed on the minimization of negative consequences of the primary-to-secondary LOCA (Authors)

Steam generator tube rupture effects on a LOCA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

LaChance, J.L.

1979-01-01

A problem currently experienced in commercial operating pressurized water reactors (PWR) in the United States is the degradation of steam generator tubes. Safety questions have arisen concerning the effect of these degraded tubes rupturing during a postulated loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA). To determine the effect of a small number of tube ruptures on the behavior of a large PWR during a postulated LOCA, a series of computer simulations was performed. The primary concern of the study was to determine whether a small number (10 or less of steam generator tubes rupturing at the beginning surface temperatures. Additional reflood analyses were performed to determine the system behavior when from 10 to 60 tubes rupture at the beginning of core reflood. The FLOOD4 code was selected as being the most applicable code for use in this study after an extensive analysis of the capabilities of existing codes to perform simulations of a LOCA with concurrent steam generator tube ruptures. The results of the study indicate that the rupturing of 10 or less steam generator tubes in any of the steam generators during a 200% cold leg break will not result in a significant increase in the peak cladding temperature. However, because of the vaporization of the steam generator secondary water in the primary side of the steam generator, a significant increase in the core pressure occurs which retards the reflooding process

Hydrogen production in a PWR during LOCA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cassette, P.

1984-01-01

Hydrogen generation during a PWR LOCA has been estimated for design basis accident and for two more severe hypothetical accidents. Hydrogen production during design basis accident is a rather slow mechanism, allowing in the worst case, 15 days to connect a hydrogen recombining unit to the containment atmosphere monitoring system. Hydrogen generated by steam oxidation during more severe hypothetical accidents was found limited by steam availability and fuel melting phenomena. Uncertainty is, however, still remaining on corium-zirconium-steam interaction. In the worst case, calculations lead to the production of 500 kg of hydrogen, thus leading to a volume concentration of 15% in containment atmosphere, assuming homogeneous hydrogen distribution within the reactor building. This concentration is within flammability limits but not within detonation limits. However, hydrogen detonation due to local hydrogen accumulation cannot be discarded. A major uncertainty subsisting on hydrogen hazard is hydrogen distribution during the first hours of the accident. This point determines the effects and consequences of local detonation or deflagration which could possibly be harmful to safeguard systems, or induce missile generation in the reactor building. As electrical supply failures are identified as an important contributor to severe accident risk, corrective actions have been taken in France to improve their reliability, including the installation of a gas turbine on each site to supplement the existing sources. These actions are thus contributing to hydrogen hazard reduction

APR1400 CEA Withdrawal at Power Accident Analysis using KNAP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Dong-Hyuk; Yang, Chang-Keun; Kim, Yo-Han; Sung, Chang-Kyung

2006-01-01

KEPRI (Korea Electric Power Research Institute) has been developing safety analysis methodology for non- LOCA (Loss Of Coolant Accident) analysis of OPR1000 (Optimized Power Reactor 1000, formerly KSNP). The new methodology, named KNAP (Korea Non-LOCA Analysis Package), uses RETRAN as the main system analysis code. RETRAN code is a non- LOCA safety analysis code developed by EPRI. The new methodology will replace existing CE (Combustion Engineering) supplied codes and methodologies currently used in non-LOCA analysis of OPR1000. In this paper, we apply KNAP methodology to APR1400 (Advanced Power Reactor 1400). The CEA (Control Element Assembly) withdrawal at power accident is one of the 'reactivity and power distribution anomalies' events and the results are typically described in the chapter 15.4.2 of SAR (Safety Analysis Report). The APR1400 has been designed to generate 1,400MWe of electricity with advanced features for greatly enhanced safety and economic goals. The CEA withdrawal at power analysis in APR1400 SSAR (Standard Safety Analysis Report) is analyzed with CESEC-III computer code. In this study, to confirm the applicability of the KNAP methodology and code system to APR1400, CEA withdrawal at power accident is analyzed using RETRAN code and it is compared with results from APR1400 SSAR

Application of RASCAL code for multiunit accident in domestic nuclear sites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Sang Hyun; Jeong, Seung Young [Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2014-10-15

All of domestic nuclear power plant sites are multiunit site (at least 5 - 6 reactors are operating), so this capability has to be quickly secured for nuclear licensee and institutes responsible for nuclear emergency response. In this study, source term and offsite dose from multiunit event were assessed using a computer code, RASCAL. An emergency exercise scenario was chosen to verify applicability of the codes to domestic nuclear site accident. Employing tools and new features of the code, such as merging more than two individual source terms and source term estimate for long term progression accident, main parameters and information in the scenario, release estimates and dose projections were performed. Radiological releases and offsite doses from multiunit accident were calculated using RASCAL.. A scenario, in which three reactors were damaged coincidently by a great natural disaster, was considered. Surrogate plants were chosen for the code calculation. Source terms of each damaged unit were calculated individually first, and then total source term and integrated offsite dose assessment data was acquired using a source term merge function in the code. Also comparison between LTSBO and LOCA source term estimate options was performed. Differences in offsite doses were caused by release characteristics. From LTSBO option, iodines were released much higher than LOCA. Also LTSBO source term release was delayed and the duration was longer than LOCA. This option would be useful to accidents which progress with much longer time frame than LOCA. RASCAL can be useful tool for radiological consequence assessment in domestic nuclear site accidents.

Embrittlement of pre-hydrided Zircaloy-4 by steam oxidation under simulated LOCA transients

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Desquines, J., E-mail: jean.desquines@irsn.fr; Drouan, D.; Guilbert, S.; Lacote, P.

2016-02-15

During a Loss Of Coolant Accident (LOCA), the mechanical behavior of high temperature steam oxidized fuel rods is an important issue. In this study, as-received and pre-hydrided axial tensile samples were steam oxidized in a vertical furnace and water quenched in order to simulate a LOCA transient. The samples were then subjected to a mechanical test to determine the failure conditions. Two different rupture modes were evidenced; the first one associated to linear elastic fracture mechanics and the second one is associated to sample failure without applied load. The oxidized cladding fracture toughness was determined relying on intensive metallographic analysis. The sample failure conditions were then back predicted confirming that the main rupture parameters are well captured.

Accident Sequence Precursor Analysis for SGTR by Using Dynamic PSA Approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Han Sul; Heo, Gyun Young; Kim, Tae Wan

2016-01-01

In order to address this issue, this study suggests the sequence tree model to analyze accident sequence systematically. Using the sequence tree model, all possible scenarios which need a specific safety action to prevent the core damage can be identified and success conditions of safety action under complicated situation such as combined accident will be also identified. Sequence tree is branch model to divide plant condition considering the plant dynamics. Since sequence tree model can reflect the plant dynamics, arising from interaction of different accident timing and plant condition and from the interaction between the operator action, mitigation system, and the indicators for operation, sequence tree model can be used to develop the dynamic event tree model easily. Target safety action for this study is a feed-and-bleed (F and B) operation. A F and B operation directly cools down the reactor cooling system (RCS) using the primary cooling system when residual heat removal by the secondary cooling system is not available. In this study, a TLOFW accident and a TLOFW accident with LOCA were the target accidents. Based on the conventional PSA model and indicators, the sequence tree model for a TLOFW accident was developed. Based on the results of a sampling analysis and data from the conventional PSA model, the CDF caused by Sequence no. 26 can be realistically estimated. For a TLOFW accident with LOCA, second accident timings were categorized according to plant condition. Indicators were selected as branch point using the flow chart and tables, and a corresponding sequence tree model was developed. If sampling analysis is performed, practical accident sequences can be identified based on the sequence analysis. If a realistic distribution for the variables can be obtained for sampling analysis, much more realistic accident sequences can be described. Moreover, if the initiating event frequency under a combined accident can be quantified, the sequence tree model

Simulated LOCA Test and Characterization Study Related to High Burn-Up Issue

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, D. J.; Jung, Y. I.; Choi, B. K.; Park, S. Y.; Kim, H. G.; Park, J. Y.

2012-01-01

For the safety evaluation of fuel cladding during the injection of emergency core coolant, simulated Loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) test was performed by using Zircaloy-4 fuel cladding samples. Zircaloy-4 tube samples with and without prehydring were oxidized in a steam environment with the test temperature of 1200 .deg. C. Prehydrided cladding was prepared from as-fabricated Zircaloy-4 to study the effects of hydrogen on mechanical properties of cladding during high temperature oxidation and quench conditions. In order to measure the ductility of the tube samples embrittled by quenching water, ring compression test was carried out by using 8 mm ring sample sectioned from oxidized tube sample and microstructural analysis was also performed after simulated LOCA test. The results showed that hydrogen increases oxygen solubility and pickup rate in the beta layer. This reduces ductility of prehydrided fuel cladding compared with as-fabricated cladding. Trend in ductility decrease for prehydrided sample under simulated LOCA condition was very similar with data obtained from tests conducted using irradiated high burn-up fuel claddings

Feasibility study on the rod ejection accident analysis with RETRAN-MASTER code system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Y. H.; Lee, C. S.

2003-01-01

KEPRI has been developed the in-house methodology for non-LOCA safety analyses based on the codes and methodologies of vendors and EPRI. Using the methodology, the rod ejection accident, which is classified into the generic accident analysis category of reactivity insertion accident in primary system, has been analyzed with RETRAN-MASTER code system. And the feasibility of the coupled code system has been verified by the review of the results. Furthermore, to assess the important parameters to the accident, the sensitivity analyses have been carried out over some parameters

Estimation of Leak Flow Rate during Post-LOCA Using Cascaded Fuzzy Neural Networks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Dong Yeong [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Na, Man Gyun [Chosun University, Gwangju (Korea, Republic of)

2016-10-15

In this study, important parameters such as the break position, size, and leak flow rate of loss of coolant accidents (LOCAs), provide operators with essential information for recovering the cooling capability of the nuclear reactor core, for preventing the reactor core from melting down, and for managing severe accidents effectively. Leak flow rate should consist of break size, differential pressure, temperature, and so on (where differential pressure means difference between internal and external reactor vessel pressure). The leak flow rate is strongly dependent on the break size and the differential pressure, but the break size is not measured and the integrity of pressure sensors is not assured in severe circumstances. In this paper, a cascaded fuzzy neural network (CFNN) model is appropriately proposed to estimate the leak flow rate out of break, which has a direct impact on the important times (time approaching the core exit temperature that exceeds 1200 .deg. F, core uncover time, reactor vessel failure time, etc.). The CFNN is a data-based model, it requires data to develop and verify itself. Because few actual severe accident data exist, it is essential to obtain the data required in the proposed model using numerical simulations. In this study, a CFNN model was developed to predict the leak flow rate before proceeding to severe LOCAs. The simulations showed that the developed CFNN model accurately predicted the leak flow rate with less error than 0.5%. The CFNN model is much better than FNN model under the same conditions, such as the same fuzzy rules. At the result of comparison, the RMS errors of the CFNN model were reduced by approximately 82 ~ 97% of those of the FNN model.

Results of small break LOCA analysis for Kuosheng nuclear power plant using the RELAP5YA computer code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, L.C.; Jeng, S.C.; Chung, N.M.

2004-01-01

One lesson learned from the Three Mile Island (TMI) accident was the analysis methods used by Nuclear Steam Supply System (NSSS) vendors and/or nuclear fuel suppliers for small break Loss Of Coolant Accident (LOCA) analysis for compliance with appendix K to 10CFR50 should be revised, documented and submitted for USNRC approval and the plant-specific calculations using NRC-approved models for small-break LOCA to show compliance with 10CFR50.46 should be submitted for NRC approval. A study by Taiwan Power Company (TPC) under the guidance of Yankee Atomic Electric Company (YAEC) has been undertaken to perform this analysis for Kuosheng nuclear power plant. This paper presents the results of the analysis that are useful in satisfying the same requirements of the Republic Of China Atomic Energy Commission (ROCAEC). (author)

Calculation of Reactivity Build up in KANUPP core in Case of Large Break LOCA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arshad, M. W.

2012-01-01

Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA) in a Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) leads to coolant expulsion in a primary heat transport system resulting in depressurization and possible core voiding. This results in deterioration of cooling conditions in reactor channels and increase in power before reactor shutdown, leading to higher fuel temperatures.The objective of this thesis is to couple Thermal Hydraulics Data for finding status of 2288 fuel bundles having unique coolant density along with continuous changing state of coolant. WIMCER and CITCER are used for the core calculation in case of LOCA and Thermal Hydraulic Data is obtained from the Thermal Hydraulic code TUF (two unequal flows). These codes are coupled with each other in C programming. Due to degradation of coolant in case of LOCA, the power and reactivity start increasing. Near to 5 mk of reactivity the moderator dump start and reactor goes shut down. The result obtained from these code is followed the same trend as shown in KFSAR. (author)

About criteria of inadmissible embrittlement of zirconium fuel cladding during LOCA in the PWRs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Osmachkin, V.S.

1999-01-01

According the licensing procedures the designers of the PWRs reactor have to prove the meeting of special safety requirements. One criteria on effectiveness of the Emergency Core Cooling System is not to exceeding some limited conditions of the fuel cladding during LOCA accidents (typical example T m ax o C, ECR<0,17 and oth.). The damage of fuel element in the core during LOCA is caused by the oxidation of the cladding, its embrittlement and thermal shock stresses after initiation of the heat removal by a cold water from emergency core cooling system. In the paper the conservatism in criteria to avoid brittle ruptures of the fuel elements is discussed. Taking into account the influence of fuel burnup on the property of the cladding and a potential presence of air in the steam, it is believed that criteria of survivability of the zircaloy fuel cladding during LOCA may not be enough conservative.(author)

The deformation of PWR fuel in a LOCA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mann, C.A.; Hindle, E.D.; Parsons, P.D.

1982-04-01

Available world-wide published data on the deformation of PWR fuel in a loss-of-coolant accident are reviewed. Adequate data exist for the oxidation of Zircaloy up to about 1500 0 C; data are increasingly sparse above this temperature and lacking above the melting point. The US NRC criteria for embrittlement are discussed and considered adequate for undeformed cladding, though they may be less so for deformed thinned material. Cladding deformation and the factors controlling it are considered in the light of data from the US, Germany, Japan and the UK. It is concluded that strains in the range 30% - 70% can be produced in experiments simulating LOCA conditions. The behaviour of cladding is strongly influenced by the spatial distribution of temperature, which is in turn dependent on heat transfer mechanisms at the surfaces of the cladding. No realistic experiment, i.e. one with a multirod array and simulated cooling, has produced deformations which would inhibit quenching. Such experiments have not, however, as yet covered the entire range of conditions which might obtain following a LOCA. (author)

Monitoring Severe Accidents Using AI Techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

No, Young Gyu; Kim, Ju Hyun; Na, Man Gyun; Ahn, Kwang Il

2011-01-01

It is very difficult for nuclear power plant operators to monitor and identify the major severe accident scenarios following an initiating event by staring at temporal trends of important parameters. The objective of this study is to develop and verify the monitoring for severe accidents using artificial intelligence (AI) techniques such as support vector classification (SVC), probabilistic neural network (PNN), group method of data handling (GMDH) and fuzzy neural network (FNN). The SVC and PNN are used for event classification among the severe accidents. Also, GMDH and FNN are used to monitor for severe accidents. The inputs to AI techniques are initial time-integrated values obtained by integrating measurement signals during a short time interval after reactor scram. In this study, 3 types of initiating events such as the hot-leg LOCA, the cold-leg LOCA and SGTR are considered and it is verified how well the proposed scenario identification algorithm using the GMDH and FNN models identifies the timings when the reactor core will be uncovered, when CET will exceed 1200 .deg. F and when the reactor vessel will fail. In cases that an initiating event develops into a severe accident, the proposed algorithm showed accurate classification of initiating events. Also, it well predicted timings for important occurrences during severe accident progression scenarios, which is very helpful for operators to perform severe accident management

Simulation of fuel rod behaviour during various break LOCAs in PWRs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gadalla, A.A.; El-Fawal, M.M.

1996-01-01

During loss of coolant accident (LOCAs) course of events, attention focuses on fuel rod cladding temperature behaviour. In this study, the DRUFAN analytical model and LOBI-MOD2 experimental modeling scheme for fuel rod temperature behaviour during C L-Break LOCA in PWRs, are described and discussed. These models are applied for the investigation of fuel rod cladding temperature behaviour during LOCA blowdown phase. A spectrum of selected values representing small, intermediate and large CL- Break sizes are considered in the predictions. The results of the predictions demonstrated that calculated heater rod temperature at steady state as well as the transient period up to 1000 sec are going in good agreement with the measured values. However above 1000 sec the calculated temperatures are higher than the measured values. This indicates that code predictions in this period are conservative. The results indicated also that, in case of small CL-break LOCA (0.01 A and 0.01 and 0.03 A), the heater rod cladding temperature don't rise above saturation temperature. However, on the top of the heater rod, DNB is occurred in case of 0.03 A CL break, while for 0.01 A break, DNB didn't occur. In case of intermediate and large CL-break; (0.05 A, 0.10 A and 1 A), the results showed that, the heater rod cladding temperature exceeded the saturation temperature and DNB prevailed in upper and intermediate sections of the core. 15 figs., 2 tabs

Hot Cell Installation and Demonstration of the Severe Accident Test Station

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Linton, Kory D. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Burns, Zachary M. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Terrani, Kurt A. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Yan, Yong [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

2017-08-01

A Severe Accident Test Station (SATS) capable of examining the oxidation kinetics and accident response of irradiated fuel and cladding materials for design basis accident (DBA) and beyond design basis accident (BDBA) scenarios has been successfully installed and demonstrated in the Irradiated Fuels Examination Laboratory (IFEL), a hot cell facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The two test station modules provide various temperature profiles, steam, and the thermal shock conditions necessary for integral loss of coolant accident (LOCA) testing, defueled oxidation quench testing and high temperature BDBA testing. The installation of the SATS system restores the domestic capability to examine postulated and extended LOCA conditions on spent fuel and cladding and provides a platform for evaluation of advanced fuel and accident tolerant fuel (ATF) cladding concepts. This document reports on the successful in-cell demonstration testing of unirradiated Zircaloy-4. It also contains descriptions of the integral test facility capabilities, installation activities, and out-of-cell benchmark testing to calibrate and optimize the system.

Performance of core exit thermocouple for PWR accident management action in vessel top break LOCA simulation experiment at OECD/NEA ROSA project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzuki, Mitsuhiro; Takeda, Takeshi; Nakamura, Hideo

2009-01-01

Presented are experiment results of the Large Scale Test Facility (LSTF) conducted at the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) with a focus on core exit thermocouple (CET) performance to detect core overheat during a vessel top break loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) simulation experiment. The CET temperatures are used to start accident management (AM) action to quickly depressurize steam generator (SG) secondary side in case of core temperature excursion. Test 6-1 is first test of the OECD/NEA ROSA Project started in 2005, simulating withdraw of a control rod drive mechanism penetration nozzle at the vessel top head. The break size is equivalent to 1.9% cold leg break. The AM action was initiated when CET temperature rose up to 623K. There was no reflux water fallback onto the CETs during the core heat-up period. The core overheat, however, was detected with a time delay of about 230s. In addition, a large temperature discrepancy was observed between the CETs and the hottest core region. This paper clarifies the reason of time delay and temperature discrepancy between the CETs and heated core during boil-off including three-dimensional steam flows in the core and core exit. The paper discusses applicability of the LSTF CET performance to pressurized water reactor (PWR) conditions and a possibility of alternative indicators for earlier AM action than in Test 6-1 is studied by using symptom-based plant parameters such as a reactor vessel water level detection. (author)

Fuel-rod response during the large-break LOCA Test LOC-6

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vinjamuri, K.; Cook, B.A.; Hobbins, R.R.

1981-01-01

The large break Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA) Test LOC-6 was conducted in the Power Burst Facility (PBF) at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory by EG and G Idaho, Inc. The objectives of the PBF LOCA tests are to obtain in-pile cladding ballooning data under blowdown and reflood conditions and assess how well out-of-pile ballooning data represent in-pile fuel rod behavior. The primary objective of the LOC-6 test was to determine the effects of internal rod pressures and prior irradiation on the deformation behavior of fuel rods that reached cladding temperatures high in the alpha phase of zircaloy. Test LOC-6 was conducted with four rods of PWR 15 x 15 design with the exception of fuel stack length (89 cm) and enrichment (12.5 W% 235 U). Each rod was surrounded by an individual flow shroud

Neural network-based expert system for severe accident management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klopp, G.T.; Silverman, E.B.

1992-01-01

This paper presents the results of the second phase of a three-phase Severe Accident Management expert system program underway at Commonwealth Edison Company (CECo). Phase I successfully demonstrated the feasibility of Artificial Neural Networks to support several of the objectives of severe accident management. Simulated accident scenarios were generated by the Modular Accident Analysis Program (MAAP) code currently in use by CECo as part of their Individual Plant Evaluations (IPE)/Accident Management Program. The primary objectives of the second phase were to develop and demonstrate four capabilities of neural networks with respect to nuclear power plant severe accident monitoring and prediction. The results of this work would form the foundation of a demonstration system which included expert system performance features. These capabilities included the ability to: (1) Predict the time available prior to support plate (and reactor vessel) failure; (2) Calculate the time remaining until recovery actions were too late to prevent core damage; (3) Predict future parameter values of each of the MAAP parameter variables; and (4) Detect simulated sensor failure and provide best-value estimates for further processing in the presence of a sensor failure. A variety of accident scenarios for the Zion and Dresden plants were used to train and test the neural network expert system. These included large and small break LOCAs as well as a range of transient events. 3 refs., 1 fig., 1 tab

ASTEC and MELCOR comparison for a VVER-1000 60 mm small break LOCA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Georgieva, J.; Stefanova, A.; Groudev, P.; Tusheva, P.; Mladenov, I.; Dimov, D.; Passalacqua, R.

2005-01-01

In this paper a comparison between severe accident calculations performed for a WWER 1000 with the ASTEC1.1v0 and MELCOR 1.8.5 computer codes for a small break LOCA (ID 60 mm) without intervention of hydro accumulators is presented. This investigation has been performed in the framework of the SARNET project under the EURATOM 6th framework program. Once the accident sequence scenario is specified, both codes (MELCORE and ASTEC) are able to determine the core and containment damaged states, to estimate the release of radionuclides from the fuel as well as from the primary circuit and containment. Theses results are used to estimate the maximum period of the time during which the personnel could still take particular decisions in order to mitigate such an accident. The aim of the performed analysis is to estimate the discrepancy between ASTEC and MELCORE 1.8.5 calculations. Such discrepancies will be studied, if the case, proposal for ASTEC improvements will be made. Also the ASTEC capability to simulate specific reactor accident scenarios and/or particular safety systems will be tested. The final target is to propose severe accident management procedure for WWER 1000 reactors. In conclusions, the analysis for a small break LOCA (ID 60 mm without hydroelectricities) has shown some discrepancies between ASTEC and MELCORE especially during the degradation of the core. Further analyses are planed in which the MELCORE temperature 'set point' for core degradation (2520 K) will be progressively increased to approach the ASTEC one (which has been estimated to be about 3200 K). The comparison of the new results will allow a better evaluation of the in-vessel models implemented in ASTEC

Analysis of small break loss of coolant accident for Chinese CPR1000

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Ju Youl [FNC Technology Co., Yongin (Korea, Republic of); Cilier, Anthonie [North-West University, Mahikeng (South Africa); Poc, Li-chi Cliff [Micro-Simulation Technology, Montville (United States)

2016-05-15

This research analyses the small break loss of coolant accident (LOCA) on a Chinese CPR1000 type reactor. LOCA accident is used as benchmark for the PCTRAN/CPR1000 code by comparing the effects and results to the Manshaan FSAR accident analysis. LOCA is a design basis accident in which a guillotine break is postulated to occur in one of the cold legs of a pressurized water reactor (PWR). Consequently, the primary system pressure would drop and almost all the reactor coolant would be discharged into the reactor containment. The drop in pressure would activate the reactor protection system and the reactor would trip. The simulation of a 3-inch small break loss of coolant accident using the PCTRAN/CPR1000 has revealed this code's effectiveness as well as weaknesses in specific simulation applications. The code has the ability to run at 16 times real time and produce very accurate results. The results are consistently producing the same trends as licensed codes used in Safety Assessment Reports. It is however able to produce these results in a fraction of the time and also provides a whole plant simulation coupling the various thermal, hydraulic, chemical and neutronic systems together with a plant specific control system.

Review of experimental data for modelling LWR fuel cladding behaviour under loss of coolant accident conditions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Massih, Ali R. [Quantum Technologies AB, Uppsala Science Park (Sweden)

2007-02-15

Extensive range of experiments has been conducted in the past to quantitatively identify and understand the behaviour of fuel rod under loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) conditions in light water reactors (LWRs). The obtained experimental data provide the basis for the current emergency core cooling system acceptance criteria under LOCA conditions for LWRs. The results of recent experiments indicate that the cladding alloy composition and high burnup effects influence LOCA acceptance criteria margins. In this report, we review some past important and recent experimental results. We first discuss the background to acceptance criteria for LOCA, namely, clad embrittlement phenomenology, clad embrittlement criteria (limitations on maximum clad oxidation and peak clad temperature) and the experimental bases for the criteria. Two broad kinds of test have been carried out under LOCA conditions: (i) Separate effect tests to study clad oxidation, clad deformation and rupture, and zirconium alloy allotropic phase transition during LOCA. (ii) Integral LOCA tests, in which the entire LOCA sequence is simulated on a single rod or a multi-rod array in a fuel bundle, in laboratory or in a tests and results are discussed and empirical correlations deduced from these tests and quantitative models are conferred. In particular, the impact of niobium in zirconium base clad and hydrogen content of the clad on allotropic phase transformation during LOCA and also the burst stress are discussed. We review some recent LOCA integral test results with emphasis on thermal shock tests. Finally, suggestions for modelling and further evaluation of certain experimental results are made.

Loss of coolant accident. Past, present and future

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cermak, J.O.

1978-01-01

The history of LOCA is covered from the original design basis, failure of the largest connecting pipe with no peak clad temperature limit through to the current design basis, double ended failure of the largest pipe in the primary system with a design peak clad temperature limit of 2200 0 F. Various obstacles along the way are addressed such as, degree of analytical sophisticaton, perplexing experimental results, the infamous 1971 semiscale tests, fuel densification and changes in USNRC evaluation models. In the future, it is projected that more reliance will be put on probabilistic evaluation of the LOCA with respect to both the accident analysis, reliability of the system and the probability of the accident itself. (author)

ALARM, Thermohydraulics of BWR with Jet Pumps During LOCA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Araya, F.; Akimoto, M.

1985-01-01

1 - Nature of physical problem solved: ALARM-B2 which is an improved version of ALARM-B1 is a computer program to analyze thermo-hydraulic phenomena of BWR during a blowdown period under a large-break loss-of-coolant accident condition with special emphasis on the heat transfer phenomena in the core region. 2 - Method of solution: A so called volume-junction method is used to present fluid conservations. The primary system is divided into a number of special elements called 'control-volumes'. The system of partial differential equations describing fluid conservations for a stream-tube are integrated over a number of control volumes. The resulting set of simultaneous differential equations that is based on the assumptions of one-dimensional, homogeneous and thermal- equilibrium flow is linearized and solved for a small time increment by a simple explicit numerical technique. The one-dimensional heat conduction equations describing temperature profiles within solid material are written in finite difference forms which are linearized and solved by the Crank-Nicholson implicit method. In order to simulate the blowdown heat transfer phenomena, the code has correlation packages for heat transfer coefficient and critical heat flux. The heat generation in the core is given by a point reactor kinetics model with six groups of delayed neutrons and decay of eleven groups of fission products and actinides. The solution technique of the reactor kinetics is based on the Runge-Kutta method. ALARM-B2 has the models to simulate various components incorporated in BWRs such as jet pumps, recirculation pumps, steam separators, valves, and so on. The discharge and injection systems are modeled by leak and fill systems, respectively. 3 - Restrictions on the complexity of the problem: As this has been developed to simulate a blowdown thermo-hydraulic transient during a large break LOCA, users must pay attention when applying the code to any medium or small break LOCAs or to later phases

Experimental study of pressure drops through LOCA-generated debris deposited on a fuel assembly

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Suh, Jeong Kwan, E-mail: jksuh@khnp.co.kr [KHNP Central Research Institute, 1312-70 Yuseong-daero, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-343 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Jae Won; Kwon, Sun Guk; Lee, Jae Yong [KHNP Central Research Institute, 1312-70 Yuseong-daero, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-343 (Korea, Republic of); Cho, Hyoung Kyu; Park, Goon Cherl [Department of Nuclear Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742 (Korea, Republic of)

2015-08-15

Highlights: • In-vessel downstream effect tests were performed in the presence of LOCA-generated debris. • Available driving heads under each LOCA scenario were verified using experimental data. • Fibrous debris was prepared to satisfy the length distribution obtained from the bypass test. • Limiting test conditions were identified through sensitivity studies. - Abstract: Under post loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) conditions, it is postulated that debris can be generated and transported to the containment sump strainer. Some of the debris may pass through the strainer and could challenge the long-term core cooling capability of the plant. To address this safety issue, in-vessel downstream effect tests for the advanced power reactor (APR) 1400 were performed. Fibrous debris is the most crucial material in terms of causing pressure drops, and was prepared in this study to satisfy the fiber length distribution obtained through a strainer bypass test. Sensitivity studies on pressure drops through LOCA-generated debris deposited on a fuel assembly were performed to evaluate the effects of water chemistry and fiber length distribution. The pressure drops with debris laden pure water were substantially less than those with debris laden ordinary tap water. The experiment with fiber length distribution suggested by WCAP-16793 showed lower pressure drops than those with the APR1400 specific fiber length distribution. All the experimental results showed that the pressure drops in the mock-up fuel assembly were less than the available driving head at each LOCA scenario.

Strategies of modeling the cognitive tasks of human operators for accident scenarios in nuclear power plant control rooms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheon, Se Woo; Sur, Sang Moon; Lee, Yong Hee; Lee, Jeong Wun

1993-01-01

This paper presents the development strategies of cognitive task network modeling for accident scenarios in nuclear power plant control rooms. Task network modeling is used to provide useful predictions of operator's performance times and error rates, based upon plant procedures and/or control room changes. Two accident scenarios, small-break loss of coolant accident (LOCA) and steam generator tube rupture (SGTR), are selected for task simulation. To obtain the input data for the model, task elements are extracted by the task analysis of emergency operating procedures. The input data include task performance time, communication ink, panel location, component operating mode, and data for performance shaping factors (PSFs). Operator's verbs are categorized according to the elements of cognitive behavior. The simulation of the task network for the small-break LOCA scenario is presented in this paper. (Author)

Alternative protections for loss of coolant accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Estevez, E.A.

1997-01-01

One way to mitigate a small loss of coolant accident (LOCA) is by depressurizing the primary system, in order to turn the accident into a sequence where water is fed to a low pressure system. It can be achieved by two different ways: by incorporating a valve system (ADS - Automatic Depressurization System) to the design, which helps to diminish the pressure, obtaining a bigger LOCA, or by extracting heat from the system. Our analysis is centered in integrated reactors. The first characterization performed was on CAREM reactor. The idea was then to observe its behavior with LOCAs for different thermal power relations, water volume and rupture area. A simple depressurization model is presented, which enables us to find the parameter relationships which characterize this process, from which some particular cases will arise. ADS implementation is then analyzed, giving the criteria for the triggering time. A study on its reliability and the probability of a spurious opening is made, taking into account independent and dependent failures. An analysis on heat extraction as alternative for depressurizing is also made. Finally, the different reasons to choose between ADS or heat extraction as alternative are given, and the meaning of the parameters found are discussed. An alternative to classify LOCAs, instead of the traditional classification, by fracture size, is suggested. (author)

Investigation of bubble-condenser operation under large break LOCA conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blinkov, V.; Melikhov, O.; Melikhov, V.; Davydov, M.; Sokolin, A.; Hoffmann, D.; Simon, U.; Bajsz, J.

2000-01-01

In the framework of the PHARE/TACIS project, the experimental test facility for bubble condenser experimental qualification was built at Electrogorsk Research and Engineering Centre. The test facility contains high pressure system, compartments upstream of the bubble condenser and a section of the bubble condenser system. The scaling of the test facility is 1:100. The high pressure system consists of five vessels to appropriately model the leak functions (mass flow rate and enthalpy) during the loss of coolant accidents postulated in the design of VVER-440/V213. Design basis accident (LB LOCA) was experimentally and analytically considered. Results of pre-test analysis with ATHLET and DRASYS codes for determination of necessary test parameters and post-test analysis of three tests are presented. (author)

Analysis of forces on core structures during a loss-of-coolant accident. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Griggs, D.P.; Vilim, R.B.; Wang, C.H.; Meyer, J.E.

1980-08-01

There are several design requirements related to the emergency core cooling which would follow a hypothetical loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA). One of these requirements is that the core must retain a coolable geometry throughout the accident. A possible cause of core damage leading to an uncoolable geometry is the action of forces on the core and associated support structures during the very early (blowdown) stage of the LOCA. An equally unsatisfactory design result would occur if calculated deformations and failures were so extensive that the geometry used for calculating the next stages of the LOCA (refill and reflood) could not be known reasonably well. Subsidiary questions involve damage preventing the operation of control assemblies and loss of integrity of other needed safety systems. A reliable method of calculating these forces is therefore an important part of LOCA analysis. These concerns provided the motivation for the study. The general objective of the study was to review the state-of-the-art in LOCA force determination. Specific objectives were: (1) determine state-of-the-art by reviewing current (and projected near future) techniques for LOCA force determination, and (2) consider each of the major assumptions involved in force determination and make a qualitative assessment of their validity

Accident analysis in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silva, D.E. da

1981-01-01

The way the philosophy of Safety in Depth can be verified through the analysis of simulated accidents is shown. This can be achieved by verifying that the integrity of the protection barriers against the release of radioactivity to the environment is preserved even during accident conditions. The simulation of LOCA is focalized as an example, including a study about the associated environmental radiological consequences. (Author) [pt

Post-LOCA long term cooling performance in Korean standard nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bang, Young Seok; Jung, Jae Won; Seul, Kwang Won; Kim, Hho Jung

1999-01-01

The post-LOCA long term cooling (LTC) performance of the Korean Standard Nuclear Power Plant (KSNPP) is analyzed for both small break LOCA and large break LOCA. The RELAP5/MOD3.2.2 code is used to calculate the LTC sequences based on the LTC plan of the KSNPP. A standard input model is developed such that LOCA and the followed LTC sequence can be calculated in a single run for both small break LOCA and large break LOCA. A spectrum of small break LOCA ranging from 0.02 to 0.5 ft 2 of break area and a double-ended guillotine break are analyzed. Through the code calculations, the thermal-hydraulic behavior and the boron behavior are evaluated and the effect of the important manual action including the safety injection tank isolation in LTC procedure is investigated

Bulging of pressure tubes at hot spots under LOCA conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manu, C.; Shewfelt, R.S.W.; Wright, A.C.D.; Aboud, R.; Lau, J.H.K.; Sanderson, D.B.

1996-01-01

During certain postulated loss-of-coolant accidents (LOCA) in a CANDU reactor, some fuel channels can become highly voided within a very short time. Although the pressure tubes are heated mainly by convection and thermal radiation during the LOCA transient, additional heat flow occurs through the bearing pads that are in contact with the pressure tribe. This contact can lead to local hot spots and associated thermal stresses in the pressure tube wall. The two factors that affects the behavior of the pressure tubes during LOCA conditions are the internal pressure and the local heating. Although the effect of internal pressure and of axially uniform temperature has been studied elsewhere, the effect of the local heating on the pressure tube behavior has not been modelled before. This paper shows that the bulging of a pressure tube at a hot spot is the result of the thermal stresses that are developed in a pressure tube during a LOCA transient. To isolate the local heating effect from the internal pressure, a series of single-effect experiments was performed. In these experiments, sections of a CANDU pressure tube were subjected to local heating only. The thermal profile and the local deformation were measured function of time. To quantify the effect of the thermal stresses on the bulging of pressure tubes at hot spots and to develop numerical tools that can predict such bulging, finite element analyses were performed rising the ABAQUS finite element computer code. Use of the measured thermal profiles in the ABAQUS finite element analysis, resulted in very good agreement between the predicted and measured displacements. (author)

Identification of Loss-of-Coolant Accidents in LWRs by Inverse Models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cholewa, Wojciech; Frid, Wiktor; Bednarski, Marcin

2004-01-01

This paper describes a novel diagnostic method based on inverse models that could be applied to identification of transients and accidents in nuclear power plants. In particular, it is shown that such models could be successfully applied to identification of loss-of-coolant accidents (LOCAs). This is demonstrated for LOCA scenarios for a boiling water reactor. Two classes of inverse models are discussed: local models valid only in a selected neighborhood of an unknown element in the data set, representing a state of a considered object, and global models, in the form of partially unilateral models, valid over the whole learning data set. An interesting and useful property of local inverse models is that they can be considered as example-based models, i.e., models that are spanned on particular sets of pattern data. It is concluded that the optimal diagnostic method should combine the advantages of both models, i.e., the high quality of results obtained from a local inverse model and the information about the confidence interval for the expected output provided by a partially unilateral model

Fuzzy uncertainty modeling applied to AP1000 nuclear power plant LOCA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferreira Guimaraes, Antonio Cesar; Franklin Lapa, Celso Marcelo; Lamego Simoes Filho, Francisco Fernando; Cabral, Denise Cunha

2011-01-01

Research highlights: → This article presents an uncertainty modelling study using a fuzzy approach. → The AP1000 Westinghouse NPP was used and it is provided of passive safety systems. → The use of advanced passive safety systems in NPP has limited operational experience. → Failure rates and basic events probabilities used on the fault tree analysis. → Fuzzy uncertainty approach was employed to reliability of the AP1000 large LOCA. - Abstract: This article presents an uncertainty modeling study using a fuzzy approach applied to the Westinghouse advanced nuclear reactor. The AP1000 Westinghouse Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) is provided of passive safety systems, based on thermo physics phenomenon, that require no operating actions, soon after an incident has been detected. The use of advanced passive safety systems in NPP has limited operational experience. As it occurs in any reliability study, statistically non-significant events report introduces a significant uncertainty level about the failure rates and basic events probabilities used on the fault tree analysis (FTA). In order to model this uncertainty, a fuzzy approach was employed to reliability analysis of the AP1000 large break Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA). The final results have revealed that the proposed approach may be successfully applied to modeling of uncertainties in safety studies.

Development and Assessment of the Appendix K Version of RELAP5-3D for LOCA Licensing Analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liang, Thomas K.S.; Chang, C.-J.; Hung, H.-J.

2002-01-01

In light water reactors, particularly the pressurized water reactor (PWR), the severity of a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) would limit how high the reactor power can operate. Although the best-estimate LOCA licensing methodology can provide the greatest margin on the peak cladding temperature (PCT) evaluation during a LOCA, it generally takes much more resources to develop. Instead, implementation of evaluation models required by Appendix K of 10CFR50 on an advanced thermal-hydraulic platform such as RELAP5, TRAC, etc., also can gain significant margin for the PCT calculation. Through compliance evaluation against Appendix K of 10CFR50, all of the required evaluation models have been implemented in RELAP5-3D. To verify and assess the development of the Appendix K version of RELAP5-3D, nine kinds of separate-effects experiments and eight sets of LOCA integral experiments were adopted. Through the assessments against separate-effects experiments, the success of the code modification in accordance with Appendix K of 10CFR50 was demonstrated. Besides, one set of a typical integral large-break LOCA from Loss-of-Fluid Test Facility experiments (L2-5) has also been applied to preliminarily evaluate the integral performance of the Appendix K version of RELAP5-3D. The PCT predicted by the evaluation models is greater than the one from best-estimate calculation in the whole LOCA history with the conservatism of 150 K, and the measured PCTs of L2-5 are also well bounded by the evaluation model calculation. Another seven sets of integral-effect experiments will be further applied in the next step to ensure the reasonable integral conservatism of the newly developed LOCA licensing analysis code (RELAP5-3DK/INER), which can cover all the phases of both large- and small LOCA in one code

Evaluation of PWR response to main-steamline break with concurrent steam-generator tube rupture and small-break LOCA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laaksonen, J.T.; Sheron, B.W.

1982-12-01

In 1980, the NRC staff raised a potential safety issue involving a coincident steamline break, steam generator tube rupture, and small-break loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA). The bases for this concern were that the system response, primarily the maintenance of core cooling, was unanalyzed and the adequacy of the present guidance to operators to respond to combination LOCAs was unknown. This report discusses the staff evaluations performed to assess the system response and the adequacy of the present emergency operator guidelines. In all of the analyzed cases the primary coolant shrinkage, caused by overcooling, and the simultaneous loss of coolant can be compensated by the high pressure emergency core cooling system. The core remains covered with liquid, and the primary coolant remains subcooled, except in the vessel upper head. If the steamline break is outside the containment and cannot be isolated, the radiological consequences could be more severe than in any accident currently analyzed in a typical plant Final Safety Evaluation Report (FSAR). To decrease the risk of elevated offsite releases, an early diagnosis of the tube rupture has to be ensured. This can be done by upgrading operator instructions. The appropriate mitigating actions are in the existing instructions

Methodology of a PWR containment analysis during a thermal-hydraulic accident

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Silva, Dayane F.; Sabundjian, Gaiane; Lima, Ana Cecilia S., E-mail: dayane.silva@usp.br, E-mail: gdjian@ipen.br, E-mail: aclima@ipen.br [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)

2015-07-01

The aim of this work is to present the methodology of calculation to Angra 2 reactor containment during accidents of the type Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA). This study will be possible to ensure the safety of the population of the surroundings upon the occurrence of accidents. One of the programs used to analyze containment of a nuclear plant is the CONTAIN. This computer code is an analysis tool used for predicting the physical conditions and distributions of radionuclides inside a containment building following the release of material from the primary system in a light-water reactor during an accident. The containment of the type PWR plant is a concrete building covered internally by metallic material and has limits of design pressure. The methodology of containment analysis must estimate the limits of pressure during a LOCA. The boundary conditions for the simulation are obtained from RELAP5 code. (author)

Methodology of a PWR containment analysis during a thermal-hydraulic accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silva, Dayane F.; Sabundjian, Gaiane; Lima, Ana Cecilia S.

2015-01-01

The aim of this work is to present the methodology of calculation to Angra 2 reactor containment during accidents of the type Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA). This study will be possible to ensure the safety of the population of the surroundings upon the occurrence of accidents. One of the programs used to analyze containment of a nuclear plant is the CONTAIN. This computer code is an analysis tool used for predicting the physical conditions and distributions of radionuclides inside a containment building following the release of material from the primary system in a light-water reactor during an accident. The containment of the type PWR plant is a concrete building covered internally by metallic material and has limits of design pressure. The methodology of containment analysis must estimate the limits of pressure during a LOCA. The boundary conditions for the simulation are obtained from RELAP5 code. (author)

LOCA Analysis of KAIST-Micro Modular Reactor with Modified GAMMA+ code

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oh, Bong Seong; Ahn, Yoon Han; Kim, Seong Gu; Bae, Seong Jun; Lee, Jeong Ik [KAIST, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-05-15

The supercritical carbon dioxide (S-CO{sub 2}) power cycle is being seriously investigated around the world due to its simple layout, quite high efficiency around 500 .deg. C turbine inlet temperature, etc. By combining these two ideas, the KAIST research team developed a S-CO{sub 2} cooled SMR, called KAIST-Micro Modular reactor (MMR), which is targeting transportability and electricity supply for remote region. Therefore, requirements of MMR design are factory fabrication of the total system including power conversion system to be transported and air cooling to be independent from the site selection. Until now, steady performances and sizes of components were evaluated. Thus, in this paper a transient performance of the MMR are simulated with special focus on the loss of coolant accident (LOCA) at cold leg pipe. The MMR is a newly suggested innovative small modular reactor concept by the KAIST research team. Since the MMR is cooled by supercritical CO{sub 2}, general safety codes for conventional reactors have limitations. Thus, GAMMA+ code for the transient analysis of a gas-cooled reactor was selected and modified for the S-CO{sub 2} power system. After the modification of GAMMA+ code, LOCA is simulated, which is considered as one of the most limiting accidents in terms of safety of nuclear power plant.

Core heat transfer analysis during a BWR LOCA simulation experiment at ROSA-III

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yonomoto, T.; Koizumi, Y.; Tasaka, K.

1987-01-01

The ROSA-III test facility is a 1/424-th volumetrically scaled BWR/6 simulator with an electrically heated core to study the thermal-hydraulic response during a postulated loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA). Heat transfer analyses for 5, 15, 50 and 200% break tests were conducted to understand the basic heat transfer behavior in the core under BWR LOCA conditions and to obtain a data base of post-critical heat flux (CHF) heat transfer coefficients and quench temperature. The results show that the convective heat transfer coefficient of dried-out rods at the core midplane during a steam cooling period is less than approximately 120 W/m 2 K. It is larger than existing data measured at lower pressures during a spray cooling period. Bottom-up quench temperatures are given by a simple equations: The sum of the saturation temperature and a constant of 262 K. Then the heat transfer model in the RELAP4/MOD6/U4/J3 code was revised using the present results. The rod surface temperature behavior in the 200% break test was calculated better by using the revised model although the model is very simple. (orig.)

Source term and behavioural parameters for a postulated HIFAR loss-of-coolant accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

May, F.G.

1987-01-01

The fraction of the fission product inventory which might be released into the atmosphere of the HIFAR reactor containment building (RCB) during a postulated loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) has been evaluated as a function of time, for each classification of airborne radioactivity. This appraisal will be used as the source term for a computer program, which uses realistic attenuation of the fission product aerosol in a single compartment model with a defined leakrate to predict possible radioactive releases into the environment in a hypothetical bounding case reactor accident which is rather more severe in all major aspects than any single LOCA. Also given are the parameters governing the attenuation of the aerosol and vapours in the atmosphere of the RCB so that their behaviour may be accurately modelled. The source terms for several other types of accident involving the meltdown of fuel elements have also been considered but in less detail than the LOCA case. In some of the cases, the fission products are released directly to atmosphere, so there is no attenuation of the release by deposition within the RCB

Severe accident progression perspectives for Mark I containments based on the IPE results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin, C.C.; Lehner, J.R.; Pratt, W.T.; Drouin, M.

1995-01-01

Based on level 2 analyses in IPE (Individual Plant Examination) submittals accident progression, perspectives were obtained for all containment types. These perspectives consisted of insights on containment failure modes, releases therein, and factors responsible for the results. To illustrate the types of perspectives acquired on severe accident progresssion, insights obtained for (BWR) Mark I containments are discussed here. Mark I containments have high strength but small volumes and rely on pressure suppression pools to condense steam released from the reactor coolant system during an accident. Accidents causing structural failure of the drywell shortly after the core debris melts through the reactor vessel were found to be dominant contributors to risk. Importance of individual containment failure mechanisms depends on plant features and in some cases on modeling assumptions; however the following mechanisms were found important: drywell shell melt-through caused by direct contact with core debris and drywell failure caused by rapid pressure/temperature pulses at time of vessel melt-through. Drywell failure caused by gradual pressure/temperature buildup due to gases and steam released during core/concrete interactions is important in some IPEs. In other IPEs vent was an important contributor. However, accidents that bypass containment (eg interfacing systems LOCA)or involve containment isolation failure were not important contributors to the CDF in any of the IPEs for Mark I plants. These accidents are also not important to risk (even though they can involve large fission product release) because their frequencies of occurrence are so much lower than frequencies of early structural failure caused by other accidents that dominate the CDF

Severe Accident Simulation of the Laguna Verde Nuclear Power Plant

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gilberto Espinosa-Paredes

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA simulation in the boiling water reactor (BWR of Laguna Verde Nuclear Power Plant (LVNPP at 105% of rated power is analyzed in this work. The LVNPP model was developed using RELAP/SCDAPSIM code. The lack of cooling water after the LOCA gets to the LVNPP to melting of the core that exceeds the design basis of the nuclear power plant (NPP sufficiently to cause failure of structures, materials, and systems that are needed to ensure proper cooling of the reactor core by normal means. Faced with a severe accident, the first response is to maintain the reactor core cooling by any means available, but in order to carry out such an attempt is necessary to understand fully the progression of core damage, since such action has effects that may be decisive in accident progression. The simulation considers a LOCA in the recirculation loop of the reactor with and without cooling water injection. During the progression of core damage, we analyze the cooling water injection at different times and the results show that there are significant differences in the level of core damage and hydrogen production, among other variables analyzed such as maximum surface temperature, fission products released, and debris bed height.

Potential for boron dilution during small-break LOCAs in PWRs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nourbakhsh, H.P.; Cheng, Z.

1995-01-01

This paper documents the results of a scoping study of boron dilution and mixing phenomena during small break loss of coolant accidents (LOCAs) in pressurized water reactors (PWRs). Boron free condensate can accumulate in the cold leg loop seals when the reactor is operating in a reflux/boiler condenser mode. A problem may occur when the subsequent change in flow conditions such as loop seal clearing or re-establishment of natural circulation flow drive the diluted water in the loop seals into the reactor core without sufficient mixing with the highly borated water in the reactor downcomer and lower plenum. The resulting low boron concentration coolant entering the core may cause a power excursion leading to fuel failure. The mixing processes associated with a slow moving stream of diluted water through the loop seal to the core were examined in this report. A bounding evaluation of the range of boron concentration entering the core during a small break LOCA in a typical Westinghouse-designed, four-loop plant is also presented in this report

Preliminary LOCA analysis of the westinghouse small modular reactor using the WCOBRA/TRAC-TF2 thermal-hydraulics code

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liao, J.; Kucukboyaci, V. N.; Nguyen, L.; Frepoli, C. [Westinghouse Electric Company, 1000 Westinghouse Drive, Cranberry Township, PA 16066 (United States)

2012-07-01

The Westinghouse Small Modular Reactor (SMR) is an 800 MWt (> 225 MWe) integral pressurized water reactor (iPWR) with all primary components, including the steam generator and the pressurizer located inside the reactor vessel. The reactor core is based on a partial-height 17x17 fuel assembly design used in the AP1000{sup R} reactor core. The Westinghouse SMR utilizes passive safety systems and proven components from the AP1000 plant design with a compact containment that houses the integral reactor vessel and the passive safety systems. A preliminary loss of coolant accident (LOCA) analysis of the Westinghouse SMR has been performed using the WCOBRA/TRAC-TF2 code, simulating a transient caused by a double ended guillotine (DEG) break in the direct vessel injection (DVI) line. WCOBRA/TRAC-TF2 is a new generation Westinghouse LOCA thermal-hydraulics code evolving from the US NRC licensed WCOBRA/TRAC code. It is designed to simulate PWR LOCA events from the smallest break size to the largest break size (DEG cold leg). A significant number of fluid dynamics models and heat transfer models were developed or improved in WCOBRA/TRAC-TF2. A large number of separate effects and integral effects tests were performed for a rigorous code assessment and validation. WCOBRA/TRAC-TF2 was introduced into the Westinghouse SMR design phase to assist a quick and robust passive cooling system design and to identify thermal-hydraulic phenomena for the development of the SMR Phenomena Identification Ranking Table (PIRT). The LOCA analysis of the Westinghouse SMR demonstrates that the DEG DVI break LOCA is mitigated by the injection and venting from the Westinghouse SMR passive safety systems without core heat up, achieving long term core cooling. (authors)

Modeling the cool down of the primary heat transport system using shut down cooling system in normal operation and after events such as LOCA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Icleanu, D.L.; Prisecaru, I.

2015-01-01

This paper aims at modeling the cooling of the primary heat transport system using shutdown cooling system (SDCS), for a CANDU 6 NPP in all operating modes, normal and abnormal (particularly in case of LOCA accident), using the Flowmaster calculation code. The modelling of heavy water flow through the shutdown cooling system and primary heat transport system was performed to determine the distribution of flows, pressure in various areas of the hydraulic circuit and the pressure loss corresponding to the components but also for the heat calculation of the heat exchangers related to the system. The results of the thermo-hydraulic analysis show that in all cases analyzed, normal operation and for LOCA accident regime, the performance requirements are confirmed by analysis

Consequences in the pumps operation during a large loss of coolant accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santos, G.A. dos; Sabundjian, G.

1991-08-01

The event of living on or turning off the operation of the Reactor Cooling Pumps - RCPs, in the case of a Loss of Coolant Accident - LOCA, has been a reason of a lot of studies after the Three Mile Island 2 accident. Thus, it was investigated a large break LOCA in the cold leg of Angra 1, with the RELAP4/MOD5 Code during the blowdown. The attained results indicated that the best performance of the core was in the case where the RCPs had been turned off in the beginning of the transient, when compared with different operation conditions of the RCPs. (author)

Preliminary Evaluation Methodology of ECCS Performance for Design Basis LOCA Redefinition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kang, Dong Gu; Ahn, Seung Hoon; Seul, Kwang Won

2010-01-01

To improve their existing regulations, the USNRC has made efforts to develop the risk-informed and performance-based regulation (RIPBR) approaches. As a part of these efforts, the rule revision of 10CFR50.46 (ECCS Acceptance Criteria) is underway, considering some options for 4 categories of spectrum of break sizes, ECCS functional reliability, ECCS evaluation model, and ECCS acceptance criteria. Since the potential for safety benefits and unnecessary burden reduction from design basis LOCA redefinition is high relative to other options, the USNRC is proceeding with the rulemaking for design basis LOCA redefinition. An instantaneous break with a flow rate equivalent to a double ended guillotine break (DEGB) of the largest primary piping system in the plant is widely recognized as an extremely unlikely event, while redefinition of design basis LOCA can affect the existing regulatory practices and approaches. In this study, the status of the design basis LOCA redefinition and OECD/NEA SMAP (Safety Margin Action Plan) methodology are introduced. Preliminary evaluation methodology of ECCS performance for LOCA is developed and discussed for design basis LOCA redefinition

Severe Accident Management System On-line Network SAMSON

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silverman, Eugene B.

2004-01-01

SAMSON is a computational tool used by accident managers in the Technical Support Centers (TSC) and Emergency Operations Facilities (EOF) in the event of a nuclear power plant accident. SAMSON examines over 150 status points monitored by nuclear power plant process computers during a severe accident and makes predictions about when core damage, support plate failure, and reactor vessel failure will occur. These predictions are based on the current state of the plant assuming that all safety equipment not already operating will fail. SAMSON uses expert systems, as well as neural networks trained with the back propagation learning algorithms to make predictions. Training on data from an accident analysis code (MAAP - Modular Accident Analysis Program) allows SAMSON to associate different states in the plant with different times to critical failures. The accidents currently recognized by SAMSON include steam generator tube ruptures (SGTRs), with breaks ranging from one tube to eight tubes, and loss of coolant accidents (LOCAs), with breaks ranging from 0.0014 square feet (1.30 cm 2 ) in size to breaks 3.0 square feet in size (2800 cm 2 ). (author)

SB LOCA analyses for Krsko Full Scope Simulator verification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prosek, A.; Parzer, I.; Mavko, B.

2000-01-01

Nuclear power plant simulators are intended to be used for training and maintaining competence to ensure safe, reliable operation of nuclear power plants throughout the world. The simulator shall be specified to a reference unit and its performance validation testing shall be provided. In this study a small-break loss-of-coolant accident (SB LOCA) response of Krsko nuclear power plant (NPP) was calculated for full scope simulator verification. The investigation included five cases with varying the break size in the cold leg of reactor coolant system. The plant specific and verified RELAP5/MOD2 model of Krsko nuclear power plant (NPP), developed in the past for 1882 MWt power, was adapted for 2000 MWt power (cycle 17) including the model for replacement steam generators. The results showed that the plant system response to breaks with small break area was slower compared to breaks with larger break area. The core heatup occurred in most of the cases analyzed. The acceptance criteria for emergency core cooling system were also met. The predicted results of the SB LOCA analysis for Krsko NPP suggest that they may be used for verification of the Krsko Full Scope Simulator performance. (author)

VVER-1000 small-medium break LOCAs predictions by ASTEC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Georgieva, J.; Stefanova, A.; Atanasova, B.; Groudev, P.; Tusheva, P.; Mladenov, I.; Dimov, D.; Passalacqua, R.

2005-01-01

This paper deals with an assessment of ASTEC1.1v0 code in the simulation of small and medium break LOCAs (ranging from 30mm up to 70mm equivalent diameter). The reference power plant for this analysis is a VVER-1000/V320 (e.g. Units 5 and 6 at Kozloduy NPP). A preliminary comparison with MELCOR and RELAP-SCDAP severe accident codes will be discussed. This investigation has been performed in the framework of the SARNET project (under the Euratom 6 th framework program) by the FoBAUs group (Forum of Bulgarian ASTEC users). The FoBAUs group aims at the validation of the ASTEC code in the field of severe accidents. Future activities will target the ASTEC capability (as a PSA-level 2 tool) to simulate a large range of reactor accident scenarios with intervention of safety systems (either passive systems or operated by operators). The final target is to assess Severe Accident Management (SAM) procedures for VVER-1000 reactors. The ASTEC1.1v0 code version here used is the one released in June 2004 by the French IRSN (Institut de Radioprotection et de Surete Nucleaire) and the German GRS (Gesellschaft ReactorSicherheit mbH). (author)

Interfacing systems LOCA (loss-of-coolant accidents): Pressurized water reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bozoki, G.; Kohut, P.; Fitzpatrick, R.

1989-02-01

This report summarizes a study performed by Brookhaven National Laboratory for the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, Reactor and Plant Safety Issues Branch, Division of Reactor and Plant Systems, US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. This study was requested by the NRC in order to provide a technical basis for the resolution of Generic Issue 105 ''Interfacing LOCA at LWRs.'' This report deals with pressurized water reactors (PWRs). A parallel report was also accomplished for boiling water reactors. This study focuses on three representative PWRs and extrapolates the plant-specific findings for their generic applicability. In addition, a generic analysis was performed to investigate the cost-benefit aspects of imposing a testing program that would require some minimum level of leak testing of the pressure isolation valves on plants that presently have no such requirements. 28 refs., 31 figs., 64 tabs

LOCA simulation tests in the RD-12 loop with multiple heat channels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ardron, K.H.; McGee, G.R.; Hawley, E.H.

1985-11-01

A series of tests has been performed in the RD-12 loop to study the bahaviour of a CANDU-type, primary heat transport system (PHTS) during the blowdown and injection phases of a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA). Specifically, the tests were used to investigate flow stagnation and refilling of the core following a LOCA. RD-12 is a pressurized water loop with the basic geometry of a CANDU reactor PHTS, but at approximately 1/125 volume scale. The loop consists of U-tube steam generators, pumps, headers, feeders, and heated channels arranged in the symmetrical figure-of-eight configuration of the CANDU PHTS. In the LOCA simulation tests, the loop contained four horizontal heated channels, each containing a seven-element assembly of indirectly heated, fuel-rod simulators. The channels were nominally identical, and were arranged in parallel pairs between the headers in each half-circuit. Tests were carried out using various restricting orifices to represent pipe breaks of different sizes. The break sizes were specifically chosen such that stagnation conditions in the heated channels would be likely to occur. In some tests, the primary pumps were programmed to run down over a 100-s period to simulate a LOCA with simultaneous loss of pump power. Test results showed that, for certain break sizes, periods of low flow occurred in the channels in one half of the loop, leading to flow stratification and sheath temperature excursions. This report reviews the results of two of the tests, and discusses possible mechanisms that may have led to the low channel flow conditions observed in some cases. Plans for future experiments in the larger scale RD-14 facility are outlined. 5 refs

ESBWR long term containment response to loss of coolant accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alamgir, M. D.; Marquino, W.; Diaz-Quiroz, J.; Tucker, L.

2010-01-01

ESBWR is a 4500 MWt generation III+ natural circulation reactor with an array of robust passive safety systems to keep the reactor safe during postulated transients and accidents. With the submittal of the latest revision of the Design Control Document (DCD) to US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ESBWR is nearing the completion of the US certification process. This paper focuses on the bounding licensing analysis of the long-term (30-day) response of the ESBWR containment to limiting Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA) performed with the TRACG code. It is shown that using only passive systems available during the first 72 hours after the limiting Main Steam Line Break LOCA, the predicted peak containment pressure in the ESBWR containment remain well below the design limits with good margin. After 72 hours of LOCA initiation, PCCS Vent Fans (non-safety system) become available that remove non-condensable gases from, and further enhance the effectiveness of, PCCS heat exchangers to reduce the containment pressure and temperature to values substantially below the design limits. During the post- 72 hour period, the beneficial effects of the Vent Fan operation, combined with the available operator action to refill of PCCS pools, continue to maintain the containment pressure to about 30% below the design limit at 30 days after a limiting ESBWR LOCA. (authors)

International Standard Problems and Small Break Loss-of-Coolant Accident (SBLOCA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. Aksan

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Best-estimate thermal-hydraulic system codes are widely used to perform safety and licensing analyses of nuclear power plants and also used in the design of advance reactors. Evaluation of the capabilities and the performance of these codes can be accomplished by comparing the code predictions with measured experimental data obtained on different test facilities. OECD/NEA Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI has promoted, over the last twenty-nine years, some forty-eight international standard problems (ISPs. These ISPs were performed in different fields as in-vessel thermal-hydraulic behaviour, fuel behaviour under accident conditions, fission product release and transport, core/concrete interactions, hydrogen distribution and mixing, containment thermal-hydraulic behaviour. 80% of these ISPs were related to the working domain of principal working group no.2 on coolant system behaviour (PWG2 and were one of the major PWG2 activities for many years. A global review and synthesis on the contribution that ISPs have made to address nuclear reactor safety issues was initiated by CSNI-PWG2 and an overview on the subject of small break LOCA ISPs is given in this paper based on a report prepared by a writing group. In addition, the relevance of small break LOCA in a PWR with relation to nuclear reactor safety and the reorientation of the reactor safety program after TMI-2 accident are shortly summarized. The experiments in four integral test facilities, LOBI, SPES, BETHSY, ROSA IV/LSTF and the recorded data during a steam generator tube rupture transient in the DOEL-2 PWR (Belgium were the basis of the five small break LOCA related ISP exercises, which deal with the phenomenon typical of small break LOCAs in Western design PWRs. Some lessons learned from these small break LOCA ISPs are identified in relation to code deficiencies and capabilities, progress in the code capabilities, possibility of scaling, and various additional aspects

Tools evaluation and development for loss of coolant accidents analysis in research reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maprelian, Eduardo; Cabral, Eduardo L.L.; Silva, Antonio T. e

1999-01-01

The loss of coolant accidents (LOCA) in pool type research reactors are normally considered as limiting in the licensing process. This paper verifies the viability of the computer code 3D-AIRLOCA to analyze LOCA in a pool type research reactor, and also develops two computer codes LOSS and TEMPLOCA. The computer code LOSS determines the time tom drawn the pool down to the level of the bottom of the core, and the computer code TEMPLOCA calculates the peak fuel element temperature during the transient. These two coders substitutes the 3D-AIRLOCA in the LOCA analysis for pool type research reactors. (author)

Integrated analysis for a small break LOCA in the IRIS reactor using MELCOR and RELAP5 codes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Del Nevo, A.; Manfredini, A.; Oriolo, F.; Paci, S.; Oriani, L.

2004-01-01

The pressurized light water cooled, medium power (1000 MWt) IRIS (International Reactor Innovative and Secure) has been under development for four years by an international consortium of over 21 organizations from ten countries. The plant conceptual design was completed in 2001 and the preliminary design is nearing completion. The pre-application licensing process with NRC started in October, 2002 and IRIS is one of the designs considered by US utilities as part of the ESP (Early Site Permit) process. This paper's focus is on the use of well known computer codes for integrated (reactor vessel and containment) calculations of the IRIS response to a small break loss of coolant accident (LOCA). In IRIS, large break LOCA events are eliminated by the use of a layout configuration in which the reactor vessel contains all the reactor coolant system components including the core, control rod drive mechanisms, pressurizer, steam generators, and coolant pumps. Thus the IRIS configuration has no large loop piping; also, no pipes with a diameter greater than 0.1 meters are part of the reactor coolant system boundary. For small break LOCAs, IRIS features an innovative mitigation approach that is based on maintaining coolant inventory rather than designing high and low pressure injection systems to provide makeup coolant to the reactor to maintain core cooling. The novel IRIS approach requires development of evaluation models that are different from those used for the current generation of pressurized water reactors. An analysis of small break LOCAs for IRIS is documented in two companion papers, and has been developed using a preliminary evaluation model based on the explicit coupling of the RELAP5 and GOTHIC codes. The objective of this paper is to compare the results obtained via the coupled RELAP/GOTHIC code with different computational tools. A reference case from the preliminary IRIS safety assessment was selected, and the same small break LOCA sequence is analyzed using

Failure probabilities of SiC clad fuel during a LOCA in public acceptable simple SMR (PASS)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Youho, E-mail: euo@kaist.ac.kr; Kim, Ho Sik, E-mail: hskim25@kaist.ac.kr; NO, Hee Cheon, E-mail: hcno@kaist.ac.kr

2015-10-15

Highlights: • Graceful operating conditions of SMRs markedly lower SiC cladding stress. • Steady-state fracture probabilities of SiC cladding is below 10{sup −7} in SMRs. • PASS demonstrates fuel coolability (T < 1300 °C) with sole radiation in LOCA. • SiC cladding failure probabilities of PASS are ∼10{sup −2} in LOCA. • Cold gas gap pressure controls SiC cladding tensile stress level in LOCA. - Abstract: Structural integrity of SiC clad fuels in reference Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) (NuScale, SMART, IRIS) and a commercial pressurized water reactor (PWR) are assessed with a multi-layered SiC cladding structural analysis code. Featured with low fuel pin power and temperature, SMRs demonstrate markedly reduced incore-residence fracture probabilities below ∼10{sup −7}, compared to those of commercial PWRs ∼10{sup −6}–10{sup −1}. This demonstrates that SMRs can serve as a near-term deployment fit to SiC cladding with a sound management of its statistical brittle fracture. We proposed a novel SMR named Public Acceptable Simple SMR (PASS), which is featured with 14 × 14 assemblies of SiC clad fuels arranged in a square ring layout. PASS aims to rely on radiative cooling of fuel rods during a loss of coolant accident (LOCA) by fully leveraging high temperature tolerance of SiC cladding. An overarching assessment of SiC clad fuel performance in PASS was conducted with a combined methodology—(1) FRAPCON-SiC for steady-state performance analysis of PASS fuel rods, (2) computational fluid dynamics code FLUENT for radiative cooling rate of fuel rods during a LOCA, and (3) multi-layered SiC cladding structural analysis code with previously developed SiC recession correlations under steam environments for both steady-state and LOCA. The results show that PASS simultaneously maintains desirable fuel cooling rate with the sole radiation and sound structural integrity of fuel rods for over 36 days of a LOCA without water supply. The stress level of

Frequency probabilistic analysis of a small break LOCA due to a power operated relief valve (PORV) for Angra-1 pre-TMI and post-TMI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Onusic Junior, J.

1986-01-01

After the TMI event efforts were aimed towards improvements in the operational and administrative procedures related to the power operated relief valves (PORVs) in order to decrease the probability of a small-break loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) caused by stuck-open power operated relief valve. This paper presents a frequency probabilistic analysis of a small break LOCA due to a stuck open PORV and safety valve to the Angra I nuclear power plant in operating conditions pre-TMI and post-TMI. (Author) [pt

Simulation of LOCA power transients of CANDU6 by SCAN/RELAP-CANDU coupled code system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hong, In Seob; Kim, Chang Hyo; Hwang, Su Hyun; Kim, Man Woong; Chung, Bub Dong

2004-01-01

As can be seen in the standalone application of RELAP-CANDU for LOCA analysis of CANDU-PHWR, the system thermal-hydraulic code alone cannot predict the transient behavior accurately. Therefore, best estimate neutronics and system thermal-hydraulic coupled code system is necessary to describe the transient behavior with higher accuracy and reliability. The purpose of this research is to develop and test a coupled neutronics and thermal-hydraulics analysis code, SCAN (SNU CANDU-PHWR Neutronics) and RELAP-CANDU, for transient analysis of CANDU-PHWR's. For this purpose, a spatial kinetics calculation module of SCAN, a 3-D CANDU-PHWR neutronics design and analysis code, is dynamically coupled with RELAP-CANDU, the system thermal-hydraulic code for CANDU-PHWR. The performance of the coupled code system is examined by simulation of reactor power transients caused by a hypothetical Loss Of Coolant Accident (LOCA) in Wolsong units, which involves the insertion of positive void reactivity into the core in the course of transients. Specifically, a 40% Reactor Inlet Header (RIH) break LOCA was assumed for the test of the SCAN/RELAP-CANDU coupled code system analysis

Simulation with the MELCOR code of two severe accident sequences, Station Blackout and Small Break LOCA, for the Atucha I nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Valle Cepero, Reinaldo

2004-01-01

The results of the PSA-I applied to the Atucha I nuclear power plant (CNA I) determine the accidental sequences with the most influence related to the probability of the core reactor damage. Among those sequences are include, the Station Blackout and lost of primary coolant, combine with the failure of the emergency injection systems by pipe breaks of diameters between DN100 - DN25 or equivalent areas, Small LOCA. This paper has the objective to model and analyze the behavior of the primary circuit and the pressure vessel during the evolution of those two accidental sequences. It presented a detailed analysis of the main phenomena that occur from the initial moment of the accident to the failure moment of the pressure vessel and the melt material fall to the reactor cavity. Two sequences were taken into account, considering the main phenomena (core uncover, heating, fuel element oxidation, hydrogen generation, degradation and relocation of the melt material, failure of the support structures, etc.) and the time of occurrence, of those events will be different, if it is considered that both sequences will be developed in different scenarios. One case is an accident with the primary circuit to a high pressure (Station Blackout scenario) and the other with a early primary circuit depressurization due to the lost of primary coolant. For this work the MELCOR 1.8.5 code was used and it allows within a unified framework to modeling an extensive spectrum of phenomenology associated with the severe accidents. (author)

Evaluation of the radiative transfer in the core of a Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) during the reflooding step of a Loss Of Coolant Accident (LOCA)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gerardin, J.

2012-01-01

We developed a method of resolution of radiative transfer inside a medium of vapor-droplets surrounded by hot walls, in order to couple it with a simulation of the flow at the CFD scale. The scope is the study of the cooling of the core of nuclear reactor following a Loss Of Coolant Accident (LOCA). The problem of radiative transfer can be cut into two sub problems, one concerning the evaluation of the radiative properties of the medium and a second concerning the solution of the radiative transfer equation. The radiative properties of the droplets have been computed with the use of the Mie Theory and those of the vapor have been computed with a Ck model. The medium made of vapor and droplets is an absorbing, anisotropically scattering, emissive, non grey, non homogeneous medium. Hence, owing to the possible variations of the flow properties (diameter and volumetric fraction of the droplets, temperature and pressure of the vapor), the medium can be optically thin or thick. Consequently, a method is required which solves the radiative transfer accurately, with a moderate calculation time for all of these prerequisites. The IDA has been chosen, derived from the well-known P1-approximation. Its accuracy has been checked on academical cases found in the literature and by comparison with experimental data. Simulations of LOCA flows have been conducted taking account of the radiative transfer, evaluating the radiative fluxes and showing that radiative transfer influence cannot be neglected. (author)

A through calculation of 1,100 MWe PWR large break LOCA by THYDE-P1 EM model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kanazawa, Masayuki; Asahi, Yoshiro; Hirano, Masashi

1984-07-01

THYDE-P1 is a code to analyze both the blowdown and refill-reflood phases of loss-of-coolant accidents (LOCAs) of pressurized water reactors (PWRs). Up to now, THYDE-P1 has been applied to various experiment analyses, which show its high capability to analyze LOCAs as a best estimate (BE) calculation code. In this report, evaluation model (EM) calculation method, especialy in the blowdown and refill phases, is established equivalently to WREM/J2 which is regarded as appropriate for an EM calculation code, and the results of them are compared and discussed. The present calculation was the first executed by THYDE-P1-EM, and was performed as Sample Calculation Run 80 which was a part of a series of THYDE-P sample calculations. The calculation was carried out from the LOCA initiation till 400 seconds for a guillotine break at the cold leg of a commercial 1,100 MWe PWR plant. The calculated results agreed well to that of the WREM/J2 code. (author)

Post-accident core coolability of light water reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Michio, I.; Teruo, I.; Tomio, Y.; Tsutao, H.

1983-01-01

A study on post-accident core coolability of LWR is discussed based on the practical fuel failure behavior experienced in NSRR, PBF, PNS and others. The fuel failure behavior at LOCA, RIA and PCM conditions are reviewed, and seven types of fuel failure modes are extracted as the basic failure mechanism at accident conditions. These are: cladding melt or brittle failure, molten UO 2 failure, high temperature cladding burst, low temperature cladding burst, failure due to swelling of molten UO 2 , failure due to cracks of embrittled cladding for irradiated fuel rods, and TMI-2 core failure. The post-accident core coolability at each failure mode is discussed. The fuel failures caused actual flow blockage problems. A characteristic which is common among these types is that the fuel rods are in the conditions violating the present safety criteria for accidents, and UO 2 pellets are in melting or near melting hot conditions when the fuel rods failed

Mixing phenomena of interest to boron dilution during small break LOCAs in PWRs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nourbakhsh, H.P.; Cheng, Z.

1995-01-01

This paper presents the results of a study of mixing phenomena related to boron dilution during small break loss of coolant accidents (LOCAs)in pressurized water reactors (PWRs). Boron free condensate can accumulate in the cold leg loop seals when the reactor is operating in a reflux/boiler-condenser mode. A problem may occur when subsequent change in flow conditions such as loop seal clearing or re-establishment of natural circulation flow drive the diluted water in the loop seals into the reactor core without sufficient mixing with the highly borated water in the reactor downcomer and lower plenum. The resulting low boron concentration coolant entering the core may cause a power excursion leading to fuel failure. The mixing processes associated with a slow moving stream of diluted water through the loop seal to the core are examined in this paper. Bounding calculations for boron concentration of coolant entering the core during a small break LOCA in a typical Westinghouse-designed four-loop plant are also presented

Radial heat transfer from fuel to moderator during LOCAs for CANDU PHW reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hildebrandt, J.G.; So, C.B.; Gillespie, G.E.; MacLean, G.

1983-01-01

In a postulated CANDU-PHW loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) with coincident impaired emergency cooling, the axial transport of heat from the fuel by convection is reduced. This reduction in heat removal causes the fuel to heat up and the radial heat transfer to the moderator to become significant. This paper deals with two codes that predict the thermal response of fuel channels under LOCA conditions. New channel thermal radiation models in both RAMA, a thermalhydraulic code, and CHAN II, a fuel channel thermo-chemical code, are presented and their predictions are compared with the experimental results of an electrically heated bundle of 37 fuel pins. A second experiment, involving a single heated pin in a channel with flowing steam, is presented. The predictions of RAMA and CHAN II are compared with this experiment to verify the codes' thermo-chemical models. There is good agreement between the predictions of both codes and the experimental results

Behavior of LWR fuel elements under accident conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Albrecht, H.; Bocek, M.; Erbacher, F.; Fiege, A.; Fischer, M.; Hagen, S.; Hofmann, P.; Holleck, H.; Karb, E.; Leistikow, S.; Melang, S.; Ondracek, G.; Thuemmler, F.; Wiehr, K.

1977-01-01

In the frame of the German reactor safety research program, the Kernforschungszentrum Karlsruhe is carrying out a comprehensive program on the behavior of LWR fuel elements under a variety of power cooling mismatch conditions in particular during loss-of-coolant accidents. The major objectives are to establish a detailed quantitative understanding of fuel rod failures mechanisms and their thresholds, to evaluate the safety margins of power reactor cores under accident conditions and to investigate the feedback of fuel rod failures on the efficiency of emergency core cooling systems. This detailed quantitative understanding is achieved through extensive basic and integral experiments and is incorporated in a fuel behavior code. On the basis of these results the design of power reactor fuel elements and of safety devices can be further improved. The results of investigations on the inelastic deformation (ballooning) behavior of Zircaloy 4 cladding at LOCA temperatures in oxidizing atmosphere are presented. Depending upon strain rate and temperature superplastic deformation behavior was observed. In the equation of state of Zry 4 the strain rate sensitivity index depends strongly upon strain and in the superplastic region upon sample anisotropy. Oxidation kinetics experiments with Zry-tubes at 900-1300 0 C showed that the Baker-Just correlation describes the reality quite conservative. Therefore a reduction of the amount of Zry oxidation can be assumed in the course of a LOCA. The external oxidation of Zry-cladding by steam as well as internal oxidation by the oxygen in oxide fuel and fission products (Cs, I, Te) have an influence on the strain and rupture behavior of Zry-cladding at LOCA temperatures. In out-of-pile and inpile experiments the mechanical and thermal behavior of fuel rods during the blowdown, the heatup and the reflood phases of a LOCA are investigated under representative and controlled thermohydraulic conditions. The task of the inpile experiments is

Applying Functional Modeling for Accident Management of Nuclear Power Plant

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lind, Morten; Zhang, Xinxin

2014-01-01

Modeling is given and a detailed presentation of the foundational means-end concepts is presented and the conditions for proper use in modelling accidents are identified. It is shown that Multilevel Flow Modeling can be used for modelling and reasoning about design basis accidents. Its possible role...... for information sharing and decision support in accidents beyond design basis is also indicated. A modelling example demonstrating the application of Multilevel Flow Modelling and reasoning for a PWR LOCA is presented...

Applying Functional Modeling for Accident Management of Nucler Power Plant

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lind, Morten; Zhang, Xinxin

2014-01-01

Modeling is given and a detailed presentation of the foundational means-end concepts is presented and the conditions for proper use in modelling accidents are identified. It is shown that Multilevel Flow Modeling can be used for modelling and reasoning about design basis accidents. Its possible role...... for information sharing and decision support in accidents beyond design basis is also indicated. A modelling example demonstrating the application of Multilevel Flow Modelling and reasoning for a PWR LOCA is presented....

Simulating a partial LOCA in a narrow channel using the DSNP simulating system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saphier, D.

2007-01-01

A partial LOCA accident in a pool type research reactor was investigated. A new MTR type fuel channel model for the DSNP simulation system was developed; permitting detailed axial and radial temperature distribution. New and older heat transfer correlations were incorporated in the model. Simulation for water levels of 14 and 35 cm in a 62 cm channel were performed. The resulting maximum temperatures remain significantly below the aluminium melting point, and no damage to the core will take place under these conditions

Severe Accident Test Station Design Document

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Snead, Mary A. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Yan, Yong [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Howell, Michael [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Keiser, James R. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Terrani, Kurt A. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

2015-09-01

The purpose of the ORNL severe accident test station (SATS) is to provide a platform for evaluation of advanced fuels under projected beyond design basis accident (BDBA) conditions. The SATS delivers the capability to map the behavior of advanced fuels concepts under accident scenarios across various temperature and pressure profiles, steam and steam-hydrogen gas mixtures, and thermal shock. The overall facility will include parallel capabilities for examination of fuels and irradiated materials (in-cell) and non-irradiated materials (out-of-cell) at BDBA conditions as well as design basis accident (DBA) or loss of coolant accident (LOCA) conditions. Also, a supporting analytical infrastructure to provide the data-needs for the fuel-modeling components of the Fuel Cycle Research and Development (FCRD) program will be put in place in a parallel manner. This design report contains the information for the first, second and third phases of design and construction of the SATS. The first phase consisted of the design and construction of an out-of-cell BDBA module intended for examination of non-irradiated materials. The second phase of this work was to construct the BDBA in-cell module to test irradiated fuels and materials as well as the module for DBA (i.e. LOCA) testing out-of-cell, The third phase was to build the in-cell DBA module. The details of the design constraints and requirements for the in-cell facility have been closely captured during the deployment of the out-of-cell SATS modules to ensure effective future implementation of the in-cell modules.

Severe Accident Test Station Design Document

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Snead, Mary A.; Yan, Yong; Howell, Michael; Keiser, James R.; Terrani, Kurt A.

2015-01-01

The purpose of the ORNL severe accident test station (SATS) is to provide a platform for evaluation of advanced fuels under projected beyond design basis accident (BDBA) conditions. The SATS delivers the capability to map the behavior of advanced fuels concepts under accident scenarios across various temperature and pressure profiles, steam and steam-hydrogen gas mixtures, and thermal shock. The overall facility will include parallel capabilities for examination of fuels and irradiated materials (in-cell) and non-irradiated materials (out-of-cell) at BDBA conditions as well as design basis accident (DBA) or loss of coolant accident (LOCA) conditions. Also, a supporting analytical infrastructure to provide the data-needs for the fuel-modeling components of the Fuel Cycle Research and Development (FCRD) program will be put in place in a parallel manner. This design report contains the information for the first, second and third phases of design and construction of the SATS. The first phase consisted of the design and construction of an out-of-cell BDBA module intended for examination of non-irradiated materials. The second phase of this work was to construct the BDBA in-cell module to test irradiated fuels and materials as well as the module for DBA (i.e. LOCA) testing out-of-cell, The third phase was to build the in-cell DBA module. The details of the design constraints and requirements for the in-cell facility have been closely captured during the deployment of the out-of-cell SATS modules to ensure effective future implementation of the in-cell modules.

Best estimate LB LOCA approach based on advanced thermal-hydraulic codes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sauvage, J.Y.; Gandrille, J.L.; Gaurrand, M.; Rochwerger, D.; Thibaudeau, J.; Viloteau, E.

2004-01-01

Improvements achieved in thermal-hydraulics with development of Best Estimate computer codes, have led number of Safety Authorities to preconize realistic analyses instead of conservative calculations. The potentiality of a Best Estimate approach for the analysis of LOCAs urged FRAMATOME to early enter into the development with CEA and EDF of the 2nd generation code CATHARE, then of a LBLOCA BE methodology with BWNT following the Code Scaling Applicability and Uncertainty (CSAU) proceeding. CATHARE and TRAC are the basic tools for LOCA studies which will be performed by FRAMATOME according to either a deterministic better estimate (dbe) methodology or a Statistical Best Estimate (SBE) methodology. (author)

Definition of loss-of-coolant accident radiation source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1978-02-01

Meaningful qualification testing of nuclear reactor components requires a knowledge of the radiation fields expected in a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA). The overall objective of this program is to define the LOCA source terms and compare these with the output of various simulators employed for radiation qualification testing. The basis for comparison will be the energy deposition in a model reactor component. The results of the calculations are presented and some interpretation of the results given. The energy release rates and spectra were validated by comparison with other calculations using different codes since experimental data appropriate to these calculations do not exist

One leak too many (the accident at Trawsfynydd)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arnott, D.

1986-01-01

The accident at the Trawsfynydd nuclear power station in February 1986 is explained and the implications examined. In this article the leak of coolant carbon dioxide is considered as a LOCA and hence, the author suggests, should not be regarded as 'a minor incident' as described to the House of Commons. The author suggests that as the reactor has passed its design life span it is outdated, unsafe and more accidents are likely. (U.K.)

Insights from Severe Accident Analyses for Verification of VVER SAMG

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gaikwad, A. J.; Rao, R. S.; Gupta, A.; Obaidurrahaman, K., E-mail: avinashg@aerb.gov.in [Nuclear Safety Analysis Division, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, Mumbai (India)

2014-10-15

The severe accident analyses of simultaneous rupture of all four steam lines (case-a), simultaneous occurrence of LOCA with SBO (case-b) and Station blackout (case-c) were performed with the computer code ASTEC V2r2 for a typical VVER-1000. The results obtained will be used for verification of sever accident provisions and Severe Accident Management Guidelines (SAMG). Auxiliary feed water and emergency core cooling systems are modelled as boundary conditions. The ICARE module is used to simulate the reactor core, which is divided into five radial regions by grouping similarly powered fuel assemblies together. Initially, CESAR module computes thermal hydraulics in primary and secondary circuits. As soon as core uncovery begins, the ICARE module is actuated based on certain parameters, and after this, ICARE module computes the thermal hydraulics in the core, bypass, downcomer and the lower plenum. CESAR handles the remaining components in the primary and secondary loops. CPA module is used to simulate the containment and to predict the thermal-hydraulic and hydrogen behaviour in the containment. The accident sequences were selected in such a way that they cover low/high pressure and slow/fast core damage progression events. Events simulated included slow progression events with high pressure and fast accident progression with low primary pressure. Analysis was also carried out for the case of SBO with the opening of the PORVs when core exit temperature exceeds certain value as part of SAMG. Time step sensitivity study was carried out for LOCA with SBO. In general the trends and magnitude of the parameters are as expected. The key results of the above analyses are presented in this paper. (author)

Large LOCA-earthquake combination probability assessment - Load combination program. Project 1 summary report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lu, S; Streit, R D; Chou, C K

1980-01-01

This report summarizes work performed for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) by the Load Combination Program at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to establish a technical basis for the NRC to use in reassessing its requirement that earthquake and large loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) loads be combined in the design of nuclear power plants. A systematic probabilistic approach is used to treat the random nature of earthquake and transient loading to estimate the probability of large LOCAs that are directly and indirectly induced by earthquakes. A large LOCA is defined in this report as a double-ended guillotine break of the primary reactor coolant loop piping (the hot leg, cold leg, and crossover) of a pressurized water reactor (PWR). Unit 1 of the Zion Nuclear Power Plant, a four-loop PWR-1, is used for this study. To estimate the probability of a large LOCA directly induced by earthquakes, only fatigue crack growth resulting from the combined effects of thermal, pressure, seismic, and other cyclic loads is considered. Fatigue crack growth is simulated with a deterministic fracture mechanics model that incorporates stochastic inputs of initial crack size distribution, material properties, stress histories, and leak detection probability. Results of the simulation indicate that the probability of a double-ended guillotine break, either with or without an earthquake, is very small (on the order of 10{sup -12}). The probability of a leak was found to be several orders of magnitude greater than that of a complete pipe rupture. A limited investigation involving engineering judgment of a double-ended guillotine break indirectly induced by an earthquake is also reported. (author)

Large LOCA-earthquake combination probability assessment - Load combination program. Project 1 summary report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu, S.; Streit, R.D.; Chou, C.K.

1980-01-01

This report summarizes work performed for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) by the Load Combination Program at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to establish a technical basis for the NRC to use in reassessing its requirement that earthquake and large loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) loads be combined in the design of nuclear power plants. A systematic probabilistic approach is used to treat the random nature of earthquake and transient loading to estimate the probability of large LOCAs that are directly and indirectly induced by earthquakes. A large LOCA is defined in this report as a double-ended guillotine break of the primary reactor coolant loop piping (the hot leg, cold leg, and crossover) of a pressurized water reactor (PWR). Unit 1 of the Zion Nuclear Power Plant, a four-loop PWR-1, is used for this study. To estimate the probability of a large LOCA directly induced by earthquakes, only fatigue crack growth resulting from the combined effects of thermal, pressure, seismic, and other cyclic loads is considered. Fatigue crack growth is simulated with a deterministic fracture mechanics model that incorporates stochastic inputs of initial crack size distribution, material properties, stress histories, and leak detection probability. Results of the simulation indicate that the probability of a double-ended guillotine break, either with or without an earthquake, is very small (on the order of 10 -12 ). The probability of a leak was found to be several orders of magnitude greater than that of a complete pipe rupture. A limited investigation involving engineering judgment of a double-ended guillotine break indirectly induced by an earthquake is also reported. (author)

Loss-of-coolant accident analyses of the Advanced Neutron Source Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, N.C.J.; Yoder, G.L.; Wendel, M.W.

1991-01-01

Currently in the conceptual design stage, the Advanced Neutron Source Reactor (ANSR) will operate at a high heat flux, a high mass flux, an a high degree of coolant subcooling. Loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) analyses using RELAP5 have been performed as part of an early evaluation of ANSR safety issues. This paper discusses the RELAP5 ANSR conceptual design system model and preliminary LOCA simulation results. Some previous studies were conducted for the preconceptual design. 12 refs., 7 figs

Accident at Three Mile Island nuclear power plant and lessons learned

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ashrafi, A.; Farnoudi, F.; Tochai, M.T.M.; Mirhabibi, N.

1986-01-01

On March 28, 1979, the TMI, unit 2 nuclear power plant experienced a loss of coolant accident (LOCA) which has had a major impact among the others, upon the safety of nuclear power plants. Although a small part of the reactor core melted in this accident, but due to well performance of the vital safety equipment, there was no serious radioactivity release to the environment, and the accident has had no impact on the basic safety goals. A brief scenario of the accident, its consequences and the lessons learned are discussed

Analyses for passive safety of fusion reactor during ex-vessel loss of coolant accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Honda, Takuro; Okazaki, Takashi; Maki, Koichi; Uda, Tatuhiko; Seki, Yasushi; Aoki, Isao; Kunugi, Tomoaki.

1995-01-01

Passive safety of nuclear fusion reactors during ex-vessel Loss-of-Coolant Accidents (LOCAs) in the divertor cooling system has been investigated using a hybrid code, which can treat the interaction of the plasma and plasma facing components (PFCs). The code has been modified to include the impurity emission from PFCs with a diffusion model at the edge plasma. We assumed an ex-vessel LOCA of the divertor cooling system during the ignited operation in International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), in which a carbon-copper brazed divertor plate was employed in the Conceptual Design Activity (CDA). When a double-ended break occurs at the cold leg of the divertor cooling system, the impurity density in the main plasma becomes about twice within 2s after the LOCA due to radiation enhanced sublimation of graphite PFCs. The copper cooling tube of the divertor begins to melt at about 3s after the LOCA, even though the plasma is passively shut down at about 4s due to the impurity accumulation. It is necessary to apply other PFC materials, which can shorten the time period for passive shutdown, or an active shutdown system to keep the reactor structures intact for such rapid transient accident. (author)

International Standard Problems and Small Break Loss-Of-Coolant Accident (SBLOCA)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aksan, N.

2008-01-01

Best-estimate thermalhydraulic system codes are widely used to perform safety and licensing analyses of nuclear power plants and also used in the design of advance reactors. Evaluation of the capabilities and the performance of these codes can be accomplished by comparing the code predictions with measured experimental data obtained on different test facilities. In this respect, parallel to other national and international programs, OECD/Nea (OECD Nuclear Energy Agency) Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI) has promoted, over the last twenty-nine years some forty-eight International Standard Problems (ISPs). These ISPs were performed in different fields as in-vessel thermalhydraulic behaviour, fuel behaviour under accident conditions, fission product release and transport, core/concrete interactions, hydrogen distribution and mixing, containment thermalhydraulic behaviour. 80% of these ISPs were related to the working domain of Principal Working Group no. 2 on Coolant System Behaviour (PWG2). The ISPs have been one of the major PWG2 activities for many years. The individual ISP comparison reports include the analysis and conclusions of the specific ISP exercises. A global review and synthesis on the contribution that ISPs have made to address nuclear reactor safety issues was initiated by CSNI-PWG2 and an overview on the subject of small break LOCA ISP's is given in this paper based on a report prepared by a CSNI-PWG2 writing group. In addition, the relevance of small break LOCA in a PWR with relation to nuclear reactor safety and the reorientation of the reactor safety program after TMI-2 accident, specifically small break LOCA, are shortly summarized. Five small break LOCA related ISP's are considered, since these were used for the assessment of the advanced best-estimate codes. The considered ISP's deal with the phenomenon typical of small break LOCAs in Western design PWRs. The experiments in four integral test facilities, LOBI, SPES, BETHSY

R&D Plan for RISMC Industry Application #1: ECCS/LOCA Cladding Acceptance Criteria

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Szilard, Ronaldo Henriques [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Zhang, Hongbin [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Epiney, Aaron Simon [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Tu, Lei [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

2016-04-01

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is finalizing a rulemaking change that would revise the requirements in 10 CFR 50.46. In the proposed new rulemaking, designated as 10 CFR 50.46c, the NRC proposes a fuel performance-based equivalent cladding reacted (ECR) criterion as a function of cladding hydrogen content before the accident (pre-transient) in order to include the effects of higher burnup on cladding performance as well as to address other technical issues. A loss of operational margin may result due to the more restrictive cladding embrittlement criteria. Initial and future compliance with the rule may significantly increase vendor workload and licensee costs as a spectrum of fuel rod initial burnup states may need to be analyzed to demonstrate compliance. The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has initiated a project, as part of the DOE Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program (LWRS), to develop analytical capabilities to support the industry in the transition to the new rule. This project is called the Industry Application 1 (IA1) within the Risk-Informed Safety Margin Characterization (RISMC) Pathway of LWRS. The general idea behind the initiative is the development of an Integrated Evaluation Model (IEM). The motivation is to develop a multiphysics framework to analyze how uncertainties are propagated across the stream of physical disciplines and data involved, as well as how risks are evaluated in a LOCA safety analysis as regulated under 10 CFR 50.46c. This IEM is called LOTUS which stands for LOCA Toolkit for US, and it represents the LWRS Program’s response to the proposed new rule making. The focus of this report is to complete an R&D plan to describe the demonstration of the LOCA/ECCS RISMC Industry Application # 1 using the advanced RISMC Toolkit and methodologies. This report includes the description and development plan for a RISMC LOCA tool that fully couples advanced MOOSE tools already in development in order to characterize and optimize

Calculation of Savannah River K Reactor Mark-22 assembly LOCA/ECS power limits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fischer, S.R.; Farman, R.F.; Birdsell, S.A.

1992-01-01

This paper summarizes the results of TRAC-PF1/MOD3 calculations of Mark-22 fuel assembly of loss-of-coolant accident/emergency cooling system (LOCA/ECS) power limits for the Savannah River Site (SRS) K Reactor. This effort was part of a larger effort undertaken by the Los Alamos National Laboratory for the US Department of Energy to perform confirmatory power limits calculations for the SRS K Reactor. A method using a detailed three-dimensional (3D) TRAC model of the Mark-22 fuel assembly was developed to compute LOCA/ECS power limits. Assembly power was limited to ensure that no point on the fuel assembly walls would exceed the local saturation temperature. The detailed TRAC model for the Mark-22 assembly consisted of three concentric 3D vessel components which simulated the two targets, two fuel tubes, and three main flow channels of the fuel assembly. The model included 100% eccentricity between the assembly annuli and a 20% power tilt. Eccentricity in the radial alignment of the assembly annuli arises because axial spacer ribs that run the length of the fuel and targets are used. Wall-shear, interfacial-shear, and wall heat-transfer correlations were developed and implemented in TRAC-PF1/MOD3 specifically for modeling flow and heat transfer in the narrow ribbed annuli encountered in the Mark-22 fuel assembly design. We established the validity of these new constitutive models using separate-effects benchmarks. TRAC system calculations of K Reactor indicated that the limiting ECS-phase accident is a double-ended guillonite break in a process water line at the pump discharge (i.e., a PDLOCA). The fuel assembly with the minimum cooling potential is identified from this system calculation. Detailed assembly calculations then were performed using appropriate boundary conditions obtained from this limiting system LOCA. Coolant flow rates and pressure boundary conditions were obtained from this system calculation and applied to the detailed assembly model

An outcome of nuclear safety research in JAERI. Case study for LOCA, FP, criticality and reprocessing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yanagisawa, Kazuaki; Ito, Keishiro; Kawashima, Kei; Katsuki, Chisato; Shirabe, Masashi

2009-09-01

An outcome of nuclear safety research done by JAERI was case studied by the bibliometric method. (1) For LOCA (loss-of-coolant accident) a domestic share of JAERI in monoclinic research paper was 63% at the past (20) 1978-1982 but was decreased to 40% at the present 1998-2002. For co-authored papers a domestic share between JAERI and PS (public sectors) is almost zero at past (20) but increased to 4% at the present. Research cooperation is active between Tokyo University and JAERI or between JAERI and Nagoya University. (2) Project-type research is to have a large monopolization in papers and that of basic-type research is to have a large development of research networking (DRN). (3) For FP, a share of co-authored paper is high due to an enhanced cooperation among JAERI-PO (Public Organization)-PS. For criticality, research activity was enhanced after JCO accident, especially at NUCEF. (4) For reprocessing, PS had a monopolistic position with a domestic share of 71% and a share of JAERI was about 20%. (5) LOCA and RIA outputs born by NSR-JAERI coincided partly to those of the Safety Licensing Guidelines but a share of contribution done by JAERI was ambiguous due to the lack of necessary information. (author)

TRANSPORT CHARACTERISTICS OF SELECTED PWR LOCA GENERATED DEBRIS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

MAJI, A. K.; MARSHALL, B.

2000-01-01

In the unlikely event of a Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA) in a pressurized water reactor (PWR), break jet impingement would dislodge thermal insulation FR-om nearby piping, as well as other materials within the containment, such as paint chips, concrete dust, and fire barrier materials. Steam/water flows induced by the break and by the containment sprays would transport debris to the containment floor. Subsequently, debris would likely transport to and accumulate on the suction sump screens of the emergency core cooling system (ECCS) pumps, thereby potentially degrading ECCS performance and possibly even failing the ECCS. In 1998, the U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) initiated a generic study (Generic Safety Issue-191) to evaluate the potential for the accumulation of LOCA related debris on the PWR sump screen and the consequent loss of ECCS pump net positive suction head (NPSH). Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), supporting the resolution of GSI-191, was tasked with developing a method for estimating debris transport in PWR containments to estimate the quantity of debris that would accumulate on the sump screen for use in plant specific evaluations. The analytical method proposed by LANL, to predict debris transport within the water that would accumulate on the containment floor, is to use computational fluid dynamics (CFD) combined with experimental debris transport data to predict debris transport and accumulation on the screen. CFD simulations of actual plant containment designs would provide flow data for a postulated accident in that plant, e.g., three-dimensional patterns of flow velocities and flow turbulence. Small-scale experiments would determine parameters defining the debris transport characteristics for each type of debris. The containment floor transport methodology will merge debris transport characteristics with CFD results to provide a reasonable and conservative estimate of debris transport within the containment floor pool and

Review of high burn-up RIA and LOCA database and criteria

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vitanza, C.; Hrehor, M.

2006-01-01

This document is intended to provide regulators, their technical support organizations and industry with a concise review of existing fuel experimental data at RIA and LOCA conditions and considerations on how these data affect fuel safety criteria at increasing burn-up. It mostly addresses experimental results relevant to BWR and PWR fuel and it encompasses several contributions from the various experts that participated in the CSNI SEGFSM activities. It also covers the information presented at the joint CSNI/CNRA Topical Discussion on high burn-up fuel issues that took place on this subject in December 2004. The report is organized in the following way: the CABRI RIA database (14 tests), the NSRR database (26 tests) and other databases, RIA failure thresholds, comparison of failure thresholds for the HZP case, LOCA database ductility tests and quench tests, LOCA safety limit, provisional burn-up dependent criterion for Zr-4. The conclusions are as follows. On RIA, there is a well-established testing method and a significant and relatively consistent database from NSRR and Cabri tests, especially on high burn-up Zr-2 and Zr-4 cladding. It is encouraging that several correlations have been proposed for the RIA fuel failure threshold. Their predictions are compared and discussed in this paper for a representative PWR case. On LOCA, there are two different test methods, one based on ductility determinations and the other based on 'integral' quench tests. The LOCA database at high burn-up is limited to both testing methods. Ductility tests carried out with pre-hydrided non-irradiated cladding show a pronounced hydrogen effect. Data for actual high burn-up specimens are being gathered in various laboratories and will form the basis for a burn-up dependent LOCA limit. A provisional burn-up dependent criterion is discussed in the paper

NPP Krsko containment environmental conditions during postulated accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kozaric, M.; Cavlina, N.; Spalj, S.

1989-01-01

This paper presents NPP Krsko containment pressure and temperature increase during Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA) and Main Steam Line Break (MSLB). Containment environmental condition calculation was performed by CONTEMPT4/MOD4 computer code. Design accident calculations were performed by RELAP4/MOD6 and RELAP5/MOD1 computer codes. Calculational abilities and application methodology of these codes are presented. The CONTEMPT code is described in more detail. The containment pressure and temperature time distribution are presented as well. (author)

Bio-mechanical assessment toward throwing and lifting process of i-LOCA (Innovative Lobster Catcher)

Science.gov (United States)

Sudiarno, A.; Dewi, D. S.; Putri, M. A.

2018-04-01

Indonesia is the country rich in marine resource, one of which is lobster. East java, one of Indonesian province, especially in Region of Gresik and Lamogan, has very huge potential of lobster. Current condition shown that lobster catch by the fisherman mostly depend on lucky factor, which the lobster unintentionally trapped in fisherman’s fish net. By using this mechanism, the number of lobster catch cannot be optimum. Previous researches have produced two versions of i-LOCA, Innovative Lobster Catcher, a special tool for catching the lobster. Although produce more lobster catch, second version of i-LOCA still needs to be scrutinized, one of that is bio-mechanical assessment. The second version of i-LOCA still has no tool to ease throwing and lifting it into the sea. This condition cause Musculoskeletal Disorder (MSD) toward the fisherman. This research perform bio-mechanical assessment toward throwing and lifting process in order to suggest improvement for i-LOCA as the third version. Based on body moment calculation, we found that throwing and lifting process of third version of i-LOCA, each was 3 times and 2 times better than second version of i-LOCA. Meanwhile, Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) score of throwing and lifting process for third version of i-LOCA can be reduced by 5 points compared to second version of i-LOCA.

Experimental studies on mitigation of LOCA for a high flux research reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saxena, A.K.

2006-01-01

Experimental studies on the rewetting behaviour of hot vertical annular channels were performed to study the mitigation of consequences of loss of coolant accident (LOCA) for a high flux research reactor. Studies were carried out to study the rewetting behaviour with hot inner tube, for bottom flooding and top flow rewetting conditions. The tube was made of stainless steel. Experiments were conducted for water flow rates in the annulus upto 7 litres per minute (l pm) (11.7 x 10 -5 m 3 s -1 ). The initial surface temperature of the inner tube was varied from 200 to 500 degC. (author)

Study for Relation of Pressure and Aging Degradation during LOCA Test

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Jong Seog

2013-01-01

As result of this test, it was found that low pressure effect in aging was not significant compared with that of temperature. If temperature profile in LOCA test can satisfy the plant LOCA profile, no further analysis of pressure profile for aging degradation is necessary. For environmental qualification of electric equipment in containment building of nuclear power plant, LOCA test should be applied. During the LOCA test, temperature and pressure of LOCA chamber shall be controlled to meet a requirement of plant specific LOCA profile. It is general to keep LOCA test temperature and pressure above the plant specific LOCA profile. If the test temperature is lower than required profile in some time zone while it is higher in other time zone, calculation of total cumulated test temperature is required to compare with that of plant profile. Arrhenius equation can be applied for calculation of total temperature accumulation. If there is a deviation of pressure between test profile and plant specific profile, can we still use the same rule of temperature? Since the Arrhenius equation can't be applied to pressure, analysis of pressure effect to aging degradation is not easy. Study for relation of pressure and aging degradation during LOCA condition is described herein. To Study an aging degradation effect of pressure during LOCA test, comparison of IR during high LOCA pressure and low LOCA pressure were implemented. We expected low IR in high pressure because it contained a high concentration of oxygen which induces high aging degradation. Contrary to our expectation, IR of low pressure was lower than that of high pressure. It is assumed that high vibration of temperature profile to maintain the low pressure at high temperature induced supply of high enthalpy steam into LOCA chamber

Verification of human actions in SBO sequences with LOCA stamps in Westinghouse PWRs; Verificacion de las actuaciones humanas en secuencias de SBO con LOCA de sellos en reactores PWR Westinghouse

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Queral, C.; Mena Rosell, L.; Jimenez Varas, G.

2013-07-01

The Fukushima accident has shown the need for tools and methodologies able to analyze human activities and / or capabilities of portable systems that has given the Spanish plants as a result of the stress tests . In this work we have applied the methodology of integrated safety analysis developed by the CSN , to SBO sequences with LOCA stamp. The aim is to show a methodology for testing the performances of the Emergency Operating Procedures and Guides Severe Accident Management. The simulations were performed with the tool SCAIS coupled to MAAP . The results show that there are human activities that may be beneficial in certain sequences but harmful in others. This type of problem is already known and referred to in the GGAS . However, FSR shows a practical way to check human actions cannot be obtained with other methods.

Design basis neutronics calculations for NRU-LOCA experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heaberlin, S.W.; Jenquin, U.P.; McNair, G.W.; Perry, R.T.; Trapp, T.J.; Zimmerman, M.G.

1979-08-01

The report describes the neutronics analysis for the LOCA simulation experiments in the NRU reactor. The experimental program will provide greater understanding of nuclear fuel assembly behavior during the heatup, reflood and quench sequence of a hypothetical LOCA. The decay heat and stored heat, which are the energy source in a LOCA will be simulated by fission heat provided by the NRU reactor. The reactor, the test and test operation are described

Definition of loss-of-coolant accident radiation source. [PWR; BWR

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1978-02-01

Meaningful qualification testing of nuclear reactor components requires a knowledge of the radiation fields expected in a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA). The overall objective of this program is to define the LOCA source terms and compare these with the output of various simulators employed for radiation qualification testing. The basis for comparison will be the energy deposition in a model reactor component. The results of the calculations are presented and some interpretation of the results given. The energy release rates and spectra were validated by comparison with other calculations using different codes since experimental data appropriate to these calculations do not exist.

Progress in realistic LOCA analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Young, M.Y.; Bajorek, S.M.; Ohkawa, K.

2004-01-01

In 1988 the USNRC revised the ECCS rule contained in Appendix K and Section 50.46 of 10 CFR Part 50, which governs the analysis of the Loss Of Coolant Accident (LOCA). The revised regulation allows the use of realistic computer models to calculate the loss of coolant accident. In addition, the new regulation allows the use of high probability estimates of peak cladding temperature (PCT), rather than upper bound estimates. Prior to this modification, the regulations were a prescriptive set of rules which defined what assumptions must be made about the plant initial conditions and how various physical processes should be modeled. The resulting analyses were highly conservative in their prediction of the performance of the ECCS, and placed tight constraints on core power distributions, ECCS set points and functional requirements, and surveillance and testing. These restrictions, if relaxed, will allow for additional economy, flexibility, and in some cases, improved reliability and safety as well. For example, additional economy and operating flexibility can be achieved by implementing several available core and fuel rod designs to increase fuel discharge burnup and reduce neutron flux on the reactor vessel. The benefits of application of best estimate methods to LOCA analyses have typically been associated with reductions in fuel costs, resulting from optimized fuel designs, or increased revenue from power upratings. Fuel cost savings are relatively easy to quantify, and have been estimated at several millions of dollars per cycle for an individual plant. Best estimate methods are also likely to contribute significantly to reductions in O and M costs, although these reductions are more difficult to quantify. Examples of O and M cost reductions are: 1) Delaying equipment replacement. With best estimate methods, LOCA is no longer a factor in limiting power levels for plants with high tube plugging levels or degraded safety injection systems. If other requirements for

JCO criticality accident as POST-LOCA: Poor structure induced loss of organizational control accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Furuhama, Yutaka

2000-01-01

Some problems in operation and business management of JCO (Japan Nuclear Fuel Conversion Co.) have been studied as background factors of the criticality accident. Open information about business conditions of JCO suggests that the cause of the accident is not so simple as to be attributed only to economic pressure, but includes immanent problems in JCO. We investigate the problems from five viewpoints, organization of safety management, system of operation management, activities for business improvement, risk awareness, and restructuring of business, and discuss the effects and causality of background factors as well as remedies for them. (author)

Verification of human actions in SBO sequences with LOCA stamps in Westinghouse PWRs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Queral, C.; Mena Rosell, L.; Jimenez Varas, G.

2013-01-01

The Fukushima accident has shown the need for tools and methodologies able to analyze human activities and / or capabilities of portable systems that has given the Spanish plants as a result of the stress tests . In this work we have applied the methodology of integrated safety analysis developed by the CSN , to SBO sequences with LOCA stamp. The aim is to show a methodology for testing the performances of the Emergency Operating Procedures and Guides Severe Accident Management. The simulations were performed with the tool SCAIS coupled to MAAP . The results show that there are human activities that may be beneficial in certain sequences but harmful in others. This type of problem is already known and referred to in the GGAS . However, FSR shows a practical way to check human actions cannot be obtained with other methods.

Development of loca calculation capability with relap5-3D in accordance with the evaluation model methodology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liang, T.K.S.; Huan-Jen, Hung; Chin-Jang, Chang; Lance, Wang

2001-01-01

In light water reactors, particularly the pressurized water reactor (PWR), the severity of a LOCA (loss of coolant accident) will limit how high the reactor power can operate. Although the best-estimate LOCA licensing methodology can provide the greatest margin on the PCT (peak cladding temperature) evaluation during LOCA, it generally takes more resources to develop. Instead, implementation of evaluation models required by the Appendix K of 10 CFR 50 upon an advanced thermal-hydraulic platform can also enlarge significant margin between the highest calculated PCT and the safety limit of 2200 F. The compliance of the current RELAP5-3D code with Appendix K of 10 CFR50 has been evaluated, and it was found that there are ten areas where code assessment and/or further modifications were required to satisfy the requirements set forth in the Appendix K of 10 CFR 50. The associated models for LOCA consequent phenomenon analysis should follow the major concern of regulation and be expected to give more conservative results than those by the best-estimate methodology. They were required to predict the decay power level, the blowdown hydraulics, the blowdown heat transfer, the flooding rate, and the flooding heat transfer. All of the ten areas included in above classified simulations have been further evaluated and the RELAP5-3D has been successfully modified to fulfill the associated requirements. In addition, to verify and assess the development of the Appendix K version of RELAP5-3D, nine separate-effect experiments were adopted. Through the assessments against separate-effect experiments, the success of the code modification in accordance with the Appendix K of 10 CFR 50 was demonstrated. We will apply another six sets of integral-effect experiments in the next step to assure the integral conservatism of the Appendix K version of RELAP5-3D on LOCA licensing evaluation. (authors)

Effect of air on speed of insulating material deterioration under simulated LOCA environment. [Gamma radiation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kusama, Yasuo; Yagi, Toshiaki; Ito, Masayuki; Okada, Sohei; Yoshikawa, Masato (Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Takasaki, Gunma. Takasaki Radiation Chemistry Research Establishment)

1982-12-01

To examine the quality approval testing method for the electric cables used for nuclear reactors, various covering insulating materials employed for the cables have been investigated from all angles. The factors which are considered to affect the deterioration of cable materials in a simulated LOCA (loss of coolant accident) environmental test are numerous. This paper reports on the result of investigation on the effect of air on the rate of deterioration of various organic materials usually used as the insulating and covering materials for the cables. Five kinds of polymer sheets (1 mm thick) used for reactor cables were employed as samples. The samples of both standard compounding ratio and the compounding ratio for practical reactor use were tested. As the deterioration prior to LOCA simulation, the thermal deterioration corresponding to 40 years aging (at 121 deg C for 7 days) was given, and subsequently, 50 Mrad gamma -irradiation at 1 Mrad/h was performed in the air. After that, the samples were subject to LOCA simulated environment. Since the results were different according to the kinds of samples, those are described separately for Hypalon, ethylene propylene rubber, cross-linked polyethylene, chloroprene and silicone rubber. The existence of air under LOCA environment accelerated the deterioration of insulation materials except silicone rubber, though its influence differed to the polymers. These materials swelled in the presence of air, and the degree of swelling increased with the temperature, having the close relation to oxidation deterioration. Polyethylene was more susceptible to the effect of air, and silicone rubber was rather stable. The samples of fire-retardant compounding ratio more swelled by water absorption than those of standard compounding ratio.

Reactor elements properties response during a postulated loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmed, E.E.; Rahman, F.A.

1985-01-01

Four computer algorithms have been introduced to solve for the reactor different materials response subjected to LOCA conditions, they were developed with the intent of producing a simple, accurate and efficient prediction schemes. A general overview of the solution procedures design and working of each of four algorithms are presented, followed by short description of the nature of solution and calculated results. These algorithms are: 1. ZIRCP to give the cladding material properties response under normal and transient conditions. 2. FCGAPP to give the fuel- cladding gas-gap conductivity. 3. NFUEIP to solve the temperature dependent of nuclear fuel properties during normal and transient conditions. 4. TSDATP has been developed to solve for the thermodynamic and transport properties of water and steam over a large range of temperature and pressure. 14 fig

German (GRS) approach to accident analysis (part I). German licensing basis for accident analyses. Applicants accident analyses in second part license for Konvoi-plants. Appendix 1. Assessor accident analyses in second part license for Konvoi-plants. Appendix 2. Reference list of DBA to be considered in the safety status analysis of a PSR. Appendix 3a. Reference list of special very rare and BDB plant conditions to be considered in the safety status analysis of a PSE. Appendix 3b

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Velkov, K.

2002-01-01

LOCA analyses.Appendix 3a: Concerns Level 3, accidents and events to be considered for transients, accidents and events to be considered for losses of coolant (LOCA), accidents and radiologically representative events, as well as PWR-specific spreading impacts to be considered as possible initiating events for transients and SBLOCA. These events are defined for PWR and BWR. Appendix 3b: Level 4, PWR- and BWR-specific special, very rare events,(ATWS and site-specific external civil impacts (certain emergencies)), beyond-design-basis plant conditions. These event and accident as in previous Appendix is defined again for PWR and BWR reactor types

Practical illustration of the traditional vers. alternative LOCA embrittlement criteria

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vrtilkova, V.; Novotny, L.; Hamouz, V.; Doucha, R.; Tinka, I.; Macek, J.; Lahovsky, F.

2005-01-01

Evaluation of LOCA time behaviour is usually based on traditional embrittlement criterion, represented by the equivalent cladding reacted (ECR) limit 17 % (18 %) at the peak cladding temperature below 1204 0 C (1200 0 C). From different existing correlations for evaluation the ECR, the correlations of Baker-Just, Cathcart and VNIINM (Bibilashvili) are discussed here. Results, obtained by these correlations, are illustrated for typical and atypical LOCA courses analysed for the WWER 440 plant. An approach to assess these correlations from the viewpoint of violation of the observed criterion is presented. This approach is based on determination of the temperature vers. time of exposition, when the criterion limit is reached. Reasons leading to necessity of alternative criterion proposal are summarised. This criterion for LOCA events evaluation, including corresponding correlation, is proposed on the basis of the long-term experimental research of cladding materials at UJP Praha. The computational results, obtained according to this alternative criterion, are illustrated for the same courses of LOCA events as for traditional criteria and traditional correlations. Proposed criterion is also confronted with the other discussed criteria in accordance with mentioned approach presented in this paper. The characteristic experimental results and key findings are summarised. They substantiate and support the proposed alternative criterion. An advantage of the criterion is its independence on ECR, on hydrogen and oxygen content and on oxidation history, and its applicability to current Zr-based alloy cladding materials as well. This applicability is kept while preserving the simplicity of the criterion using. (author)

LOFT/LP-SB-2, Loss of Fluid Test, Small Hot Leg Break LOCA, Delayed Pump

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1989-01-01

1 - Description of test facility: The LOFT Integral Test Facility is a scale model of a LPWR. The intent of the facility is to model the nuclear, thermal-hydraulic phenomena which would take place in a LPWR during a LOCA. The general philosophy in scaling coolant volumes and flow areas in LOFT was to use the ratio of the LOFT core [50 MW(t)] to a typical LPWR core [3000 MW(t)]. For some components, this factor is not applied; however, it is used as extensively as practical. In general, components used in LOFT are similar in design to those of a LPWR. Because of scaling and component design, the LOFT LOCA is expected to closely model a LPWR LOCA. 2 - Description of test: The third OECD LOFT experiment was conducted on 14 July 1983. It simulated a 3-in (7.62 cm) equivalent break diameter located in the hot leg of the operating loop. The major objective of this experiment was to determine system transient characteristics for small hot leg break loss-of-coolant accidents with delayed pump trip. The experiment was conducted from initial temperature and pressure conditions representative of typical commercial PWRs. 3 - Experimental limitations or shortcomings: Short core and steam generator, excessive core bypass, other scaling compromises, and lack of adequate measurements in certain areas

LOFT/LP-SB-1, Loss of Fluid Test, Small Hot Leg Break LOCA, Early Pump

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1989-01-01

1 - Description of test facility: The LOFT Integral Test Facility is a scale model of a LPWR. The intent of the facility is to model the nuclear, thermal-hydraulic phenomena which would take place in a LPWR during a LOCA. The general philosophy in scaling coolant volumes and flow areas in LOFT was to use the ratio of the LOFT core [50 MW(t)] to a typical LPWR core [3000 MW(t)]. For some components, this factor is not applied; however, it is used as extensively as practical. In general, components used in LOFT are similar in design to those of a LPWR. Because of scaling and component design, the LOFT LOCA is expected to closely model a LPWR LOCA. 2 - Description of test: The second OECD LOFT experiment was conducted on 23 June 1983. It simulated a 3-in (7.62 cm) equivalent break diameter located in the hot leg of the operating loop. The major objective of this experiment was to determine system transient characteristics for small hot leg break loss-of-coolant accidents with early pump trip. The experiment was conducted from initial temperature and pressure conditions representative of typical commercial PWRs. 3 - Experimental limitations or shortcomings: Short core and steam generator, excessive core bypass, other scaling compromises, and lack of adequate measurements in certain areas

Experimental Setup for Reflood Quench of Accident Tolerant Fuel Claddings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Chan; Lee, Kwan Geun; In, Wang Kee [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-10-15

The concept of accident tolerant fuel (ATF) is a solution to suppress the hydrogen generation in loss of coolant accident (LOCA) situation without safety injection, which was the critical incident in the severe accident in the Fukushima. The changes in fuel and cladding materials may cause a significant difference in reactor performance in long term operation. Properties in terms of material science and engineering have been tested and showed promising results. However, numerous tests are still required to ensure the design performance and safety. Thermal hydraulic tests including boiling and quenching are partly confirmed, but not yet complete. We have been establishing the experimental setup to confirm the properties in the terms of thermal hydraulics. Design considerations and preliminary tests are introduced in this paper. An experimental setup to test thermal hydraulic characteristics of new ATF claddings are established and tested. The W heater set inside the cladding is working properly, exceeding 690 W/m linear power with thermocouples and insulating ceramic sheaths inside. The coolant injection control was also working in good conditions. The setup is about to complete and going to simulate quenching behavior of the ATF in the LOCA situation.

Basic study on BWR plant behavior under the condition of severe accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ozaki, Yoshihiko; Jyohko, Shingo; Dohgo, Hirofumi

2015-01-01

In this paper, we report on the results using the BWR plant simulator about the plant behavior under the condition of the severe accident that LOCA occurs but ECCS fails the water irrigation into the reactor core. The simulation experiments were carried out for the cases that LOCA has occurred in the main steam piping or in the recirculation piping, respectively. As for the results about the relationship between the LOCA area and the time from LOCA occurs until the fuel temperature rise start, the effect that RCIC operated was extremely big for LOCA area of up to 100 cm"2 for both type LOCA. In the case of main steam system LOCA, the core water level suddenly decreased for large LOCA of 2000 cm"2 area, however, if the irrigation into the reactor core was carried out 30 min after LOCA occurrence, the core had little damage. In addition, the H_2 concentration in the containment vessel did not exceed both limits of H_2 explosion nor detonation. The pressure of the containment vessel was around 3 kg/cm"2 of design value, so the soundness of the containment vessel was confirmed. On the other hand, for the recirculation system LOCA of 2000 cm"2 area, a drop of the core water level was extremely in comparison with main steam system LOCA, and the fuel assemblies were completely exposed during up to 30 min, to the irrigation from approximately 100 sec, after LOCA occurrence. Therefore, the fuel temperature during the irrigation had reached approximately 1900degC. Thus, the fuel cladding were damaged approximately less than 10%, and H_2 concentration in the containment vessel was approximately 9% which did not exceed H_2 detonation limit of 13% but exceeded H_2 explosion limit of 4%. However, the containment vessel internal pressure was settled around design pressure value of containment vessel. As the results, some core damage could not be avoided, but soundness of the containment vessel, which should take the role of 'confine', was found to be secured. (author)

Loss-of-coolant accident for large pipe breaks in light water reactor plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keusenhoff, J.

1980-01-01

The importance of loss-of-coolant accidents (LOCA) and their control for nuclear reactor safety is explained. Showing the cooling circuits and emergency core cooling systems (ECCS) of both, PWR and BWR, the possible break spectrum and the general sequence of events is discussed. The governing physical phenomena for the different LOCA phases are pointed out in more detail. Special emphasis is taken on rules, regulations and failure criteria for licensing purposes. Analysis methods and codes for both, evaluation and best-estimate model are compared under deterministic and probabilistic approach, respectively. Some insight in present integral and separate effect tests demonstrates the interdependency of analysis and experiment. Results of LOCA analysis and experiments show the present state of the art. (orig.)

Comparison of computer codes (CE-THERM, FRAP-T5, GT3-FLECHT, and TRUMP-FLECHT) with data from the NRU-LOCA thermal hydraulic tests

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohr, C.L.; Rausch, W.N.; Hesson, G.M.

1981-07-01

The LOCA Simulation Program in the NRU reactor is the first set of experiments to provide data on the behavior of full-length, nuclear-heated PWR fuel bundles during the heatup, reflood, and quench phases of a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA). This paper compares the temperature time histories of 4 experimental test cases with 4 computer codes: CE-THERM, FRAP-T5, GT3-FLECHT, and TRUMP-FLECHT. The preliminary comparisons between prediction and experiment show that the state-of-the art fuel codes have large uncertainties and are not necessarily conservative in predicting peak temperatures, turn around times, and bundle quench times

Hydrogen radiolytic production in light and heavy water mixtures under conditions similar to LOCA (loss of coolant accidents)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garcia Rodenas, L.; Ali, S.P.; Liberman, S.J.

1987-01-01

H 2 , HD and D 2 radiolytic yield in heavy and light water mixtures has been determined to supply the necessary data which will allow to make a realistic estimation of the solution of such gas under LOCA conditions as a function of time. (Author)

An investigation into fuel pulverization with specific reference to high burn-up LOCA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yagnik, Suresh; Turnbull, James; Noirot, Jean; Walker, Clive; Hallstadius, Lars; Waeckel, N.; Blanpain, P.

2014-01-01

To investigate the phenomenon of high burn-up fuel pellet material potentially disintegrating into powder under a rapid temperature transient, such as in a LOCA-type accident scenario, two independent scoping studies were commissioned. The first was to investigate the effect of hydrostatic restraint pressure on Fission Gas Release (FGR) from small samples of highly irradiated fuel (71 MWd/kgU) during a series of rapid temperature ramps. Experimentally, when the FGR increased rapidly during the temperature transients, the fuel was assumed to be 'pulverized', i.e., fragmented into powder. In the second series of experiments, laser heating of small samples was used to investigate the temperature at which fuel pulverization was initiated. Subsequent to fuel disintegration, there was always a spectrum of particle sizes present. The significance of this observation was recognized in the context of extended burn-up operation in commercial reactors. Based on the observation from these investigations, a fuel fragmentation threshold has been discussed and developed. We conclude that fuel disintegration could be of potential importance in limiting the performance and productive lifetime of nuclear fuel. However, since only fuel closely adjacent to ballooned or ruptured cladding would be released in a LOCA-type transient, expulsion of pulverized fuel from the ruptured fuel rod is not considered a safety issue; cooling of the defected assembly remains possible and there is no issue with respect to local criticality. (author)

LOCA assessment experiments in a full-elevation, CANDU-typical test facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ingham, P.J.; McGee, G.R.; Krishnan, V.S.

1990-01-01

The RD-14 thermal-hydraulics test facility, located at the Whiteshell Nuclear Research Establishment, is a full-elevation model representative of a CANDU primary heat transport system. The facility is scaled to accommodate a single, full-scale (5.0 MW, 21 kg/s), electrically heated channel per pass. The steam generators, pumps, headers, feeders and heated channels are arranged in a typical CANDU figure-of-eight geometry. The loop has an emergency coolant injection system (ECI) that may be operated in several modes, including typical features of the various ECI systems found in CANDU reactors. A series of experiments has been performed in RD-14 to investigate the thermal-hydraulic behaviour during the blowdown and injection phases of a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA). The tests were designed to cover a full range of break sizes from feeder-sized breaks to guillotine breaks in either an inlet or an outlet header. Breaks resulting in channel flow stagnation were also investigated. This paper reviews the results of some of the LOCA tests carried out in RD-14, and discusses some of the behaviour observed. Plans for future experiments in a multiple-channel RD-14 facility, modified to contain multiple flow channels, are outlined. (orig.)

Improving Accident Tolerance of Nuclear Fuel with Coated Mo-alloy Cladding

OpenAIRE

Bo Cheng; Young-Jin Kim; Peter Chou

2016-01-01

In severe loss of coolant accidents (LOCA), similar to those experienced at Fukushima Daiichi and Three Mile Island Unit 1, the zirconium alloy fuel cladding materials are rapidly heated due to nuclear decay heating and rapid exothermic oxidation of zirconium with steam. This heating causes the cladding to rapidly react with steam, lose strength, burst or collapse, and generate large quantities of hydrogen gas. Although maintaining core cooling remains the highest priority in accident managem...

Fuel assembly stress and deflection analysis for loss-of-coolant accident and seismic excitation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DeMars, R.V.; Steinke, R.R.

1975-01-01

Babcock and Wilcox has evaluated the capability of the fuel assemblies to withstand the effects of a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) blowdown, the operational basis earthquake (OBE) and design basis earthquake (DBE), and the simultaneous occurrence of the DBE and LOCA. This method of analysis is applicable to all of B and W's nuclear steam system contracts that specify the skirt-supported pressure vessel. Loads during the saturated and subcooled phases of blowdown following a loss-of-coolant accident were calculated. The maximum loads on the fuel assemblies were found to be below allowable limits, and the maximum deflections of the fuel assemblies were found to be less than those that could prevent the insertion of control rods or the flow of coolant through the core. (U.S.)

ITER pressure and thermal loads to containment HTS vault LOCA analysis. Draft final report EC Task SEA 3, Subtask 3-4

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Blomquist, R; Shen, K; Sjoeberg, A

1995-03-01

This study has been performed within the framework of the EC Task SEA 3 and its objective is to provide necessary data in supporting the design solution of the ITER secondary confinement around the primary heat transfer system equipment. These data relate to the required dimensions for the blow-out panels, the vent lines and the suppression tank following a LOCA in one of the HTS vaults, namely the first wall/shielding blanket(FW/SB) vault, divertor vault and vacuum vessel (VV) vault. In this report, we present the design and operational input and describe the identified accident sequences. The input data are in correspondence with ITER design data of November 1994. The computer codes used are RELAP5 (LOCA flows) and CONTAIN (secondary confinement thermal-hydraulics) and models of calculations are given. The results in the form of diagrams demonstrating transients of various variables after a LOCA, are presented. After some discussions of the results, we indicate some topics for the continuing study with the emphasis on optimization of the containment system. 10 refs, 29 figs.

ITER pressure and thermal loads to containment HTS vault LOCA analysis. Draft final report EC Task SEA 3, Subtask 3-4

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blomquist, R.; Shen, K.; Sjoeberg, A.

1995-03-01

This study has been performed within the framework of the EC Task SEA 3 and its objective is to provide necessary data in supporting the design solution of the ITER secondary confinement around the primary heat transfer system equipment. These data relate to the required dimensions for the blow-out panels, the vent lines and the suppression tank following a LOCA in one of the HTS vaults, namely the first wall/shielding blanket(FW/SB) vault, divertor vault and vacuum vessel (VV) vault. In this report, we present the design and operational input and describe the identified accident sequences. The input data are in correspondence with ITER design data of November 1994. The computer codes used are RELAP5 (LOCA flows) and CONTAIN (secondary confinement thermal-hydraulics) and models of calculations are given. The results in the form of diagrams demonstrating transients of various variables after a LOCA, are presented. After some discussions of the results, we indicate some topics for the continuing study with the emphasis on optimization of the containment system. 10 refs, 29 figs

Analysis of fuel rod behaviour within a rod bundle of a pressurized water reactor under the conditions of a loss of coolant accident (LOCA) using probabilistic methodology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sengpiel, W.

1980-12-01

The assessment of fuel rod behaviour under PWR LOCA conditions aims at the evaluation of the peak cladding temperatures and the (final) maximum circumferential cladding strains. Moreover, the estimation of the amount of possible coolant channel blockages within a rod bundle is of special interest, as large coplanar clad strains of adjacent rods may result in strong local reductions of coolant channel areas. Coolant channel blockages of large radial extent may impair the long-term coolability of the corresponding rods. A model has been developed to describe these accident consequences using probabilistic methodology. This model is applied to study the behaviour of fuel rods under accident conditions following the double-ended pipe rupture between collant pump and pressure vessel in the primary system of a 1300 MW(el)-PWR. Specifically a rod bundle is considered consisting of 236 fuel rods, that is subjected to severe thermal and mechanical loading. The results obtained indicate that plastic clad deformations with circumferential clad strains of more than 30% cannot be excluded for hot rods of the reference bundle. However, coplanar coolant channel blockages of significant extent seem to be probable within that bundle only under certain boundary conditions which are assumed to be pessimistic. (orig./RW) [de

A 25% double-ended LOCA in the PSB-VVER facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blinkov, V.N.; Lipatov, I.A.; Dremin, G.I.

2003-01-01

The paper presents the results of the experimental investigation in the PSB-VVER facility and post-test analysis with RELAP5/MOD3.3 of the thermal-hydraulic response of the PSB-VVER to a 25% double-ended Hot Leg Break (HLB). The test scenario included loss of off-site power concurrently with the scram-signal and the safety system operation as described in the reference VVER-1000 operational manual in the case of this type of accident assuming one diesel-generator failure. The key transient parameter trends as well as sequence of events and phenomena are given in the paper. RELAP5/MOD3.3 a post-test analysis has been performed using the experimental data gained as a base. The reasonable qualitative agreement between the key calculated and measured variables has been shown. The quantitative code accuracy evaluation has shown that the total average amplitude of the main parameters' deviations AA tot tot < 0.28 that corresponds to satisfactory quality of the VVER-1000 hot leg guillotine break LOCA modeling in the PSB-VVER. (author)

Operator reliability analysis during NPP small break LOCA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Jiong; Chen Shenglin

1990-01-01

To assess the human factor characteristic of a NPP main control room (MCR) design, the MCR operator reliability during a small break LOCA is analyzed, and some approaches for improving the MCR operator reliability are proposed based on the analyzing results

Calculation of fuel pin failure timing under LOCA conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jones, K.R.; Wade, N.L.; Siefken, L.J.; Straka, M.; Katsma, K.R.

1991-10-01

The objective of this research was to develop and demonstrate a methodology for calculation of the time interval between receipt of the containment isolation signals and the first fuel pin failure for loss-of-coolant accidents (LOCAs). Demonstration calculations were performed for a Babcock and Wilcox (B ampersand W) design (Oconee) and a Westinghouse (W) 4-loop design (Seabrook). Sensitivity studies were performed to assess the impacts of fuel pin burnup, axial peaking factor, break size, emergency core cooling system (ECCS) availability, and main coolant pump trip on these items. The analysis was performed using a four-code approach, comprised of FRAPCON-2, SCDAP/RELAP5/MOD3, TRAC-PF1/MOD1, and FRAP-T6. In addition to the calculation of timing results, this analysis provided a comparison of the capabilities of SCDAP/RELAP5/MOD3 with TRAC-PF1/MOD1 for large-break LOCA analysis. This paper discusses the methodology employed and the code development efforts required to implement the methodology. The shortest time intervals calculated between initiation of containment isolation and fuel pin failure were 11.4 s and 19.1 for the B ampersand W and W plants, respectively. The FRAP-T6 fuel pin failure times calculated using thermal-hydraulic data generated by SCDAP/RELAP5/MOD3 were more conservative than those calculated using data generated by TRAC-PF1/MOD1. 18 refs., 7 figs., 4 tabs

Comparison of the phenomenology of SBO sequences with and without seals LOCA Westinghouse PWRs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mena Rosell, L.; Queral, C.; Jimenez Varas, G.

2013-01-01

SBO sequences have gained notoriety after the accident at Fukushima. Within this type of sequence the appearance or not of seals of the RCP LOCA determines the evolution of the accident. This work has been applied the methodology of integrated safety analysis (ISA), developed by the CSN, sequences of SBO. The objective is to compare the evolution of SBO sequences in a wide spectrum of conditions and recovery times of AC and DC loss. The simulations have been performed with the SCAIS tool coupled to MAAP. The set of simulations carried out, of the order of 2,000 sequences, clearly show the differences in the evolution of sequences with and without seals crazy. This type of analysis allows you to verify which would be the most appropriate management of sequence depending on the appearance or not of the MADWOMAN of seals.

Extending the application range of a fuel performance code from normal operating to design basis accident conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Uffelen, P.; Gyori, C.; Schubert, A.; Laar, J. van de; Hozer, Z.; Spykman, G.

2008-01-01

Two types of fuel performance codes are generally being applied, corresponding to the normal operating conditions and the design basis accident conditions, respectively. In order to simplify the code management and the interface between the codes, and to take advantage of the hardware progress it is favourable to generate a code that can cope with both conditions. In the first part of the present paper, we discuss the needs for creating such a code. The second part of the paper describes an example of model developments carried out by various members of the TRANSURANUS user group for coping with a loss of coolant accident (LOCA). In the third part, the validation of the extended fuel performance code is presented for LOCA conditions, whereas the last section summarises the present status and indicates needs for further developments to enable the code to deal with reactivity initiated accident (RIA) events

Use of flow models to analyse loss of coolant accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pinet, Bernard

1978-01-01

This article summarises current work on developing the use of flow models to analyse loss-of-coolant accident in pressurized-water plants. This work is being done jointly, in the context of the LOCA Technical Committee, by the CEA, EDF and FRAMATOME. The construction of the flow model is very closely based on some theoretical studies of the two-fluid model. The laws of transfer at the interface and at the wall are tested experimentally. The representativity of the model then has to be checked in experiments involving several elementary physical phenomena [fr

Development of a diagnostic system for identifying accident conditions in a reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santhosh; Gera, B.; Kumar, Mithilesh; Thangamani, I.; Prasad, Hari; Srivastava, A.; Dutta, Anu; Sharma, Pavan K.; Majumdar, P.; Verma, V.; Mukhopadhyay, D.; Ganju, Sunil; Chatterjee, B.; Sanyasi Rao, V.V.S.; Lele, H.G.; Ghosh, A.K.

2009-07-01

This report describes a methodology for identification of accident conditions in a nuclear reactor from the signals available to the operator. A large database of such signals is generated through analyses - for core, containment, environmental dispersion and radiological dose to train a computer code based on an Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs). At present, in the prediction mode, information on LOCA (location and size of break), status of availability of ECCS, and expected doses can be predicted well for a 220 MWe PHWR. (author)

Comparison of the phenomenology of SBO sequences with and without seals LOCA Westinghouse PWRs; Comparacion de la fenomenologia de las secuencias de SBO con y sin LOCA de sellos en reactores PWR Westinghouse

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mena Rosell, L.; Queral, C.; Jimenez Varas, G.

2013-07-01

SBO sequences have gained notoriety after the accident at Fukushima. Within this type of sequence the appearance or not of seals of the RCP LOCA determines the evolution of the accident. This work has been applied the methodology of integrated safety analysis (ISA), developed by the CSN, sequences of SBO. The objective is to compare the evolution of SBO sequences in a wide spectrum of conditions and recovery times of AC and DC loss. The simulations have been performed with the SCAIS tool coupled to MAAP. The set of simulations carried out, of the order of 2,000 sequences, clearly show the differences in the evolution of sequences with and without seals crazy. This type of analysis allows you to verify which would be the most appropriate management of sequence depending on the appearance or not of the MADWOMAN of seals.

Radionuclide release calculations for selected severe accident scenarios

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Denning, R.S.; Leonard, M.T.; Cybulskis, P.; Lee, K.W.; Kelly, R.F.; Jordan, H.; Schumacher, P.M.; Curtis, L.A.

1990-08-01

This report provides the results of source term calculations that were performed in support of the NUREG-1150 study. ''Severe Accident Risks: An Assessment for Five US Nuclear Power Plants.'' This is the sixth volume of a series of reports. It supplements results presented in the earlier volumes. Analyses were performed for three of the NUREG-1150 plants: Peach Bottom, a Mark I, boiling water reactor; Surry, a subatmospheric containment, pressurized water reactor; and Sequoyah, an ice condenser containment, pressurized water reactor. Complete source term results are presented for the following sequences: short term station blackout with failure of the ADS system in the Peach Bottom plant; station blackout with a pump seal LOCA for the Surry plant; station blackout with a pump seal LOCA in the Sequoyah plant; and a very small break with loss of ECC and spray recirculation in the Sequoyah plant. In addition, some partial analyses were performed which did not require running all of the modules of the Source Term Code Package. A series of MARCH3 analyses were performed for the Surry and Sequoyah plants to evaluate the effects of alternative emergency operating procedures involving primary and secondary depressurization on the progress of the accident. Only thermal-hydraulic results are provided for these analyses. In addition, three accident sequences were analyzed for the Surry plant for accident-induced failure of steam generator tubes. In these analyses, only the transport of radionuclides within the primary system and failed steam generator were examined. The release of radionuclides to the environment is presented for the phase of the accident preceding vessel meltthrough. 17 refs., 176 figs., 113 tabs

Applying Functional Modeling for Accident Management of Nuclear Power Plant

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lind, Morten; Zhang Xinxin [Harbin Engineering University, Harbin (China)

2014-08-15

The paper investigate applications of functional modeling for accident management in complex industrial plant with special reference to nuclear power production. Main applications for information sharing among decision makers and decision support are identified. An overview of Multilevel Flow Modeling is given and a detailed presentation of the foundational means-end concepts is presented and the conditions for proper use in modelling accidents are identified. It is shown that Multilevel Flow Modeling can be used for modelling and reasoning about design basis accidents. Its possible role for information sharing and decision support in accidents beyond design basis is also indicated. A modelling example demonstrating the application of Multilevel Flow Modelling and reasoning for a PWR LOCA is presented.

Analyses of plant behaviors at the secondary side depressurization during LOCA of PWR

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kawabe, Yasuharu; Tamaki, Tomohiko; Kohriyama, Tamio; Ohtani, Masanori [Institute of Nuclear Safety System Inc., Mihama, Fukui (Japan)

2001-09-01

When high pressure injection systems failed during a small break loss-of-coolant-accident (LOCA) for a PWR, main steam relief valves are opened to operate accumulator systems. However, it is pointed out that the core can be exposed since so-called counter current flow limitation (CCFL) occurs in steam generator (SG) tubes. The possibility of the core exposure by CCFL in a PWR plant was evaluated. First, RELAP5/MOD2 code was modified to be able to calculate CCFL. And then the code was applied to evaluate a 4-loop PWR plant. The LOCA with a rupture 3 inches were analyzed with the following two cases: (1) Only the main steam relief valve of the loop with the rupture is opened. (2) all of the relief valves are opened. It is seen that the CCFL phenomenon occurs in the case (1), however, the core cooling was maintained by the accumulator systems that actuated during the core exposure. On the other hand, the core exposure by CCFL is not observed in the case (2). It is shown that core cooling is promoted by operation of main steam relief valves. (author)

The accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Butragueno, J.L.

1980-01-01

The sequence of events in the Three Mile Island, Unit 2, accident on the March 28, 1979 is analyzed. In this plant a loss of feed-water transient became a small LOCA that caused a serious core damage. A general emergency situation was declared after uncontrolled radioactive releases were detectec. (author)

Use of analytical aids for accident management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ward, L.W.

1991-01-01

The use of analytical aids by utility technical support teams can enhance the staff's ability to manage accidents. Since instrumentation is exposed to environments beyond design-basis conditions, instruments may provide ambiguous information or may even fail. While it is most likely that many instruments will remain operable, their ability to provide unambiguous information needed for the management of beyond-design-basis events and severe accidents is questionable. Furthermore, given these limitation in instrumentation, the need to ascertain and confirm current plant status and forecast future behavior to effectively manage accidents at nuclear facilities requires a computational capability to simulate the thermal and hydraulic behavior in the primary, secondary, and containment systems. With the need to extend the current preventive approach in accident management to include mitigative actions, analytical aids could be used to further enhance the current capabilities at nuclear facilities. This need for computational or analytical aids is supported based on a review of the candidate accident management strategies discussed in NUREG/CR-5474. Based on the review of the NUREG/CR-5474 strategies, two major analytical aids are considered necessary to support the implementation and monitoring of many of the strategies in this document. These analytical aids include (1) An analytical aid to provide reactor coolant and secondary system behavior under LOCA conditions. (2) An analytical aid to predict containment pressure and temperature response with a steam, air, and noncondensable gas mixture present

Numerical simulation of radioisotope's dependency on containment performance for large dry PWR containment under severe accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mehboob, Khurram; Xinrong, Cao; Ahmed, Raheel; Ali, Majid

2013-01-01

Highlights: • Calculation and comparison of activity of BURN-UP code with ORIGEN2 code. • Development of SASTC computer code. • Radioisotopes dependency on containment ESFs. • Mitigation in atmospheric release with ESFs operation. • Variation in radioisotopes source term with spray flow and pH value. -- Abstract: During the core melt accidents large amount of fission products can be released into the containment building. These fission products escape into the environment to contribute in accident source term. The mitigation in environmental release is demanded for such radiological consequences. Thus, countermeasures to source term, mitigations of release of radioactivity have been studied for 1000 MWe PWR reactor. The procedure of study is divided into five steps: (1) calculation and verification of core inventory, evaluated by BURN-UP code, (2) containment modeling based on radioactivity removal factors, (3) selection of potential accidents initiates the severe accident, (4) calculation of release of radioactivity, (5) study the dependency of release of radioactivity on containment engineering safety features (ESFs) inducing mitigation. Loss of coolant accident (LOCA), small break LOCA and flow blockage accidents (FBA) are selected as initiating accidents. The mitigation effect of ESFs on source term has been studied against ESFs performance. Parametric study of release of radioactivity has been carried out by modeling and simulating the containment parameters in MATLAB, which takes BURN-UP outcomes as input along with the probabilistic data. The dependency of iodine and aerosol source term on boric and caustic acid spray has been determined. The variation in source term mitigation with the variation of containment spray flow rate and pH values have been studied. The variation in containment retention factor (CRF) has also been studied with the ESF performance. A rapid decrease in source term is observed with the increase in pH value

Analysis of loss of coolant accident and emergency core cooling system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abe, Kiyoharu; Kobayashi, Kenji; Hayata, Kunihisa; Tasaka, Kanji; Shiba, Masayoshi

1977-01-01

In this paper, the analysis for the performance evaluation of emergency core cooling system is described, which is the safety protection device to the loss of coolant accidents due to the break of primary cooling pipings of light water reactors. In the LOCA analysis for the performance evaluation of ECCS, it must be shown that a reactor core keeps the form which can be cooled with the ECCS in case of LOCA, and the overheat of the core can be prevented. Namely, the shattering of fuel cladding tubes is never to occur, and for the purpose, the maximum temperature of Zircaloy 2 or 4 cladding tubes must be limited to 1200 deg C, and the relative thickness of oxide film must be below 15%. The calculation for determining the temperature of cladding tubes in case of the LOCA in BWRs and PWRs is explained. First, the primary cooling system, the ECCS and the related installations of BWRs and PWRs are outlined. The code systems for LOCA/ECCS analysis are divid ed into several steps, such as blowdown process, reflooding process and heatup calculation. The examples of the sensitivity analysis of the codes are shown. The LOCA experiments carried out so far in Japan and foreign countries and the LOCA analysis of a BWR with RELAP-4J code are described. The guidance for the performance evaluation of ECCS was established in 1975 by the Reactor Safety Deliberation Committee in Japan, and the contents are quoted. (Kako, I.)

Dynamic event Tress applied to sequences Full Spectrum LOCA. Calculating the frequency of exceedance of damage by integrated Safety Analysis Methodology; Arboles de sucesos dinamicos aplicados a secuencias Full Spectrum LOCA. Calculo de la frequencia de excedencia del dano mediante la metodologia Analisis Integrados de Seguridad (ISA)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gomez-Magan, J. J.; Fernandez, I.; Gil, J.; Marrao, H.; Queral, C.; Gonzalez-Cadelo, J.; Montero-Mayorga, J.; Rivas, J.; Ibane-Llano, C.; Izquierdo, J. M.; Sanchez-Perea, M.; Melendez, E.; Hortal, J.

2013-09-01

The Integrated Safety Analysis (ISA) methodology, developed by the Spanish Nuclear Safety council (CSN), has been applied to obtain the dynamic Event Trees (DETs) for full spectrum Loss of Coolant Accidents (LOCAs) of a Westinghouse 3-loop PWR plant. The purpose of this ISA application is to obtain the Damage Exceedance Frequency (DEF) for the LOCA Event Tree by taking into account the uncertainties in the break area and the operator actuation time needed to cool down and de pressurize reactor coolant system by means of steam generator. Simulations are performed with SCAIS, a software tool which includes a dynamic coupling with MAAP thermal hydraulic code. The results show the capability of the ISA methodology to obtain the DEF taking into account the time uncertainty in human actions. (Author)

Validation and application of the system code ATHLET-CD for BWR severe accident analyses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Di Marcello, Valentino, E-mail: valentino.marcello@kit.edu; Imke, Uwe; Sanchez, Victor

2016-10-15

Highlights: • We present the application of the system code ATHLET-CD code for BWR safety analyses. • Validation of core in-vessel models is performed based on KIT CORA experiments. • A SB-LOCA scenario is simulated on a generic German BWR plant up to vessel failure. • Different core reflooding possibilities are investigated to mitigate the accident consequences. • ATHLET-CD modelling features reflect the current state of the art of severe accident codes. - Abstract: This paper is aimed at the validation and application of the system code ATHLET-CD for the simulation of severe accident phenomena in Boiling Water Reactors (BWR). The corresponding models for core degradation behaviour e.g., oxidation, melting and relocation of core structural components are validated against experimental data available from the CORA-16 and -17 bundle tests. Model weaknesses are discussed along with needs for further code improvements. With the validated ATHLET-CD code, calculations are performed to assess the code capabilities for the prediction of in-vessel late phase core behaviour and reflooding of damaged fuel rods. For this purpose, a small break LOCA scenario for a generic German BWR with postulated multiple failures of the safety systems was selected. In the analysis, accident management measures represented by cold water injection into the damaged reactor core are addressed to investigate the efficacy in avoiding or delaying the failure of the reactor pressure vessel. Results show that ATHLET-CD is applicable to the description of BWR plant behaviour with reliable physical models and numerical methods adopted for the description of key in-vessel phenomena.

Rupture of DN 500 - design basic accident at units 3 and 4 of Kozloduy NPP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uruchev, V.; Vassilev, P.; Ivanova, A.; Sartmadjiev, A.

2005-01-01

The original design of Kozloduy NPP Units 3 and 4 assumes as Design Basis Accident (DBA) the rupture of DN 32 mm primary pipeline, while an initial event of double-sided guillotine break of primary pipeline with maximal diameter is not considered. In the course of units modernization it have been demonstrated once and again that both the emergency core cooling systems and the localization systems can cope with larger and larger primary circuit leaks. After the installation of a Jet-Vortex Condenser (JVC) at Units 3 and 4 it was substantiated that, the integrity of the hermetic rooms is ensured even in case of double-sided guillotine break of a primary circuit pipeline with maximal diameter (DEGB). The technical justification of the jet-vortex condenser, elaborated by VNIAEC, contains calculations determining both the source term and the doses obtained outside the NPP site after LOCA DN 500. LOCA DN 500 is considered in these analyses as a beyond design basis accident and it is so included in the SAR and approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Agency (NRA). The thermo-hydraulic calculations performed later on show that the emergency core cooling systems can cope with this initial event at conservative assumptions. In order to classify this initiating event as a design basis accident it is necessary to demonstrate that the core cooling criteria are fulfilled and the internal and external doses outside the NPP site are within the permissible limits fixed for design basis accident by the Bulgarian regulatory body (NRA), when using conservative assumptions. For this purpose two consecutive studies were performed - evaluation of the DEGB probability and categorization of the initial event according to the contemporary regulations acting in Republic of Bulgaria. The presented report summarizes the results of the performed conservative analyses of double-sided guillotine break accident of main circulation line taking into account the probability of rupture of large diameter

Assessment of W7-X plasma vessel pressurisation in case of LOCA taking into account in-vessel components

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Urbonavičius, E., E-mail: Egidijus.Urbonavicius@lei.lt; Povilaitis, M., E-mail: Mantas.Povilaitis@lei.lt; Kontautas, A., E-mail: Aurimas.Kontautas@lei.lt

2015-11-15

Highlights: • Analysis of the vacuum vessel response to the LOCA in W7-X was performed using lumped-parameter codes COCOSYS and ASTEC. • Benchmarking of the results received with two codes provides more confidence in results and helps in identification of possible important differences in the modelling. • The performed analysis answered the questions set in the installed plasma vessel venting system during overpressure of PV in case of 40 mm diameter LOCA in “baking” mode. • Differences in time until opening the burst disk observed in ASTEC and COCOSYS results are caused by differences in heat transfer modelling. - Abstract: This paper presents the analysis of W7-X vacuum vessel response taking into account in-vessel components. A detailed analysis of the vacuum vessel response to the loss of coolant accident was performed using lumped-parameter codes COCOSYS and ASTEC. The performed analysis showed that the installed plasma vessel venting system prevents overpressure of PV in case of 40 mm diameter LOCA in “baking” mode. The performed analysis revealed differences in heat transfer modelling implemented in ASTEC and COCOSYS computer codes, which require further investigation to justify the correct approach for application to fusion facilities.

BWR 1 % main recirculation line break LOCA tests, RUNs 917 and 918, without HPCS at ROSA-III program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzuki, Mitsuhiro; Okazaki, Motoaki; Anoda, Yoshinari; Kumamaru, Hiroshige; Nakamura, Hideo; Yonomoto, Taisuke; Koizumi, Yasuo; Tasaka, Kanji

1988-07-01

In a case of small break loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) at a boiling water reactor (BWR) system, it is important to lower the system pressure to cool down the reactor system by using either the high pressure core spray (HPCS) or the automatic depressurization system (ADS). The report presents characteristic test results of RUNs 918 and 917, which were performed at the rig-of-safety assessment (ROSA)-III program simulating a 1 % break BWR LOCA with an assumption of HPCS failure, and clarifies effects of the ADS delay time on a small break LOCA. The ROSA-III test facility simulates principal components of a BWR/6 system with volumetric scaling factor of 1/424. It is experimentally concluded that the ADS delay time shorter than 4 minutes results in a similar PCT as that in a standard case, in which the PCT is observed after actuation of the low pressure core spray (LPCS). And the ADS delay time longer than 4 minutes results in higher PCT than in the standard case. In the latter, the PCT depends on the ADS time, a 220 K higher PCT, for example, in a case of 10 minutes ADS delay compared with the standard case. (author) 52 refs. 299 figs

Assessment of W7-X plasma vessel pressurisation in case of LOCA taking into account in-vessel components

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Urbonavičius, E.; Povilaitis, M.; Kontautas, A.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Analysis of the vacuum vessel response to the LOCA in W7-X was performed using lumped-parameter codes COCOSYS and ASTEC. • Benchmarking of the results received with two codes provides more confidence in results and helps in identification of possible important differences in the modelling. • The performed analysis answered the questions set in the installed plasma vessel venting system during overpressure of PV in case of 40 mm diameter LOCA in “baking” mode. • Differences in time until opening the burst disk observed in ASTEC and COCOSYS results are caused by differences in heat transfer modelling. - Abstract: This paper presents the analysis of W7-X vacuum vessel response taking into account in-vessel components. A detailed analysis of the vacuum vessel response to the loss of coolant accident was performed using lumped-parameter codes COCOSYS and ASTEC. The performed analysis showed that the installed plasma vessel venting system prevents overpressure of PV in case of 40 mm diameter LOCA in “baking” mode. The performed analysis revealed differences in heat transfer modelling implemented in ASTEC and COCOSYS computer codes, which require further investigation to justify the correct approach for application to fusion facilities.

TRACG prediction of gravity-driven cooling system response in the SBWR/GIST facility LOCA tests

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alamgir, M.; Andersen, J.G.M.; Yang, A.I.; Shiralkar, B.S.

1990-01-01

General Electric (BE) Nuclear Energy has initiated work on technology programs in support of the advanced light water reactor (ALWR) plants under contract to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Work has been performed under the advanced boiling water reactor (ABWT) design verification program and the simplified boiling water reactor (SBWR) program. The objective of the SBWR program is to develop the key features of a simplified reactor design. The gravity-driven cooling system (GDCS) is an important feature of the SBWR design. The main objectives of the GDCS test program at GE were to demonstrate the technical feasibility of the GDCS concept by performing a section-scaled integrated systems test of the SBWR design and to provide a data base to qualify the TRACG computer code for use in SBWR accident analysis. This paper describes the qualification of TRACG for GDCS applications. The calculational capability and analytical models of TRACG are tested by performing assessment analysis for five loss-of-coolant-accident (LOCA) tests in the GDCS Integrated Systems Test (GIST) facility. The results of the qualification comparisons are presented and TRACG application ranges are discussed

Environmental Impact Assessment following a Nuclear Accident to a Candu NPP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Margeanu, C.A.; Margeanu, S.; Olteanu, Gh.

2009-01-01

The paper presents calculations of nuclear accident consequences to public and environment, for a Candu NPP using advanced fuel in two hypothetical accident scenarios: (1) large LOCA followed by partial core melting with early containment failure; (2) late core disassembly and containment bypass through ECCS. During both accidents a release occurs, radioactive contaminants being dispersed into atmosphere. As reference, estimations for Candu standard UO 2 fuel were used. The radioactive core inventory was obtained by using ORIGEN-S computer code included in ORNL,SCALE 5 programs package. Radiological consequences assessment to public and environment was performed by means of PC COSYMA computer code

Dynamic event Tress applied to sequences Full Spectrum LOCA. Calculating the frequency of excedeence of damage by integrated Safety Analysis Methodology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gomez-Magan, J. J.; Fernandez, I.; Gil, J.; Marrao, H.; Queral, C.; Gonzalez-Cadelo, J.; Montero-Mayorga, J.; Rivas, J.; Ibane-Llano, C.; Izquierdo, J. M.; Sanchez-Perea, M.; Melendez, E.; Hortal, J.

2013-01-01

The Integrated Safety Analysis (ISA) methodology, developed by the Spanish Nuclear Safety council (CSN), has been applied to obtain the dynamic Event Trees (DETs) for full spectrum Loss of Coolant Accidents (LOCAs) of a Westinghouse 3-loop PWR plant. The purpose of this ISA application is to obtain the Damage Excedence Frequency (DEF) for the LOCA Event Tree by taking into account the uncertainties in the break area and the operator actuation time needed to cool down and de pressurize reactor coolant system by means of steam generator. Simulations are performed with SCAIS, a software tool which includes a dynamic coupling with MAAP thermal hydraulic code. The results show the capability of the ISA methodology to obtain the DEF taking into account the time uncertainty in human actions. (Author)

CONTEMPT-4MOD3, LWR Containment Long-Term Pressure Distribution and Temperature Distribution in LOCA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin, C.C.; Economos, C.; Lehner, J.R.; Maise, G.; Ng, K.K.; Mirsky, S.M.

2002-01-01

1 - Description of problem or function: CONTEMPT-4/MOD5 describes the response of multi-compartment containment systems subjected to postulated loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) conditions. The program can accommodate both pressurized water reactor (PWR) and boiling water reactor (BWR) containment systems. Also, both design basis accident (DBA) and degraded core type LOCA conditions can be analyzed. The program calculates the time variation of compartment pressures, temperatures, and mass and energy inventories due to inter-compartment mass and energy exchange taking into account user- supplied descriptions of compartments, inter-compartment junction flow areas, LOCA source terms, and user-selected problem features. Analytical models available to describe containment systems include models for containment fans and pumps, cooling sprays, heat conducting structures, sump drains, PWR ice condensers, and BWR pressure suppression systems. To accommodate degraded core type accidents, analytical models for hydrogen combustion within compartments and energy transfer due to gas radiation are also provided. CONTEMPT4/MOD6 is an update of previous CONTEMPT4 versions. Improvements in CONTEMPT4/MOD6 over CONTEMPT4/MOD3 include coding of a BWR pressure suppression system model, a hydrogen/carbon monoxide burn model, a gas radiation heat transfer model, a user specified variable junction (leakage) area as a function of pressure or time, additional heat transfer coefficient options for heat structures, generalized initial compartment conditions for inerted containment, an alternative containment spray model and spray carry-over capability. Also, the thermodynamic properties routines have been extended to accommodate the higher temperature and multicomponent gas mixtures associated with combustion. In addition, reduced running time is achieved by incorporation of an optional implicit numerical algorithm for junction flow. This makes economically feasible the analysis of very long

Parametric study of the potential for BWR ECCS strainer blockage due to LOCA generated debris. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zigler, G.; Brideau, J.; Rao, D.V.; Shaffer, C.; Souto, F.; Thomas, W.

1995-10-01

This report documents a plant-specific study for a BWR/4 with a Mark I containment that evaluated the potential for LOCA generated debris and the probability of losing long term recirculation capability due ECCS pump suction strainer blockage. The major elements of this study were: (1) acquisition of detailed piping layouts and installed insulation details for a reference BWR; (2) analysis of plant specific piping weld failure probabilities to estimate the LOCA frequency; (3) development of an insulation and other debris generation and drywell transport models for the reference BWR; (4) modeling of debris transport in the suppression pool; (5) development of strainer blockage head loss models for estimating loss of NPSH margin; (6) estimation of core damage frequency attributable to loss of ECCS recirculation capability following a LOCA. Elements 2 through 5 were combined into a computer code, BLOCKAGE 2.3. A point estimate of overall DEGB pipe break frequency (per Rx-year) of 1.59E-04 was calculated for the reference plant, with a corresponding overall ECCS loss of NPSH frequency (per Rx-year) of 1.58E-04. The calculated point estimate of core damage frequency (per Rx-year) due to blockage related accident sequences for the reference BWR ranged from 4.2E-06 to 2.5E-05. The results of this study show that unacceptable strainer blockage and loss of NPSH margin can occur within the first few minutes after ECCS pumps achieve maximum flows when the ECCS strainers are exposed to LOCA generated fibrous debris in the presence of particulates (sludge, paint chips, concrete dust). Generic or unconditional extrapolation of these reference plant calculated results should not be undertaken

Preliminary results of the BTF-104 experiment: an in-reactor test of fuel behaviour and fission-product release and transport under LOCA/LOECC conditions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dickson, L W; Elder, P H; Devaal, J W; Irish, J D; Yamazaki, A R [Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., Chalk River, ON (Canada)

1996-12-31

The BTF-104 experiment is one of a series of in-reactor tests being performed to measure fuel behaviour and fission-product release from nuclear fuel subjected to accident conditions. The primary objective of the BTF-104 experiment was to measure fission-product releases from a CANDU-sized fuel element under combined Loss-of-Coolant Accident (LOCA) and Loss-of-Emergency-Core-Cooling (LOECC) conditions at an average fuel temperature of about 1550 deg C. The preliminary results of the BTF-104 experiment are presented in this paper. (author). 6 refs., 12 figs.

Importance of thermal nonequilibrium considerations for the simulation of nuclear reactor LOCA transients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fischer, S.R.; Nelson, R.A.; Sullivan, L.H.

1980-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to show the importance of considering thermal nonequilibrium effects in computer simulations of the refill and reflood portions of pressurized water reactor (PWR) loss-of-coolnat accident (LOCA) transients. Although RELAP4 assumes thermodynamic equilibrium between phases, models that account for the nonequilibrium phenomena associated with the mixing of subcooled emergency cooling water with steam and the superheating of vapor in the presence of liquid droplets have recently been incorporated into the code. Code calculated results, both with and without these new models, have been compared with experimental test data to assess the importance of including thermal nonequilibrium phenomena in computer code simulations

Thermal-hydraulic analysis of loss-of-coolant accident in the JMTR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sakurai, Fumio; Oyamada, Rokuro

1985-02-01

The reevaluation of the Loss-of-Coolant Accident (LOCA) was required through the process of a safety review for the Japan Materials Testing Reactor (JMTR) core conversion from the high-enriched uranium fuel (Enrichment : 93%) to the medium-enriched uranium fuel (Enrichment : 45%). The following were concluded by thermal-hydraulic analysis of a LOCA caused by a double-ended pipe break in the JMTR primary cooling system. (1) The fuel in the core does not burn-out as long as it is covered with water. (2) A larger siphon break valve (larger than phi60mm) should be installed instead of the present one (phi25mm) on the primary cooling system in order to prevent the core from being uncovered with water in case of a LOCA caused by a double-ended pipe break. The present siphon break valve was installed to keep the core covered with water in case of a LOCA caused by a small pipe rupture. In this analysis, the Siphon Breaker Analysis Code (SBAC) was written in order to analyse the size of the siphon break valve and its accuracy was confirmed to be within 5% through a verification experiment. (author)

Consequence analysis of core damage states following severe accidents for the CANDU reactor design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wahba, N.N.; Kim, Y.T.; Lie, S.G.

1997-01-01

The analytical methodology used to evaluate severe accident sequences is described. The relevant thermal-mechanical phenomena and the mathematical approach used in calculating the timing of the accident progression and source term estimate are summarized. The postulated sever accidents analyzed, in general, mainly differ in the timing to reach and progress through each defined c ore damage state . This paper presents the methodology and results of the timing and steam discharge calculations as well as source term estimate out of containment for accident sequences classified as potentially leading to core disassembly following a small break loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) scenario as a specific example. (author)

Fission product release from high gap-inventory LWR fuel under LOCA conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lorenz, R.A.; Collins, J.L.; Osborne, M.F.; Malinauskas, A.P.

1980-01-01

Fission product release tests were performed with light water reactor (LWR) fuel rod segments containing large amounts of cesium and iodine in the pellet-to-cladding gap space in order to check the validity of the previously published Source Term Model for this type of fuel. The model describes the release of fission product cesium and iodine from LWR fuel rods for controlled loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) transients in the temperature range 500 to 1200 0 C. The basis for the model was test data obtained with simulated fuel rods and commercial fuel irradiated to high burnup but containing relatively small amounts of cesium and iodine in the pellet-to-cladding gap space

The fuel and channel thermal/mechanical behaviour code FACTAR 2.0 (LOCA)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Westbye, C.J.; Mackinnon, J.C.; Gu, B.W.

1996-01-01

The computer code FACTAR 2.0 (LOCA) models the thermal and mechanical response of components within a single CANDU fuel channel under loss-of-coolant accident conditions. This code version is the successor to the FACTAR 1.x code series, and features many modelling enhancements over its predecessor. In particular, the thermal hydraulic treatment has been extended to model reverse and bi-directional coolant flow, and the axial variation in coolant flow rate. Thermal radiation is calculated by a detailed surface-to-surface model, and the ability to represent a greater range of geometries (including experimental configurations employed in code validation) has been implemented. Details of these new code treatments are described in this paper. (author)

Preliminary safety analysis of the PWR with accident-tolerant fuels during severe accident conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Xiaoli; Li, Wei; Wang, Yang; Zhang, Yapei; Tian, Wenxi; Su, Guanghui; Qiu, Suizheng; Liu, Tong; Deng, Yongjun; Huang, Heng

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Analysis of severe accident scenarios for a PWR fueled with ATF system is performed. • A large-break LOCA without ECCS is analyzed for the PWR fueled with ATF system. • Extended SBO cases are discussed for the PWR fueled with ATF system. • The accident-tolerance of ATF system for application in PWR is illustrated. - Abstract: Experience gained in decades of nuclear safety research and previous nuclear accidents direct to the investigation of passive safety system design and accident-tolerant fuel (ATF) system which is now becoming a hot research point in the nuclear energy field. The ATF system is aimed at upgrading safety characteristics of the nuclear fuel and cladding in a reactor core where active cooling has been lost, and is preferable or comparable to the current UO 2 –Zr system when the reactor is in normal operation. By virtue of advanced materials with improved properties, the ATF system will obviously slow down the progression of accidents, allowing wider margin of time for the mitigation measures to work. Specifically, the simulation and analysis of a large break loss of coolant accident (LBLOCA) without ECCS and extended station blackout (SBO) severe accident are performed for a pressurized water reactor (PWR) loaded with ATF candidates, to reflect the accident-tolerance of ATF

Small break LOCA [loss of coolant accident] mitigation for Bellefonte

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bayless, P.D.; Dobbe, C.A.

1986-01-01

Several 5-cm (2-in.) diameter cold leg break loss coolant accidents for the Bellefonte nuclear plant were analyzed as part of the Severe Accident Sequence Analysis Program. The transients assumed various system failures, and included the S 2 D sequence. Operator actions to mitigate the S 2 D transient were also investigated. The transients were analyzed until either core damage began or long-term decay heat removal was established. The S 2 D sequence was analyzed into the core damage phase of the transient. The analyses showed that the flow from one high pressure injection pump was necessary and sufficient to prevent core damage in the absence of operator actions. Operator actions were also able to prevent core damage for the S 2 D sequence

High Burnup Fuel Behaviour under LOCA Conditions as Observed in Halden Reactor Experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kolstad, E.; Wiesenack, W.; Oberlander, B.; Tverberg, T.

2013-01-01

In the context of assessing the validity of safety criteria for loss of coolant accidents with high burnup fuel, the OECD Halden Reactor Project has implemented an integral in-pile LOCA test series. In this series, fuel fragmentation and relocation, axial gas communication in high burnup rods as affected by gap closure and fuel- clad bonding, and secondary cladding oxidation and hydriding are of major interest. In addition, the data are being used for code validation as well as model development and verification. So far, nine tests with irradiated fuel segments (burnup 40-92 MW.d.kg -1 ) from PWR, BWR and VVER commercial nuclear power plants have been carried out. The in-pile measurements and the PIE results show a good repeatability of the experiments. The paper describes the experimental setup as well as the principal features and main results of these tests. Fuel fragmentation and relocation have occurred to varying degrees in these tests. The paper compares the conditions leading to the presence or absence of fuel fragmentation, e.g., burnup and loss of constraint. Axial gas flow is an important driving force for clad ballooning, fuel relocation and fuel expulsion. The experiments have provided evidence that such gas flow can be impeded in high burnup fuel with a potential impact on the ballooning and fuel dispersal. Although the results of the Halden LOCA tests are, to some extent, amplified by conditions and features deliberately introduced into the test series, the fuel behaviour identified in the Halden tests has an impact on the safety assessment of high burnup fuel and should give rise to improvements of the predictive capabilities of LOCA modelling codes. (author)

Sequence Tree Modeling for Combined Accident and Feed-and-Bleed Operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Bo Gyung; Kang Hyun Gook; Yoon, Ho Joon

2016-01-01

In order to address this issue, this study suggests the sequence tree model to analyze accident sequence systematically. Using the sequence tree model, all possible scenarios which need a specific safety action to prevent the core damage can be identified and success conditions of safety action under complicated situation such as combined accident will be also identified. Sequence tree is branch model to divide plant condition considering the plant dynamics. Since sequence tree model can reflect the plant dynamics, arising from interaction of different accident timing and plant condition and from the interaction between the operator action, mitigation system, and the indicators for operation, sequence tree model can be used to develop the dynamic event tree model easily. Target safety action for this study is a feed-and-bleed (F and B) operation. A F and B operation directly cools down the reactor cooling system (RCS) using the primary cooling system when residual heat removal by the secondary cooling system is not available. In this study, a TLOFW accident and a TLOFW accident with LOCA were the target accidents. Based on the conventional PSA model and indicators, the sequence tree model for a TLOFW accident was developed. If sampling analysis is performed, practical accident sequences can be identified based on the sequence analysis. If a realistic distribution for the variables can be obtained for sampling analysis, much more realistic accident sequences can be described. Moreover, if the initiating event frequency under a combined accident can be quantified, the sequence tree model can translate into a dynamic event tree model based on the sampling analysis results

Sequence Tree Modeling for Combined Accident and Feed-and-Bleed Operation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Bo Gyung; Kang Hyun Gook [KAIST, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Yoon, Ho Joon [Khalifa University of Science, Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates)

2016-05-15

In order to address this issue, this study suggests the sequence tree model to analyze accident sequence systematically. Using the sequence tree model, all possible scenarios which need a specific safety action to prevent the core damage can be identified and success conditions of safety action under complicated situation such as combined accident will be also identified. Sequence tree is branch model to divide plant condition considering the plant dynamics. Since sequence tree model can reflect the plant dynamics, arising from interaction of different accident timing and plant condition and from the interaction between the operator action, mitigation system, and the indicators for operation, sequence tree model can be used to develop the dynamic event tree model easily. Target safety action for this study is a feed-and-bleed (F and B) operation. A F and B operation directly cools down the reactor cooling system (RCS) using the primary cooling system when residual heat removal by the secondary cooling system is not available. In this study, a TLOFW accident and a TLOFW accident with LOCA were the target accidents. Based on the conventional PSA model and indicators, the sequence tree model for a TLOFW accident was developed. If sampling analysis is performed, practical accident sequences can be identified based on the sequence analysis. If a realistic distribution for the variables can be obtained for sampling analysis, much more realistic accident sequences can be described. Moreover, if the initiating event frequency under a combined accident can be quantified, the sequence tree model can translate into a dynamic event tree model based on the sampling analysis results.

Diagnostic and prognostic system for identification of accident scenarios and prediction of 'source term' in nuclear power plants under accident conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santhosh; Gera, B.; Kumar, Mithilesh

2014-01-01

Nuclear power plant experiences a number of transients during its operations. These transients may be due to equipment failure, malfunctioning of process support systems etc. In such a situation, the plant may result in an abnormal state which is undesired. In case of such an undesired plant condition, the operator has to carry out diagnostic and corrective actions. When an event occurs starting from the steady state operation, instruments' readings develop a time dependent pattern and these patterns are unique with respect to the type of the particular event. Therefore, by properly selecting the plant process parameters, the transients can be distinguished. In this connection, a computer based tool known as Diagnostic and Prognostic System has been developed for identification of large pipe break scenarios in 220 MWe Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) and for prediction of expected 'Source Term' and consequence for a situation where Emergency Core Cooling System (ECCS) is not available or partially available. Diagnostic and Prognostic System is essentially a transient identification and expected source term forecasting system. The system is based on Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) that continuously monitors the plant conditions and identifies a Loss Of Coolant Accident (LOCA) scenario quickly based on the reactor process parameter values. The system further identifies the availability of injection of ECCS and in case non-availability of ECCS, it can forecast expected 'Source Term'. The system is a support to plant operators as well as for emergency preparedness. The ANN is trained with a process parameter database pertaining to accident conditions and tested against blind exercises. In order to see the feasibility of implementing in the plant for real-time diagnosis, this system has been set up on a high speed computing facility and has been demonstrated successfully for LOCA scenarios. (author)

Computer programmes of the Power Research Institute for the analysis of processes in the primary coolant circuit and in the containment of a WWER plant in a loss-of-coolant accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Misak, J.

1976-01-01

A brief description is given of computer programmes for the analysis of loss-of-coolant accidents (LOCA) in WWER type reactors. The LENKA programme is intended for the thermal and hydraulic analysis of the consequences of such accidents in the primary coolant circuit. The SICHTA programme is intended for the detailed calculation of the time dependence of the axial and radial distribution of heat in fuel rods from steady-state to the flooding of the core. CHEMLOC is intended for the analysis of the heat history of the core and the extent of chemical reactions in LOCA when the emergency core cooling system is not operating. The TRACO I is intended for the analysis of the initial stage of the transient process in a full-pressure containment after LOCA (the computation of the time and spatial dependences of pressures and temperatures). TRACO III is intended for the computation of the long-term time dependence of pressure and temperature in the full-pressure containment after LOCA. (B.S.)

Leakage rate from LOCA-aged inflatable airlock seals Pickering NGS 'B' personnel doors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fayle, G.W.; Cordingley, D.C.

1985-01-01

In order to demonstrate to the Atomic Energy Control Board that an air-lock inflatable seal will function after a LOCA exposure, an inflatable seal intended for personnel doors at the Pickering NGS 'B' was exposed to the thermal/moisture conditions of the LOCA requirement. While attending to determine the post-LOCA leakage rate it was found that additional leaks developed during each post-LOCA inflation/deflation cycle. The seal had been significantly and irreparably deteriorated by the LOCA exposure. The test has demonstrated that this type of LOCA exposed seal should not be expected to withstand either additional pressure above 207 kPa or additional inflation/deflation cycling. A higher inflation pressure and/or cycling will reduce the likelihood of a post-LOCA seal retaining an inflation pressure sufficient to prevent leakage across the seal

Basic study on PWR plant behavior under the condition of severe accident (1)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ozaki, Yoshihiko; Ida, Shohma; Nakamura, Shinya

2015-01-01

In this paper, we report on the results using the PWR plant simulator about the plant behavior under the condition of the severe accident that LOCA occurs but ECCS fails the water irrigation into the reactor core. As for the results about the relationship between the LOCA area and the time from LOCA occurs until fuel temperature rise start, the time became shorter as the area was the larger. But, in LOCA area of 1000 cm 2 or more large, the time was almost constant regardless of the area. For small LOCA of 25 cm 2 area, from the results of the comparative experiments for RCS natural circulation cooling effect in the case of SG open or not, in SG open condition compared with SG not open, the effect was observed more, but the reactor water level was greatly reduced and the time until the fuel temperature rise start was shortened, so the fuel temperature at the time of water irrigation into the reactor core has become higher. On the other hand, for the large LOCA of 1000 cm 2 , the effect was not observed regardless of SG open or not. In addition, the reactor core damage was not spared in the irrigation into the reactor core after 30 minutes from LOCA, however, the hydrogen concentration in the containment building is less than the lower limit of hydrogen detonation, and also the pressure in the containment building is less than the designed value. That is, although suffered the core damage, the integrity of the containment building has been shown to be secured. (author)

HCCR TBS LOCA and ICE into small confined volume

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jin, Hyung Gon; Ahn, Mu-Young

2016-01-01

KAERI has participated in the development of HCCR (Helium Cooled Ceramic Reflector) TBS (Test Blanket System) as a member of the KO TBM Team. Conceptual design review of this system had been performed in 2015 and after resolving the chits, the final approval was achieved in March 2016. This safety issue is one of the category II chits in the CDR and resolution strategy was already approved, however, safety analysis should be done until PDR (Preliminary Design Review). In this paper, model and nodalization for the accident are given and preliminary result is included. Nominal design pressure of HCS loop is 8 MPa, therefore, as indicated in the figure below. During the break of cooling pipe between TBM and Shield, the high pressure coolant will ingress to the 'interspace' between TBM, Shield and Frame. The coolant will be released through the front gaps between TBM and Frame towards VV primary vacuum. Accident analysis about HCCR TBS LOCA and ICE into small confined volume has been done successfully. Inverspace volume is compatibly small volume for 8MPa helium loop rupture, which causes fast pressure build-up the space but it decrease within 10 seconds. It is expected that other type of TBM has almost the same behavior

Numerical simulation of radioisotope's dependency on containment performance for large dry PWR containment under severe accidents

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mehboob, Khurram, E-mail: khurramhrbeu@gmail.com [College of Nuclear Science and Technology, Harbin Engineering University, 145-31 Nantong Street, Nangang District, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150001 (China); Xinrong, Cao [College of Nuclear Science and Technology, Harbin Engineering University, 145-31 Nantong Street, Nangang District, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150001 (China); Ahmed, Raheel [College of Automation, Harbin Engineering University, 145-31 Nantong Street, Nangang District, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150001 (China); Ali, Majid [College of Nuclear Science and Technology, Harbin Engineering University, 145-31 Nantong Street, Nangang District, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150001 (China)

2013-09-15

Highlights: • Calculation and comparison of activity of BURN-UP code with ORIGEN2 code. • Development of SASTC computer code. • Radioisotopes dependency on containment ESFs. • Mitigation in atmospheric release with ESFs operation. • Variation in radioisotopes source term with spray flow and pH value. -- Abstract: During the core melt accidents large amount of fission products can be released into the containment building. These fission products escape into the environment to contribute in accident source term. The mitigation in environmental release is demanded for such radiological consequences. Thus, countermeasures to source term, mitigations of release of radioactivity have been studied for 1000 MWe PWR reactor. The procedure of study is divided into five steps: (1) calculation and verification of core inventory, evaluated by BURN-UP code, (2) containment modeling based on radioactivity removal factors, (3) selection of potential accidents initiates the severe accident, (4) calculation of release of radioactivity, (5) study the dependency of release of radioactivity on containment engineering safety features (ESFs) inducing mitigation. Loss of coolant accident (LOCA), small break LOCA and flow blockage accidents (FBA) are selected as initiating accidents. The mitigation effect of ESFs on source term has been studied against ESFs performance. Parametric study of release of radioactivity has been carried out by modeling and simulating the containment parameters in MATLAB, which takes BURN-UP outcomes as input along with the probabilistic data. The dependency of iodine and aerosol source term on boric and caustic acid spray has been determined. The variation in source term mitigation with the variation of containment spray flow rate and pH values have been studied. The variation in containment retention factor (CRF) has also been studied with the ESF performance. A rapid decrease in source term is observed with the increase in pH value.

Improving Accident Tolerance of Nuclear Fuel with Coated Mo-alloy Cladding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bo Cheng

2016-02-01

Full Text Available In severe loss of coolant accidents (LOCA, similar to those experienced at Fukushima Daiichi and Three Mile Island Unit 1, the zirconium alloy fuel cladding materials are rapidly heated due to nuclear decay heating and rapid exothermic oxidation of zirconium with steam. This heating causes the cladding to rapidly react with steam, lose strength, burst or collapse, and generate large quantities of hydrogen gas. Although maintaining core cooling remains the highest priority in accident management, an accident tolerant fuel (ATF design may extend coping and recovery time for operators to restore emergency power, and cooling, and achieve safe shutdown. An ATF is required to possess high resistance to steam oxidation to reduce hydrogen generation and sufficient mechanical strength to maintain fuel rod integrity and core coolability. The initiative undertaken by Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI is to demonstrate the feasibility of developing an ATF cladding with capability to maintain its integrity in 1,200–1,500°C steam for at least 24 hours. This ATF cladding utilizes thin-walled Mo-alloys coated with oxidation-resistant surface layers. The basic design consists of a thin-walled Mo alloy structural tube with a metallurgically bonded, oxidation-resistant outer layer. Two options are being investigated: a commercially available iron, chromium, and aluminum alloy with excellent high temperature oxidation resistance, and a Zr alloy with demonstrated corrosion resistance. As these composite claddings will incorporate either no Zr, or thin Zr outer layers, hydrogen generation under severe LOCA conditions will be greatly reduced. Key technical challenges and uncertainties specific to Mo alloy fuel cladding include: economic core design, industrial scale fabricability, radiation embrittlement, and corrosion and oxidation resistance during normal operation, transients, and severe accidents. Progress in each aspect has been made and key results are

Analysis of factors affecting the LOCA test quality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Lu

2008-01-01

Localization of nuclear safety-related equipment has become an important way of nuclear power development in China. To meet this demand, the competence should be promoted in the following two areas, one is to develop the capability of R and D and manufacturing of nuclear safety-related equipment, the other is to implement equipment qualification according to relevant codes and standards. As LOCA test is one of the most important parts in the qualification test of nuclear safety-related equipment, the main factors related with the quality of the LOCA test are analyzed in this paper, and this may be a reference to improve the skills in designing, constructing and operating LOCA test devices. (authors)

Mark III LOCA-related hydrodynamic load definition. Generic technical activity B-10

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1984-02-01

This report, prepared by the staff of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation and its consultants at the Brookhaven National Laboratory, provides a discussion of LOCA-related suppression pool hydrodynamic loads in boiling water reactor (BWR) facilities with the Mark III pressure-suppression containment design. Its issuance completes NRC Generic Technical Activity B-10, Behavior of BWR Mark III Containment. On the basis of certain large-scale tests conducted between 1973 and 1979, the General Electric Company developed LOCA-related hydrodynamic load definitions for use in the design of the standard Mark III containment. The staff and its consultants have reviewed these load definitions and their bases conclude that, with a few specified changes, the proposed load definitions provide conservative loading conditions. The staff-approved acceptance criteria for LOCA-related hydrodynamic loads are provided in Appendix C of this report

Accident analysis for PRC-II reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wei Yongren; Tang Gang; Wu Qing; Lu Yili; Liu Zhifeng

1997-12-01

The computer codes, calculation models, transient results, sensitivity research, design improvement, and safety evaluation used in accident analysis for PRC-II Reactor (The Second Pulsed Reactor in China) are introduced. PRC-II Reactor is built in big populous city, so the public pay close attention to reactor safety. Consequently, Some hypothetical accidents are analyzed. They include an uncontrolled control rod withdrawal at rated power, a pulse rod ejection at rated power, and loss of coolant accident. Calculation model which completely depict the principle and process for each accident is established and the relevant analysis code is developed. This work also includes comprehensive computing and analyzing transients for each accident of PRC-II Reactor; the influences in the reactor safety of all kind of sensitive parameters; evaluating the function of engineered safety feature. The measures to alleviate the consequence of accident are suggested and taken in the construction design of PRC-II Reactor. The properties of reactor safety are comprehensively evaluated. A new advanced calculation model (True Core Uncovered Model) of LOCA of PRC-II Reactor and the relevant code (MCRLOCA) are first put forward

KUPOL-M code for simulation of the VVER's accident localization system under LOCA conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Efanov, A.D.; Lukyanov, A.A.; Shangin, N.N.; Zajtsev, A.A.; Solov'ev, S.L.

2004-01-01

Computer code KUPOL-M is developed for analysis of thermodynamic parameters of medium within full pressure containment for NPPs with VVER under LOCA conditions. The analysis takes into account the effects of non-stationary heat-mass transfer of gas-drop mixture in the containment compartments with natural convection, volume and surface steam condensation in the presence of noncondensables, heat-mass exchange of the compartment atmosphere with water in the sumps. The operation of the main safety systems like a spray system, hydrogen catalytic recombiners, emergency core cooling pumps, valves and a fan system is simulated in KUPOL-M code. The main results of the code verification including the ones of the participation in ISP-47 International Standard Problem on containment thermal-hydraulics are presented. (author)

Effect of spray on performance of the hydrogen mitigation system during LB-LOCA for CPR1000 NPP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang, X.G.; Yang, Y.H.; Cheng, X.; Al-Hawshabi, N.H.A.; Casey, S.P.

2011-01-01

Highlights: → This paper presents the spray effect on HMS during LB-LOCA by using GASFLOW. → The positive and negative effects of spray are summarized. → And the combination of DIS and PAR system is suggested as reasonable countermeasures. → This research is an important work aimed at the study of spray and hydrogen mitigation. → The contents of this paper should become a required part of the safety analysis of Chinese NPPs. - Abstract: During the course of the hypothetical large break loss-of-coolant accident (LB-LOCA) in a nuclear power plant (NPP), hydrogen is generated by a reaction between steam and the fuel-cladding inside the reactor pressure vessel (RPV). It is then ejected from the break into the containment along with a large amount of steam. Management of hydrogen safety and prevention of over-pressurization could be implemented through a hydrogen mitigation system (HMS) and spray system in CPR1000 NPP. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code GASFLOW is utilized in this study to analyze the spray effect on the performance of HMS during LB-LOCA. Results show that as a kind of HMS, deliberate igniter system (DIS) could initiate hydrogen combustion immediately after the flammability limit of the gas mixture has been reached. However, it will increase the temperature and pressure drastically. Operating the DIS under spray condition could result in hydrogen combustion being suppressed by suspended droplets inside the containment. Furthermore, the droplets could also mitigate local the temperature rise. Operation of a PAR system, another kind of HMS, consumes hydrogen steadily with a lower recombination rate which is not affected noticeably by the spray system. Numerical results indicate that the dual concept, namely the integrated application of DIS and PAR systems, is a constructive improvement for hydrogen safety under spray condition during LB-LOCA.

The large break LOCA evaluation method with the simplified statistic approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kamata, Shinya; Kubo, Kazuo

2004-01-01

USNRC published the Code Scaling, Applicability and Uncertainty (CSAU) evaluation methodology to large break LOCA which supported the revised rule for Emergency Core Cooling System performance in 1989. In USNRC regulatory guide 1.157, it is required that the peak cladding temperature (PCT) cannot exceed 2200deg F with high probability 95th percentile. In recent years, overseas countries have developed statistical methodology and best estimate code with the model which can provide more realistic simulation for the phenomena based on the CSAU evaluation methodology. In order to calculate PCT probability distribution by Monte Carlo trials, there are approaches such as the response surface technique using polynomials, the order statistics method, etc. For the purpose of performing rational statistic analysis, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, LTD (MHI) tried to develop the statistic LOCA method using the best estimate LOCA code MCOBRA/TRAC and the simplified code HOTSPOT. HOTSPOT is a Monte Carlo heat conduction solver to evaluate the uncertainties of the significant fuel parameters at the PCT positions of the hot rod. The direct uncertainty sensitivity studies can be performed without the response surface because the Monte Carlo simulation for key parameters can be performed in short time using HOTSPOT. With regard to the parameter uncertainties, MHI established the treatment that the bounding conditions are given for LOCA boundary and plant initial conditions, the Monte Carlo simulation using HOTSPOT is applied to the significant fuel parameters. The paper describes the large break LOCA evaluation method with the simplified statistic approach and the results of the application of the method to the representative four-loop nuclear power plant. (author)

Measurement of mist cooling of PWR during LOCA by LDA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, S.L.; Sheen, H.J.; Issapour, I.

1985-01-01

The prediction of temperature distribution and heat transfer within rod bundles during the refill and reflood phase of a LOCA (loss of coolant accident) is of critical importance for determining the location and size of blockages due to clad deformation in a pressurized water reactor (PWR). Mist cooling by small droplets generated from large droplets on hitting grid spacers has been suggested as one of the most important heat transfer mechanisms which are responsible for the development of this temperature transient. The questions to be asked are whether such small droplets indeed exist and, if so, how are they related to the cooling of the fuel rods. Hereby reported is the result of a direct experimental investigation on these questions by a special laser-Doppler anemometry (LDA) particle sizing technique together with temperature measurements of the rod claddings and flow in the subchannel

Post-accident cooling capacity analysis of the AP1000 passive spent fuel pool cooling system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Su Xia

2013-01-01

The passive design is used in AP1000 spent fuel pool cooling system. The decay heat of the spent fuel is removed by heating-boiling method, and makeup water is provided passively and continuously to ensure the safety of the spent fuel. Based on the analysis of the post-accident cooling capacity of the spent fuel cooling system, it is found that post-accident first 72-hour cooling under normal refueling condition and emergency full-core offload condition can be maintained by passive makeup from safety water source; 56 hours have to be waited under full core refueling condition to ensure the safety of the core and the spent fuel pool. Long-term cooling could be conducted through reserved safety interface. Makeup measure is available after accident and limited operation is needed. Makeup under control could maintain the spent fuel at sub-critical condition. Compared with traditional spent fuel pool cooling system design, the AP1000 design respond more effectively to LOCA accidents. (authors)

Prediction of CANDU-6 moderator system response following a large break LOCA using a 3D model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

De, T K; Collins, W M; Holmes, R W [Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., Mississauga, ON (Canada)

1996-12-31

CANDU nuclear reactors use D{sub 2}0 as a moderator inside the calandria vessel. Heat is generated in the calandria by neutron and gamma radiation from nuclear fission. During normal operating condition, hot moderator fluid is continuously pumped out from the bottom of the CANDU-6 calandria. After passing through a heat exchanger, the cooled moderator fluid is returned to the calandria through inlet nozzles. In the unlikely event of a loss of coolant accident (LOCA) the moderator acts as a heat sink. To predict moderator system response following a large break (reactor inlet header break) LOCA, a simulation was undertaken for Class IV power available (i.e. main moderator pump running) as well as for Class IV power unavailable during the LOCA. The analysis was performed to facilitate the assessment of fuel channel integrity following pressure tube (PT) and calandria tube (CT) contact by estimating the subcooling available during the inlet header break. The 3D code PHOENICS2 developed by CHAM U.K was used for the simulation. The results show an asymmetric flow pattern within the moderator both in the axial Z-direction of the calandria as well as in the X-Y plane. The temperature distribution within the moderator system shows, that hot spots are generated in areas, where the flow approaches stagnation. Hot spot temperatures are higher with Class IV power unavailable. (author). 1 ref., 12 figs.

Prediction of CANDU-6 moderator system response following a large break LOCA using a 3D model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De, T.K.; Collins, W.M.; Holmes, R.W.

1995-01-01

CANDU nuclear reactors use D 2 0 as a moderator inside the calandria vessel. Heat is generated in the calandria by neutron and gamma radiation from nuclear fission. During normal operating condition, hot moderator fluid is continuously pumped out from the bottom of the CANDU-6 calandria. After passing through a heat exchanger, the cooled moderator fluid is returned to the calandria through inlet nozzles. In the unlikely event of a loss of coolant accident (LOCA) the moderator acts as a heat sink. To predict moderator system response following a large break (reactor inlet header break) LOCA, a simulation was undertaken for Class IV power available (i.e. main moderator pump running) as well as for Class IV power unavailable during the LOCA. The analysis was performed to facilitate the assessment of fuel channel integrity following pressure tube (PT) and calandria tube (CT) contact by estimating the subcooling available during the inlet header break. The 3D code PHOENICS2 developed by CHAM U.K was used for the simulation. The results show an asymmetric flow pattern within the moderator both in the axial Z-direction of the calandria as well as in the X-Y plane. The temperature distribution within the moderator system shows, that hot spots are generated in areas, where the flow approaches stagnation. Hot spot temperatures are higher with Class IV power unavailable. (author). 1 ref., 12 figs

Results of the reliability investigations for the design basis accident 'Rupture of a cold primary coolant system'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoertner, H.; Nieckau, E.; Spindler, H.

1976-12-01

This report gives a comprehensive presentation of the detailed reliability investigation carried out for the engineered safety features installed to cope with the design basis accident 'Large LOCA' of a German nuclear power plant with pressurized water reactor. The investigation is based on the engineered safety features of the Biblis Nuclear Power Plant, Unit A. The reliability investigation is carried out by means of a fault tree analysis. The influence of common-mode failures is assessed. (orig.) [de

Prototype application of best estimate and uncertainty safety analysis methodology to large LOCA analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luxat, J.C.; Huget, R.G.

2001-01-01

Development of a methodology to perform best estimate and uncertainty nuclear safety analysis has been underway at Ontario Power Generation for the past two and one half years. A key driver for the methodology development, and one of the major challenges faced, is the need to re-establish demonstrated safety margins that have progressively been undermined through excessive and compounding conservatism in deterministic analyses. The major focus of the prototyping applications was to quantify the safety margins that exist at the probable range of high power operating conditions, rather than the highly improbable operating states associated with Limit of the Envelope (LOE) assumptions. In LOE, all parameters of significance to the consequences of a postulated accident are assumed to simultaneously deviate to their limiting values. Another equally important objective of the prototyping was to demonstrate the feasibility of conducting safety analysis as an incremental analysis activity, as opposed to a major re-analysis activity. The prototype analysis solely employed prior analyses of Bruce B large break LOCA events - no new computer simulations were undertaken. This is a significant and novel feature of the prototyping work. This methodology framework has been applied to a postulated large break LOCA in a Bruce generating unit on a prototype basis. This paper presents results of the application. (author)

Evaluation of LOCA in a swimming-pool type reactor using the 3D-AIRLOCA code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nagler, A.; Gilat, J.; Hirshfeld, H.

1991-01-01

The 3D-AIRLOCA code was used to calculate core temperature evolution curves in the wake of a full LOCA in a swimming pool type reactor, resulting in complete core exposure and dryout within about 1000 sec of the initiating event. The results show that fuel integrity loss thresholds (450 C for softening and 650 C for melting) are reached and exceeded over large fractions of the core at powr levels as low as 2 MW. At 4.5 MW, the softening threshold is reached even when the accident occurs up to 12 hours after reactor shutdown for continuous operation, and up to 2 hrs after shutdown for intermittent (6 hrs/day, 4 days a week) operation. The situation is even more severe in blockage cases, when the air flow through the core is blocked by residual water at the grid plate level. It is concluded that substantial fission product releases are quite likely in this class of accidents. (orig.)

Large-break LOCA assessment for the highly advanced core design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doria, F.J.; Nath, V.I.; Hau, K.F.; Dam, R.F.; Vecchiarelli, J.

1997-01-01

Over the course of the years, a conceptual highly advanced core (HAC) reactor has been designed for Japan Electric Power Development Company Limited (EPDC). The HAC reactor, which is capable of generating 1326 MW of electrical power, consists of 640 CANDU-type fuel channels with each fuel channel containing twelve 61-element fuel bundles. As part of the conceptual design study, the performance of the HAC reactor during a large loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) was assessed with the use of several computer codes. The SOPHT, CATHENA, ELOCA and ELESTRES computer codes were used to predict the thermalhydraulic behaviour of the circuit, thermalhydraulic behaviour of a single high-power channel, thermal-mechanical behaviour of the outer fuel elements contained in the high-powered channel and the steady-state fuel-element conditions respectively. The LOCAs that were analyzed include 100% reactor outlet header (ROH) break, and a survey of reactor inlet header (RIH) breaks ranging from 5% to 25%. The conceptual feasibility of the HAC design was evaluated against two criteria; namely, maximum sheath temperature less than 1200 deg C and AECL's 5% sheath straining criterion to assess failure by excessive straining. For the cases analyzed, the analysis predicted a maximum sheath temperature of 820 deg C and a maximum sheath strain of 1.5% (the maximum pressure-tube temperature was 515 deg C). Although the maximum element-burnup of the HAC design is extended beyond the CANDU 6 burnup, the maximum linear power of HAC (40 kW/m) is significantly lower than the maximum linear power of a CANDU 6 reactor (60 kW/m). The reduced element-power level in conjunction with internal design modification for the HAC design has resulted m significantly lower internal gas pressures under steady-state conditions, as compared with the CANDU 6 design. During a LOCA, the low linear powers and zero-void reactivity associated with the HAC design has increased the safety margin. In addition, the cases

Audit calculation for the LOCA methodology for KSNP

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Un Chul; Park, Chang Hwan; Choi, Yong Won; Yoo, Jun Soo [Seoul National Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2006-11-15

The objective of this research is to perform the audit regulatory calculation for the LOCA methodology for KSNP. For LBLOCA calculation, several uncertainty variables and new ranges of those are added to those of previous KINS-REM to improve the applicability of KINS-REM for KSNP LOCA. And those results are applied to LBLOCA audit calculation by statistical method. For SBLOCA calculation, after selecting BATHSY9.1.b, which is not used by KHNP, the results of RELAP5/Mod3.3 and RELAP5/MOD3.3ef-sEM for KSNP SBLOCA are compared to evaluate the conservativeness or applicability of RELAP5/MOD3.3ef-sEM code for KSNP SBLOCA. The result of this research can be used to support the activities of KINS for reviewing the LOCA methodology for KSNP proposed by KHNP.

Preliminary phenomena identification and ranking tables for simplified boiling water reactor Loss-of-Coolant Accident scenarios

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kroeger, P.G.; Rohatgi, U.S.; Jo, J.H.; Slovik, G.C.

1998-04-01

For three potential Loss-of-Coolant Accident (LOCA) scenarios in the General Electric Simplified Boiling Water Reactors (SBWR) a set of Phenomena Identification and Ranking Tables (PIRT) is presented. The selected LOCA scenarios are typical for the class of small and large breaks generally considered in Safety Analysis Reports. The method used to develop the PIRTs is described. Following is a discussion of the transient scenarios, the PIRTs are presented and discussed in detailed and in summarized form. A procedure for future validation of the PIRTs, to enhance their value, is outlined. 26 refs., 25 figs., 44 tabs

CNE (central nuclear en Embalse): probabilistic safety study. Loss-of-coolant accidents. Analysis through events sequence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Layral, S.I.

1987-01-01

The aim of this study was to perform for the Embalse nuclear power plant, a probabilistic evaluation of loss-of-coolant accidents (LOCA) to identify the risks associated with them and to determine their acceptability in accordance with norms. This study includes all ruptures in the primary system that produce the automatic activation of 'emergency core cooling system'. Three starting events were selected for the probabilistic evaluation: 100% rupture of an input collector; 5% rupture of an input collector; 1.2% rupture of an input collector. At this stage the evaluation is focussed on the identification and quantization of the main failure sequences that follow a LOCA and lead to an uncontrolled reactor state or 'core meltdown'. The most important contribution to the core meltdown due to LOCA is the failure of supplies that are required for the emergency core cooling system. (Author)

Generic evaluation of feedwater transients and small break loss-of-coolant accidents in combustion engineering designed operating plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1980-01-01

The purpose of this report is to summarize the results of a generic evaluation of feedwater transients, small break loss-of-coolant accidents (LOCAs), and other TMI-2-related events in the Combustion Engineering (CE)-designed operating plants and to establish or confirm the bases for their continued operation. The results of this evaluation are presented in this report in the form of a set of findings and recommendations in each of the principal review areas

A comparison of LOCA analysis using SMOKIN and CERBERUS codes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Younis, M H [Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., Mississauga, ON (Canada); Gaboury, G [Ontario Hydro, Toronto, ON (Canada)

1996-12-31

This paper presents the results of a comparison of the analyses of a postulated Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA) in Pickering NGS A reactors using the two neutron kinetics codes SMOKIN and CERBERUS. Both codes have been used to simulate the space-time neutronic behaviour of CANDU-PHWR reactors. The main objective of the present study is to evaluate the accuracy with which SMOKIN can predict power transients compared to CERBERUS. The comparison shows that the two codes produce similar bulk power and reactivity transients. However, SMOKIN was found to overestimate the power transient (relative to CERBERUS) in some regions of the core, which is indicative of the spatial differences between the two codes. It was demonstrated that part of this overestimate is due to the use of reaction-rate averaged fuel properties in SMOKIN, compared to instantaneous fuel properties in CERBERUS. (author). 5 refs., 3 tabs., 6 figs.

System Response Analysis of Rod Ejection Accident for APR1400 Using KNAP Hot Spot Model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Yo-Han; Ha, Sang-Jun; Jun, Hwang-Yong

2006-01-01

Korea Electric Power Research Institute (KEPRI) has been developed the non-loss-of-coolant accident (non- LOCA) analysis methodology, called as the Korea Non- LOCA Analysis Package (KNAP), for the typical Optimized Power Reactor 1000 (OPR1000) plants. Considering current licensing methodology conducted by ABB-CE, however, the KNAP could be applied to Advanced Power Reactor 1400 (APR1400) also. In spite of some difference in design concepts of two plant types, there is a close resemblance between their nuclear steam supply systems (NSSS). So, in this study, the rod ejection accident (REA) event was analyzed using KNAP hot spot model (HSM) for APR1400 to estimate the feasibility of the application and the results were compared with those given in APR1400 Standard Safety Analysis Report (SSAR), which were calculated using the CESEC-III and STRIKIN-II code of ABB-CE. Through the study, it was concluded that the KNAP could be applicable to APR1400 on the view point of REA

Severe accident testing of electrical penetration assemblies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clauss, D.B.

1989-11-01

This report describes the results of tests conducted on three different designs of full-size electrical penetration assemblies (EPAs) that are used in the containment buildings of nuclear power plants. The objective of the tests was to evaluate the behavior of the EPAs under simulated severe accident conditions using steam at elevated temperature and pressure. Leakage, temperature, and cable insulation resistance were monitored throughout the tests. Nuclear-qualified EPAs were produced from D. G. O'Brien, Westinghouse, and Conax. Severe-accident-sequence analysis was used to generate the severe accident conditions (SAC) for a large dry pressurized-water reactor (PWR), a boiling-water reactor (BWR) Mark I drywell, and a BWR Mark III wetwell. Based on a survey conducted by Sandia, each EPA was matched with the severe accident conditions for a specific reactor type. This included the type of containment that a particular EPA design was used in most frequently. Thus, the D. G. O'Brien EPA was chosen for the PWR SAC test, the Westinghouse was chosen for the Mark III test, and the Conax was chosen for the Mark I test. The EPAs were radiation and thermal aged to simulate the effects of a 40-year service life and loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) before the SAC tests were conducted. The design, test preparations, conduct of the severe accident test, experimental results, posttest observations, and conclusions about the integrity and electrical performance of each EPA tested in this program are described in this report. In general, the leak integrity of the EPAs tested in this program was not compromised by severe accident loads. However, there was significant degradation in the insulation resistance of the cables, which could affect the electrical performance of equipment and devices inside containment at some point during the progression of a severe accident. 10 refs., 165 figs., 16 tabs

Performance behavior of the passive containment cooling system of a natural circulation BWR during postulated accident condition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumar, Mukesh; Nayak, A.K.; Jain, Vikas; Vijayan, P.K.; Saha, D.; Sinha, R.K.

2011-01-01

Passive systems are playing prominent role in the development of innovative nuclear reactor systems due to their simplicity, enhanced safety, reliability and economy. These systems are being considered for normal operation as well as accidental conditions of reactor following a postulated accident scenario to preclude the scenarios arising out of failure of active systems as well as to minimize the operator intervention. Indian innovative reactor AHWR being designed for thorium utilization employs various passive safety concepts. As containment is the ultimate barrier to the release of radioactivity, passive concepts are being employed in BWRs for minimize peak containment pressure in the containment during a postulated accident condition like LOCA. The concept of passive containment cooling system (PCCS) in the AHWR comprises of inclined tube heat exchangers located underneath an elevated pool that removes the heat from the steam-air atmosphere of containment following a LOCA by natural circulation of water inside the tubes. The steam condenses on the external surface of tubes of PCCS in addition to the wall of the containment which in turn depressurizes the containment. This paper deals with the performance assessment of PCCS of AHWR during a postulated design basis LOCA by using the best estimate code RELAP5/Mod3.2. (author)

Small break LOCA analysis for YGN 5 and 6 RCP trip strategy in power mode operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Tech Mo; Choi, Han Rim

2001-01-01

A continued operation of Reactor Coolant Pumps(RCPs) during a Small Break Loss of Coolant Accident(SBLOCA) in all operation mode may increase unnecessary inventory loss from the Reactor Coolant System(RCS) causing a severe core uncovery which might lead to fuel failure. After Three Mile Island Unit 2(TMI-2) accident, the Combustion Engineering Owner Group(CEOG) developed RCP trip strategy called 'Trip-Two/Leave-Two' (T2/L2). The T2/L2 RCP trip strategy consists of tripping the first two RCPs on low RCS pressure and then tripping the remaining two RCPs if a LOCA has occurred. This analysis demonstrates the inherent safety of RCP trip strategy during an SBLOCA for Youggwang Nuclear Power Plant Unit 5 and 6(YGN 5 and 6). The trip setpoint of the first two RCPs for YGN 5 and 6 is calculated to be 1721 psia in pressurizer pressure based on the limiting SBLOCA with 0.15 ft 2 break size in the hot leg. The analysis results show that YGN 5 and 6 can maintain the core coolability even if the operator fails to trip the second two RCPs or trips at the worst time of minimum liquid inventory

Utilizing elements of the CSAU phenomena identification and ranking table (PIRT) to qualify a PWR non-LOCA transients system code

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Greene, K.R.; Fletcher, C.D.; Gottula, R.C.; Lindquist, T.R.; Stitt, B.D. [Framatome ANP, Richland, WA (United States)

2001-07-01

Licensing analyses of Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Standard Review Plan (SRP) Chapter 15 non-LOCA transients are an important part of establishing operational safety limits and design limits for nuclear power plants. The applied codes and methods are generally qualified using traditional methods of benchmarking and assessment, sample problems, and demonstration of conservatism. Rigorous formal methods for developing code and methodology have been created and applied to qualify realistic methods for Large Break Loss-of-Coolant Accidents (LBLOCA's). This methodology, Code Scaling, Applicability, and Uncertainty (CSAU), is a very demanding, resource intensive, process to apply. It would be challenging to apply a comprehensive and complete CSAU level of analysis, individually, to each of the more than 30 non-LOCA transients that comprise Chapter 15 events. However, certain elements of the process can be easily adapted to improve quality of the codes and methods used to analyze non- LOCA transients. One of these elements is the Phenomena Identification and Ranking Table (PIRT). This paper presents the results of an informally constructed PIRT that applies to non-LOCA transients for Pressurized Water Reactors (PWR's) of the Westinghouse and Combustion Engineering design. A group of experts in thermal-hydraulics and safety analysis identified and ranked the phenomena. To begin the process, the PIRT was initially performed individually by each expert. Then through group interaction and discussion, a consensus was reached on both the significant phenomena and the appropriate ranking. The paper also discusses using the PIRT as an aid to qualify a 'conservative' system code and methodology. Once agreement was obtained on the phenomena and ranking, the table was divided into six functional groups, by nature of the transients, along the same lines as Chapter 15. Then, assessment and disposition of the significant phenomena was performed. The PIRT and

Comparison of Severe Accident Results Among SCDAP/RELAP5, MAAP, and MELCOR Codes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, T.-C.; Wang, S.-J.; Teng, J.-T.

2005-01-01

This paper demonstrates a large-break loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) sequence of the Kuosheng nuclear power plant (NPP) and station blackout sequence of the Maanshan NPP with the SCDAP/RELAP5 (SR5), Modular Accident Analysis Program (MAAP), and MELCOR codes. The large-break sequence initiated with double-ended rupture of a recirculation loop. The main steam isolation valves (MSIVs) closed, the feedwater pump tripped, the reactor scrammed, and the assumed high-pressure and low-pressure spray systems of the emergency core cooling system (ECCS) were not functional. Therefore, all coolant systems to quench the core were lost. MAAP predicts a longer vessel failure time, and MELCOR predicts a shorter vessel failure time for the large-break LOCA sequence. The station blackout sequence initiated with a loss of all alternating-current (ac) power. The MSIVs closed, the feedwater pump tripped, and the reactor scrammed. The motor-driven auxiliary feedwater system and the high-pressure and low-pressure injection systems of the ECCS were lost because of the loss of all ac power. It was also assumed that the turbine-driven auxiliary feedwater pump was not functional. Therefore, the coolant system to quench the core was also lost. MAAP predicts a longer time of steam generator dryout, time interval between top of active fuel and bottom of active fuel, and vessel failure time than those of the SR5 and MELCOR predictions for the station blackout sequence. The three codes give similar results for important phenomena during the accidents, including SG dryout, core uncovery, cladding oxidation, cladding failure, molten pool formulation, debris relocation to the lower plenum, and vessel head failure. This paper successfully demonstrates the large-break LOCA sequence of the Kuosheng NPP and the station blackout sequence of the Maanshan NPP

Experimentation, modelling and simulation of water droplets impact on ballooned sheath of PWR core fuel assemblies in a LOCA situation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lelong, Franck

2010-01-01

In a pressurized water reactor (PWR), during a Loss Of Coolant Accident (LOCA), liquid water evaporates and the fuel assemblies are not cooled anymore; as a consequence, the temperature rises to such an extent that some parts of the fuel assemblies can be deformed resulting in 'ballooned regions'. When reflooding occurs, the cooling of these partially blocked parts of the fuel assemblies will depend on the coolant flow that is a mixture of overheated vapour and under-saturated droplets. The aim of this thesis is to study the heat transfer between droplets and hot walls of the fuel rods. In this purpose, an experimental device has been designed in accordance with droplets and wall features (droplet velocity and diameter, wall temperature) representative of LOCA conditions. The cooling of a hot Nickel disk, previously heated by induction, is cooled down by a stream of monodispersed droplet. The rear face temperature profiles are measured by infrared thermography. Then, the estimation of wall heat flux is performed by an inverse conduction technique from these infrared images. The effect of droplet dynamical properties (diameter, velocity) on the heat flux is studied. These experimental data allow us to validate an analytical model of heat exchange between droplet and hot slab. This model is based on combined dynamical and thermal considerations. On the one hand, the droplet dynamics is considered through a spring analogy in order to evaluate the evolution of droplet features such as the spreading diameter when the droplet is squeezed over the hot surface. On the other hand, thermal parameters, such as the thickness of the vapour cushion beneath the droplet, are determined from an energy balance. In the short term, this model will be integrated in a CFD code (named NEPTUNE-CFD) to simulate the cooling of a reactor core during a LOCA, taking into account the droplet/wall heat exchange. (author)

Numerical Ballooning and Burst Prediction of Fuel Cladding During LOCA Transients in LWR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Landau, E.; Weiss, Y.; Szanto, M.

2014-01-01

Modeling of nuclear fuel cladding behavior during a Loss of Coolant accident (LOCA) is a principal requirement in reactor safety analysis, most former safety criteria were obtained from experiments during the 1970's, conducted mainly with fresh fuels. Changes in modern fuel design, introduction of new cladding materials and motivation towards higher burn-ups have generated a need to re-examine safety criteria and their continued validity. This led to the growing development of both experiments and simulations meant to address this need. The Halden IFA-650 series of experiments for example, beginning in the early 2000's have clearly shown that existing criteria and experimental data are insufficient for the growing demand for higher burn-ups. Several codes for reactor core and fuel rod analysis exist nowadays, such as FRAPTRAN1.4 or RELAP5-3D . These are tailor-made codes, designed to predict general core behavior and fuel performance, and while they are also used in predicting core components behavior during accident conditions, including those of cladding ballooning and failure with good accuracy, they contain several limitations on modeling the full transient cladding thermo mechanical phenomena. Limitations such as mechanical models being one dimensional or in axisymmetric geometries only, relying mostly on analytical models therefore having further restricting assumptions in return for accuracy, etc. These limitations disable the simulation of several important aspects, such as modeling 3D azimuthal behavior for example. The objective of the current work is to develop a comprehensive numerical model for predicting zircalloy cladding thermo mechanical behavior during a LOCA. The model will eventually predicts full cladding ballooning and burst behavior followed by fuel relocation, for fuel rods that can be subjected to 3D distributed flux. The model is fully three dimensional and is created using the commercial FEM numerical simulation software ABAQUS© applying

Mark III LOCA-related hydrodynamic load definition. Generic technical activity B-10. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fields, M.B.; Kudrick, J.A.

1984-08-01

This report, prepared by the staff of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation and its consultants at the Brookhaven National Laboratory, provides a discussion of LOCA-related suppression pool hydrodynamic loads in boiling water reactor (BWR) facilities with the Mark III pressure-suppression containment design. Its issuance completes NRC Generic Technical Activity B-10, Behavior of BWR Mark III Containment. On the basis of certain large-scale tests conducted between 1973 and 1979, the General Electric Company developed LOCA-related hydrodynamic load definitions for use in the design of the standard Mark III containment. The staff and its consultants have reviewed these load definitions and their bases and conclude that, with a few specified changes, the proposed load definitions provide conservative loading conditions. The staff approved acceptance criteria for LOCA-related hydrodynamic loads are provided in an appendix

Probabilistic based design rules for intersystem LOCAS in ABWR piping

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ware, A.G.; Wesley, D.A.

1993-01-01

A methodology has been developed for probability-based standards for low-pressure piping systems that are attached to the reactor coolant loops of advanced light water reactors (ALWRs) which could experience reactor coolant loop temperatures and pressures because of multiple isolation valve failures. This accident condition is called an intersystem loss-of-coolant accident (ISLOCA). The methodology was applied to various sizes of carbon and stainless steel piping designed to advanced boiling water reactor (ABWR) temperatures and pressures

Control assembly ejection accident analysis for WWER-440 (Armenian NPP)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bznuni, S.; Malakyan, Ts.; Amirjanyan, A.; Ghasabyan, L.

2007-01-01

Control Assembly ejection in WWER-440 initiated by the loss of integrity of the Control Assemblies drive housing has been analyzed. This event causes a very rapid reactivity insertion to the core and small break LOCA which potentially could lead to rapid power increase and redistribution of heat release in the core resulting in a fuel, cladding and coolant temperature rise; primary pressure increase, radiological consequences due to loss of primary coolant and potential loss of cladding integrity and fuel disintegration (if applicable). Methodology of the analysis is based on conservative assumptions as well as on deterministic approach for selection of functioning logic of systems and equipment's to maximize reactor core power and minimize power decreasing reactivity feedback. Computational analyses were performed by 3D kinetics PARCS-RELAP coupled code. WWER-440 fuel cross-section libraries, diffusion coefficients and kinetics parameters were calculated by HELOS code. In this paper analysis of accident for Hot Full Power was presented. Results of analysis show that ANPP WWER-440 reactor design meets acceptance criteria prescribed for RIA type design based accidents (Authors)

Pressure behaviour in a nuclear reactor containment following a loss of coolant accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

KHattab, M.S.; Ibrahim, N.A.; Bedrose, S.D.

1994-01-01

The scenarios of pressure variation following a loss of coolant accident (LOCA) inside the containment of pressurized water reactor (PWR) have been investigated. Critical mass flow rushing out from high pressure leg through pipe break, is used to calculate the rate of coolant. The energy added to the containment atmosphere is determined to specify the rate of growth of pressure and temperature. The scenarios of small, medium and large LOCA at 2%, 15% and 25% flow released are investigated. Safety water spray system is initiated as the pressure reaches the containment design safety limit at about 3 bar to depressurise and to cooldown the system and thereby to reduce the concentration of radioactivity release in the containment atmosphere. The pressure response before and after operation of safety spray system is predicted in each size of LOCA using a typical design of westinghouse PWR system. The results of large LOCA showed good agreement with westinghouse calculations of the same design. The heat removal from the containment environment is rejected into the sump by drop-wise condensation mechanism. The effect of initial droplets diameters injected from the nozzles of the spray system is investigated. The results show that the droplet diameter of 3 mm gives best performance. 6 figs., 1 tab

Analysis of a large-break LOCA at lower operational modes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jeong, H.Y.; Jun, H.Y.; Lee, K. [Korea Electric Power Corporation, Taejon (Korea)

2000-10-01

To improve Technical Specifications and Emergency Operating Guidelines (EOGs) applicable at lower operational modes it is required to perform the safety analysis reflecting the operational characteristics in those modes. Because the component availability and system configurations at lower modes are different from those of power mode, the plant safety at lower modes should be confirmed through independent analyses. In the present study, a large-break loss-of-coolant accident is analyzed to evaluate the containment pressure and temperature control function for the preparation of EOGs applicable at lower modes. To reach the required shutdown condition, the plant cool-down is controlled by the secondary steam flow and auxiliary feedwater. The mass and energy releases from primary system are obtained from RELAP5/MOD3.1 calculation and the containment pressure and temperature are evaluated with CONTEMPT-LT code. The reference plant is Korean Next Generation Reactor having 4,000 MW thermal power. Two cases of cold leg LOCA initiated at Mode 3 with and without SIT operation are calculated. At the given plant conditions, all safety injection pumps are still available. The calculation at the condition of maximum mass and energy release shows that the containment pressure and temperature can be controlled within acceptable criteria, which means the operations of 2 or 4 fan coolers are the possible success paths to achieve the containment P/T control safety function. The peak cladding temperature with minimum safety injection flow does not show remarkable excursion, which implies the lower mode LOCA at Mode 3 can be bounded by the results obtained at full power from the viewpoint of ECCS performance. (author)

Comparative analysis of a LOCA for a German PWR with ASTEC and ATHLET-CD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reinke, N.; Chan, H.W.; Sonnenkalb, M.

2013-01-01

This paper presents the results of a comparative analysis performed with ASTEC V2.02 and a coupled ATHLET-CD V2.2c /COCOSYS V2.4 calculation for a German 1300 MWe KONVOI type PWR. The purpose of this analysis is mainly to assess the ASTEC code behaviour in modelling of both the thermal-hydraulic phenomena in the coolant circuit arising during a hypothetical severe accident and the early phase of the core degradation versus the more mechanistic code system ATHLET-CD/COCOSYS. The performed analyses cover a loss of coolant accident sequence (LOCA). Such comparison has been done for the first time. The integral code ASTEC (Accident Source Term Evaluation Code) commonly developed since 1996 by IRSN and GRS is a fast running programme, which allows the calculation of entire sequences of severe accidents (SA) in light water reactors from the initiating event up to the release of fission products into the environment, thereby covering all important in-vessel and containment phenomena. The thermal-hydraulic mechanistic system code ATHLET (Analysis of THermal-hydraulics of LEaks and Transients) is being developed by GRS for the analysis of the whole spectrum of leaks and transients in PWRs and BWRs. For modeling of core degradation processes the CD part (Core Degradation) of ATHLET can be activated. For analyses of the containment behavior, ATHLET-CD has been coupled to the GRS code COCOSYS (COntainment COde SYStem). (orig.)

Vent clearing during a simulated loss-of-coolant accident in Mark I boiling-water-reactor pressure-suppression system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pitts, J.H.; McCauley, E.W.

1978-01-01

The response of the pressure-suspension containment system of Mark I boiling-water reactors to a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) is being studied. This response is a design basis for light-water nuclear reactors. Part of the study is being carried out on a 1 / 5 -scale experimental facility that models the pressure-suppression containment system of the Peach Bottom 2 nuclear power plant. The test series reported here focused on the initial or air-clearing phase of a hypothetical LOCA. Measured forces, measured pressures, and the hydrodynamic phenomena (observed with high-speed cameras) show a logical interrelationship

Statistical analysis of fuel failures in large break loss-of-coolant accident (LBLOCA) in EPR type nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arkoma, Asko; Hänninen, Markku; Rantamäki, Karin; Kurki, Joona; Hämäläinen, Anitta

2015-01-01

Highlights: • The number of failing fuel rods in a LB-LOCA in an EPR is evaluated. • 59 scenarios are simulated with the system code APROS. • 1000 rods per scenario are simulated with the fuel performance code FRAPTRAN-GENFLO. • All the rods in the reactor are simulated in the worst scenario. • Results suggest that the regulations set by the Finnish safety authority are met. - Abstract: In this paper, the number of failing fuel rods in a large break loss-of-coolant accident (LB-LOCA) in EPR-type nuclear power plant is evaluated using statistical methods. For this purpose, a statistical fuel failure analysis procedure has been developed. The developed method utilizes the results of nonparametric statistics, the Wilks’ formula in particular, and is based on the selection and variation of parameters that are important in accident conditions. The accident scenario is simulated with the coupled fuel performance – thermal hydraulics code FRAPTRAN-GENFLO using various parameter values and thermal hydraulic and power history boundary conditions between the simulations. The number of global scenarios is 59 (given by the Wilks’ formula), and 1000 rods are simulated in each scenario. The boundary conditions are obtained from a new statistical version of the system code APROS. As a result, in the worst global scenario, 1.2% of the simulated rods failed, and it can be concluded that the Finnish safety regulations are hereby met (max. 10% of the rods allowed to fail)

Statistical analysis of fuel failures in large break loss-of-coolant accident (LBLOCA) in EPR type nuclear power plant

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arkoma, Asko, E-mail: asko.arkoma@vtt.fi; Hänninen, Markku; Rantamäki, Karin; Kurki, Joona; Hämäläinen, Anitta

2015-04-15

Highlights: • The number of failing fuel rods in a LB-LOCA in an EPR is evaluated. • 59 scenarios are simulated with the system code APROS. • 1000 rods per scenario are simulated with the fuel performance code FRAPTRAN-GENFLO. • All the rods in the reactor are simulated in the worst scenario. • Results suggest that the regulations set by the Finnish safety authority are met. - Abstract: In this paper, the number of failing fuel rods in a large break loss-of-coolant accident (LB-LOCA) in EPR-type nuclear power plant is evaluated using statistical methods. For this purpose, a statistical fuel failure analysis procedure has been developed. The developed method utilizes the results of nonparametric statistics, the Wilks’ formula in particular, and is based on the selection and variation of parameters that are important in accident conditions. The accident scenario is simulated with the coupled fuel performance – thermal hydraulics code FRAPTRAN-GENFLO using various parameter values and thermal hydraulic and power history boundary conditions between the simulations. The number of global scenarios is 59 (given by the Wilks’ formula), and 1000 rods are simulated in each scenario. The boundary conditions are obtained from a new statistical version of the system code APROS. As a result, in the worst global scenario, 1.2% of the simulated rods failed, and it can be concluded that the Finnish safety regulations are hereby met (max. 10% of the rods allowed to fail)

A study on hydrogen deflagration for selected severe accident sequences in Ringhals 3

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gustavsson, V.; Moeller, E. [SwedPower AB (Sweden)

2002-01-01

In this report, we have investigated the most important severe accident sequences in Ringhals 3, a Westinghouse 3-loop PWR, concerning hydrogen generation and containment pressure at hydrogen deflagration. In order to analyze the accident sequences and to calculate the hydrogen production, the computer code MAAP (Modular Accident Analysis Program) was used. Six accident sequences were studied, where four were LOCA cases and two transients. MAAP gives the evolution of the accident and particularly the pressure in the containment and the production of hydrogen as a function of time. The pressure peaks at deflagration were calculated by the method AICC-Adiabatic Isochoric Complete Combustion. The results from these calculations are conservative for two reasons. Adiabatic combustion means that the heat losses to structures in the containment are neglected. The combustion is also assumed to occur once and all available hydrogen is burned. The maximum pressure in five analysed cases was compared with the failure pressure of the containment. In the LOCA case, 373 kg hydrogen was burned and the resulting peak pressure in the containment was 0,53 MPa. In the transient, where 720 kg hydrogen was burned, the peak pressure was 0,69 MPa. This is the same as the failure pressure of the containment. Finally, in the conservative case, 980 kg hydrogen was burned and the resulting peak pressure 0,96 MPa. However, it should be noted that these conclusions are conservative from two points of view. Firstly a more realistic (than AICC) calculation of the peak pressure would give a lower value than 0,69 MPa. Secondly, there is conservatism in the evaluation of the failure pressure. (au)

Development of the PRO-LOCA Probabilistic Fracture Mechanics Code, MERIT Final Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scott, Paul; Kurth, Robert; Cox, Andrew; Olson, Rick; Rudland, Dave

2010-12-01

The MERIT project has been an internationally financed program with the main purpose of developing probabilistic models for piping failure of nuclear components and to include these models in a probabilistic code named PRO-LOCA. The principal objective of the project has been to develop probabilistic models for piping failure of nuclear components and to include these models in a probabilistic code. The MERIT program has produced a code named PRO-LOCA with the following features: - Crack initiation models for fatigue or stress corrosion cracking for previously unflawed material. - Subcritical crack growth models for fatigue and stress corrosion cracking for both initiated and pre-existing circumferential defects. - Models for flaw detection by inspections and leak detection. - Crack stability. The PRO-LOCA code can thus predict the leak or break frequency for the whole sequence of initiation, subcritical crack growth until wall penetration and leakage, instability of the through-wall crack (pipe rupture). The outcome of the PRO-LOCA code are a sequence of failure frequencies which represents the probability of surface crack developing, a through-wall crack developing and six different sizes of crack opening areas corresponding to different leak flow rates or LOCA categories. Note that the level of quality assurance of the PRO-LOCA code is such that the code in its current state of development is considered to be more of a research code than a regulatory tool.

Development of the PRO-LOCA Probabilistic Fracture Mechanics Code, MERIT Final Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Scott, Paul; Kurth, Robert; Cox, Andrew; Olson, Rick (Battelle Columbus (United States)); Rudland, Dave (Nuclear Regulatory Commission (United States))

2010-12-15

The MERIT project has been an internationally financed program with the main purpose of developing probabilistic models for piping failure of nuclear components and to include these models in a probabilistic code named PRO-LOCA. The principal objective of the project has been to develop probabilistic models for piping failure of nuclear components and to include these models in a probabilistic code. The MERIT program has produced a code named PRO-LOCA with the following features: - Crack initiation models for fatigue or stress corrosion cracking for previously unflawed material. - Subcritical crack growth models for fatigue and stress corrosion cracking for both initiated and pre-existing circumferential defects. - Models for flaw detection by inspections and leak detection. - Crack stability. The PRO-LOCA code can thus predict the leak or break frequency for the whole sequence of initiation, subcritical crack growth until wall penetration and leakage, instability of the through-wall crack (pipe rupture). The outcome of the PRO-LOCA code are a sequence of failure frequencies which represents the probability of surface crack developing, a through-wall crack developing and six different sizes of crack opening areas corresponding to different leak flow rates or LOCA categories. Note that the level of quality assurance of the PRO-LOCA code is such that the code in its current state of development is considered to be more of a research code than a regulatory tool.

Effect of oxygen in the simulated LOCA environments of the degradation of cable insulating materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kusuma, Y.; Okada, S.; Itoh, M.; Yagi, T.; Yoshikawa, M.; Yoshida, K.; Machi, S.; Tamura, N.; Kawakami, W.

1990-01-01

Five kinds of insulating and jacketing materials for the cables used in nuclear power plants were exposed to various LOCA environments of both simultaneous and sequential methods using SEAMATE-II. Experimental conditions of the simultaneous LOCA tests were done at different radiation dose rate, steam temperature and amount of air added to the LOCA environments. The sequential tests consist of two stages, that is, pre-irradiation and subsequent steam/spray exposure. Pre-irradiation conditions and subsequent steam/spray exposure conditions of the sequential LOCA tests are systematically changed in order to find appropriate conditions which can bring about the degradation of same degree to those obtained for various simultaneous LOCA simulations. Tensile properties, insulating resistance and water sorption of the insulating materials exposed to various LOCA environments are measured and discussed. (author). 11 refs, 19 figs, 3 tabs

Analysis of three ex-vessel loss-of-coolant accidents in the first wall cooling system of NET/ITER

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Komen, E.M.J.; Koning, H.

1993-01-01

An ex-vessel LOCA may be caused by a rupture of a cooling pipe located outside the vacuum vessel. No plasma shutdown and no other counteractions have been assumed in order to study the worst case conditions of the accidents. The next three ex-vessel LOCAs in the primary cooling system of the first wall have been analysed: 1. a large break ex-vessel LOCA caused by a rupture of the cold leg (inner diameter 0.314 m) of the main circuit; 2. an intermediate break ex-vessel LOCA caused by a rupture of a sector inlet feeder (inner diameter 0.158 m); 3. an intermediate break ex-vessel LOCA caused by a rupture of the surge line (inner diameter 0.180 m) of the pressurizer. The analyses have been performed using the thermal-hydraulic system analysis code RELAP5/MOD3. In the first two scenarios, melting in the first wall starts about 90 s after break initiation. In the third scenario, melting in the first wall start about 323 s after break initiation. Special emphasis has been paid to the characteristics of the break flows, the transient thermal-hydraulic behaviour of the cooling system, and the temperature development in the first wall. (orig.)

Identification of NPP accidents using support vector classification

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Back, Ju Hyun; Yoo, Kwae Hwan; Na, Man Gyun [Chosun University, Gwangju (Korea, Republic of)

2016-10-15

In case of the accidents that happens in a nuclear power plants (NPPs), it is very important to identify its accidents for the operator. Therefore, in order to effectively manage the accidents, the initial short time trends of major parameters have to be observed and NPP accidents have to accurately be identified to provide its information to operators and technicians. In this regard, the objective of this study is to identify the accidents when the accidents happen in NPPs. In this study, we applied the support vector classification (SVC) model to classify the initiating events of critical accidents such as loss of coolant accidents (LOCA), total loss of feedwater (TLOFW), station blackout (SBO), and steam generator tube rupture (SGTR). Input variables were used as the initial integral value of the signal measured in the reactor coolant system (RCS), steam generator, and containment vessel after reactor trip. The proposed SVC model is verified by using the simulation data of the modular accident analysis program (MAAP4) code. In this study, the proposed SVC model is verified by using the simulation data of the modular accident analysis program (MAAP4) code. We used an initial integral value of the simulated sensor signals to identify the NPP accidents. The training data was used to train the SVC model. And, the trained model was confirmed using the test data. As a result, it was known that it can accurately classify five events.

Severe accident modeling and offsite dose consequence evaluations for nuclear power plant emergency planning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, S.H.; Feng, T.S.; Huang, K.C. [National Tsing-Hua Univ., Hsinchu, Taiwan (China); Wang, J.R. [Inst. of Nuclear Energy Research, Longtan, Taiwan (China); Cheng, Y.H. [Industrial Tech. Res. Inst., Hsinchu, Taiwan (China); Shih, C., E-mail: ckshih@ess.nthu.edu.tw [National Tsing-Hua Univ., Hsinchu, Taiwan (China)

2011-07-01

We have investigated the roles of Firewater Addition System and Passive Flooder in ABWR severe accidents, such as LOCA and SBO. The results are apparent that Firewater System is vital in the highly unlikely situation where all AC are lost. Also in this paper, we present EPZDose, an effective and faster-than-real time code for offsite dose consequences predictions and evaluations. Illustrations with the release from our severe accident scenario show friendly and informative user's interface for supporting decision makings in nuclear emergency situations. (author)

Generic evaluation of feedwater transients and small break loss-of-coolant accidents in GE-designed operating plants and near-term operating license applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1980-01-01

The results are presented of a generic evaluation of feedwater transients, small-break loss-of-coolant accidents (LOCAs), and other TMI-2-related events for General Electric Company (GE)-designed operating plants and near-term operating license applications to confirm or establish the bases for the continued safe operation of the operating plants. The results of this evaluation are presented in this report in the form of a set of findings and recommendations in each of the principal review areas. Additional review of the accident is continuing and further information is being obtained and evaluated. Any new information will be reviewed and modifications will be made as appropriate

Progress in realistic LOCA analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Young, M Y; Bajorek, S M; Ohkawa, K [Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Pittsburgh, PA (United States)

1994-12-31

While LOCA is a complex transient to simulate, the state of art in thermal hydraulics has advanced sufficiently to allow its realistic prediction and application of advanced methods to actual reactor design as demonstrated by methodology described in this paper 6 refs, 5 figs, 3 tabs

A Procedure to Address the Fuel Rod Failures during LB-LOCA Transient in Atucha-2 NPP

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martina Adorni

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Depending on the specific event scenario and on the purpose of the analysis, the availability of calculation methods that are not implemented in the standard system thermal hydraulic codes might be required. This may imply the use of a dedicated fuel rod thermomechanical computer code. This paper provides an outline of the methodology for the analysis of the 2A LB-LOCA accident in Atucha-2 NPP and describes the procedure adopted for the use of the fuel rod thermomechanical code. The methodology implies the application of best estimate thermalhydraulics, neutron physics, and fuel pin performance computer codes, with the objective to verify the compliance with the specific acceptance criteria. The fuel pin performance code is applied with the main objective to evaluate the extent of cladding failures during the transient. The procedure consists of a deterministic calculation by the fuel performance code of each individual fuel rod during its lifetime and in the subsequent LB-LOCA transient calculations. The boundary and initial conditions are provided by core physics and three-dimensional neutron kinetic coupled thermal-hydraulic system codes calculations. The procedure is completed by the sensitivity calculations and the application of the probabilistic method, which are outside the scope of the current paper.

Data management system for full core LOCA-analysis using TRANSURANUS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maertens, D.; Spykman, G.

2005-01-01

A data management system has been developed to perform full core pin by pin calculations of normal operation and (LOCA-) transient behaviour of fuel rods. The system automatically generates the input from a data base, controls the fuel rod calculations and provides a powerful tool for visualising the results. The full core pin by pin analysis now allows to use specific power histories, rod geometries and material data as well as enveloping data. Fuel rod code Transuranus is used for the normal operation and the transient phase in one run, thus assuring that the calculated rod properties of the normal operation (pre-transient) phase are handed over in all detail and not compressed to the transient phase. Transuranus has been upgraded with respect to high temperature models for Zry and M5 TM -cladding for creep, oxidation, heat rate dependent phase transition and anisotropy in the α and the mixed crystal phase. Parameter studies have been carried out to investigate the influence of using rod specific power histories instead of enveloping power histories in a full core analysis. The results show a significant increase in the ratio of failed fuel rods during a LOCA transient from 0.12% to approx. 50%. Another study for a typical PWR LOCA transient shows very good correlation between the distribution of failed fuel rods and rods with significant ballooning. (author)

An application of RELAP5/MOD3 to the post-LOCA long term cooling performance evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bang, Young Seok; Jung, Jae Won; Seul, Kwang Won; Kim, Hho Jung

1998-01-01

A realistic long-term calculation to be used in the post-LOCA long term cooling (LTC) analysis is described in this study, which was required to resolve the post-LOCA LTC issues including the concern on boric acid precipitation in the reactor core. The analysis scope is defined according to the LTC plan of UCN Units 3/4 and the plant calculation model are developed suitable to the LTC procedure. The LTC sequences following the cold leg small break LOCAs of 0.02 ft2 to 0.5 ft2 are calculated by RELAP5/ MOD3.2.2. Based on the calculation results, the establishment of shutdown cooling system entry condition and the behavior of boron transport are evaluated. The effect of model simplification is also investigated

Generic evaluation of small break loss-of-coolant accident behavior in Babcock and Wilcox designed 177-FA operating plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1980-01-01

Slow system depressurization resulting from small break loss-of-coolant accidents (LOCAs) in the reactor coolant system have not, until recently, received detailed analytical study comparable to that devoted to large breaks. Following the TMI-2 accident, the staff had a series of meetings with Babcock and Wilcox (B and W) and the B and W licensees. The staff requested that B and W and the licensees: (1) systematically evaluate plant response for small break loss-of-coolant accidents; (2) address each of the concerns documented in the Michelson report; (3) validate the computer codes used against the TMI-2 accident; (4) extend the break spectrum analysis to very small breaks, giving special consideration to failure of pressurizer valves to close; (5) analyze degraded conditions where AFW is not available; (6) prepare design changes aimed at reducing the probability of loss-of-coolant accidents produced by the failure of a PORV to close; and (7) develop revised emergency procedures for small breaks. This report describes the review of the generic analyses performed by B and W based on the requests stated above

Evaluation of Gap Conductance Approach for Mid-Burnup Fuel LOCA Analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Joosuk; Woo, Swengwoong

2013-01-01

In this study, therefore, the applicability of gap conductance approach on the mid-burnup fuel in LOCA analysis was estimated in terms of the comparison of PCT distribution method means the fuel rod uncertainty is taken into account by the combination of overall uncertainty parameters of fuel rod altogether by use of a simple random sampling(SRS) technique. There are many uncertainty parameters of fuel rod that can change the PCT during LOCA analysis, and these have been identified by the authors' previous work already. But, for the 'best-estimate' LOCA safety analysis the methodology that dose not use the overall uncertainty parameters altogether but used the gap conductance uncertainty alone has been developed to simulate the overall fuel rod uncertainty, because it can represent many uncertainty parameters. Based on this approach, uncertainty range of gap conductance was prescribed as 0.67∼1.5 in audit calculation methodology on LBLOCA analysis. This uncertainty was derived from experimental data of fresh or low burnup fuel. Meanwhile, recent research work identify that the currently utilized uncertainty range seems to be not enough to encompass the uncertainty of mid-burnup fuel. Instead it has to be changed to 0.5∼2.4 for the mid-burnup fuel(30 MWd/kgU)

Evaluation of Gap Conductance Approach for Mid-Burnup Fuel LOCA Analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Joosuk; Woo, Swengwoong [Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2013-10-15

In this study, therefore, the applicability of gap conductance approach on the mid-burnup fuel in LOCA analysis was estimated in terms of the comparison of PCT distribution method means the fuel rod uncertainty is taken into account by the combination of overall uncertainty parameters of fuel rod altogether by use of a simple random sampling(SRS) technique. There are many uncertainty parameters of fuel rod that can change the PCT during LOCA analysis, and these have been identified by the authors' previous work already. But, for the 'best-estimate' LOCA safety analysis the methodology that dose not use the overall uncertainty parameters altogether but used the gap conductance uncertainty alone has been developed to simulate the overall fuel rod uncertainty, because it can represent many uncertainty parameters. Based on this approach, uncertainty range of gap conductance was prescribed as 0.67∼1.5 in audit calculation methodology on LBLOCA analysis. This uncertainty was derived from experimental data of fresh or low burnup fuel. Meanwhile, recent research work identify that the currently utilized uncertainty range seems to be not enough to encompass the uncertainty of mid-burnup fuel. Instead it has to be changed to 0.5∼2.4 for the mid-burnup fuel(30 MWd/kgU)

A study on the effect of the CHF correlations to the LOCA analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Ho Kee

1998-02-01

The critical heat flux (CHF) is a major parameter which determines the cooling performance and therefore the prediction of CHF is of importance for the design and safety analysis in boiling systems; such as nuclear reactors, conventional boilers, and other various two-phase flow systems. Until now, many CHF correlations have been developed and for the actual design a correlation has been selected in consideration of its characteristics. For the analysis of Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA) in a Nuclear Power Plant, which shows the drastic parameters change during the system transient, a correlation having a reasonable degree of accuracy over a wide range is preferred, rather than that having accuracy for a specific range. It is required to have tangible insight about the effects of the CHF correlation to the LOCA analysis for the purpose of computer code development and nuclear regulation. The related research is further recommended. The purpose of this research is to obtain an insight and/or intuition about the above effect and to evaluate the selected CHF correlations. To achieve these purposes LOCA is analysed for the UL-JIN 3 and 4 nuclear power plant, the Korea Standard Type Nuclear Power Plant and the Loss of Flow Test (LOFT) L2-5 experiment is simulated using the RELAP5/MOD3.1 computer code for each selected CHF correlation. The selected correlations are the AECL-UO Lookup Table, adapted in RELAP5 code; the K110 CHF correlation, developed by KAERI; and the original W-3 CHF correlation, developed by L.S. Tong. LOFT is also simulated using the AECL-UO Lookup Table having the CHF multiplication factors 0.5 and 1.5, and then compared with the result of the original Lookup Table and the experiment result. In the LOCA analysis, the CHF correlations affect the magnitude of peak cladding temperatures, but does not seriously affect the occurrence points of time. The effect of each CHF correlation to the fuel cladding temperature behavior becomes apparent at the end of

Hydrodynamics of AHWR gravity driven water pool under simulated LOCA conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thangamani, I.; Verma, Vishnu; Ali, Seik Mansoor

2015-01-01

The Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR) employs a double containment concept with a large inventory of water within the Gravity Driven Water Pool (GDWP) located at a high elevation within the primary containment building. GDWP performs several important safety functions in a passive manner, and hence it is essential to understand the hydrodynamics that this pool will be subjected to in case of an accident such as LOCA. In this paper, a detailed thermal hydraulic analysis for AHWR containment transients is presented for postulated LOCA scenarios involving RIH break sizes ranging from 2% to 50%. The analysis is carried out using in-house containment thermal hydraulics code 'CONTRAN'. The blowdown mass and energy discharge data for each break size, along with the geometrical details of the AHWR containment forms the main input for the analysis. Apart from obtaining the pressure and temperature transients within the containment building, the focus of this work is on simulating the hydrodynamic phenomena of vent clearing and pool swell occurring in the GDWP. The variation of several key parameters such as primary containment V1 and V2 volume pressure, temperature and V1-V2 differential pressure with time, BOP rupture time, vent clearing velocity, effect of pool swell on the V2 air-space pressure, GDWP water level etc. are discussed in detail and important findings are highlighted. Further, the effect of neglecting the pool swell phenomenon on the containment transients is also clearly brought out by a comparative study. The numerical studies presented in this paper give insight into containment transients that would be useful to both the system designer as well as the regulator. (author)

Simulation of LOCA and ageing effect with containment liner mockup for analysis of liner-concrete interaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wienand, B.; Fila, A.; Hermann, N.; Mueller, M.

2015-01-01

The investigation of the pre-stressed concrete wall behavior including the liner during LOCA conditions is important for the assessment of the structural integrity of the structure and the leak tightness of the liner. In the frame of the NUGENIA ACCEPPT project WP1 G4 'Structural interaction of liner with the concrete', a load test on a reactor containment liner mockup was carried out. The pre-stressed mockup represents a cylindrical part of the liner, embedded in the concrete wall, but without the wall curvature which is not test relevant. It correlates in material and geometrical properties to the EPR containment. The purpose of the test was to check the liners structural behavior and its integrity for Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA) load combination considering pre-stressing forces and ageing effects due to creep and shrinkage including liner buckling. The test was carried out at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in September 2013. This article presents the measurement technology, the results and the development of a calculation method for the embedded liner structure. It appears that the liner deformation results are exemplarily shown at the locations of the imperfections, where the liner buckling is anticipated. The measured liner surface strains ranged between +2 and -10 per thousand. The compressive strains are higher than the tensile strains due to the compressive membrane strains caused by pre-stressing and heating. Although the liner got plastic deformations, the liner strains are still far below the elongation at rupture, which indicates that the liner integrity is ensured. We can conclude that the liner mockup test proceeded as planned. The evaluation results show that the purpose of the liner mockup to simulate LOCA + ageing conditions and liner buckling has fully been achieved

RELAP5/SCDAPSIM model development for AP1000 and verification for large break LOCA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Trivedi, A.K. [Nuclear Engineering and Technology Program, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur 208016 (India); Allison, C. [Innovative Systems Software, Idaho Falls, ID 83406 (United States); Khanna, A., E-mail: akhanna@iitk.ac.in [Nuclear Engineering and Technology Program, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur 208016 (India); Munshi, P. [Nuclear Engineering and Technology Program, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur 208016 (India)

2016-08-15

Highlights: • RELAP5/SCDAPSIM model of AP1000 has been developed. • Analysis involves a LBLOCA (double ended guillotine break) study in cold leg. • Results are compared with those of WCOBRA–TRAC and TRACE. • Concluded that PCT does not violate the safety criteria of 1477 K. - Abstract: The AP1000 is a Westinghouse 2-loop pressurized water reactor (PWR) with all emergency core cooling systems based on natural circulation. Its core design is very similar to a 3-loop PWR with 157 fuel assemblies. Westinghouse has reported their results of the safety analysis in its design control document (DCD) for a large break loss of coolant accident (LOCA) using WCOBRA/TRAC and for a small break LOCA using NOTRUMP. The current study involves the development of a representative RELAP5/SCDASIM model for AP1000 based on publically available data and its verification for a double ended cold leg (DECL) break in one of the cold legs in the loop containing core makeup tanks (CMT). The calculated RELAP5/SCDAPSIM results have been compared to publically available WCOBRA–TRAC and TRACE results of DECL break in AP1000. The objective of this study is to benchmark thermal hydraulic model for later severe accident analyses using the 2D SCDAP fuel rod component in place of the RELAP5 heat structures which currently represent the fuel rods. Results from this comparison provides sufficient confidence in the model which will be used for further studies such as a station blackout. The primary circuit pumps, pressurizer and steam generators (including the necessary secondary side) are modeled using RELAP5 components following all the necessary recommendations for nodalization. The core has been divided into 6 radial rings and 10 axial nodes. For the RELAP5 thermal hydraulic calculation, the six groups of fuel assemblies have been modeled as pipe components with equivalent flow areas. The fuel including the gap and cladding is modeled as a 1d heat structure. The final input deck achieved

Loss of coolant accident mitigation for liquid metal cooled space reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Georgevich, Vladimir; Best, Frederick; Erdman, Carl

1989-01-01

A loss of coolant accident (LOCA) in a liquid metal-cooled space reactor system has been considered as a possible accident scenario. Development of new concepts that will prevent core damage by LOCA caused elevated temperatures is the primary motivation of this work. Decay heat generated by the fission products in the reactor core following shutdown is sufficiently high to melt the fuel unless energy can be removed from the pins at a sufficiently rapid rate. There are two major reasons that prevent utilization of traditional emergency cooling methods. One is the absence of gravity and the other is the vacuum condition outside the reactor vessel. A concept that overcomes both problems is the Saturated Wick Evaporation Method (SWEM). This method involves placing wicking structures at specific locations in the core to act as energy sinks. One of its properties is the isothermal behaviour of the liquid in the wick. The absorption of energy by the surface at the isothermal temperature will direct the energy into an evaporation process and not in sensible heat addition. The use of this concept enables establishment of isothermal positions within the core. A computer code that evaluates the temperature distribution of the core has been developed and the results show that this design will prevent fuel meltdown. (author)

Pressure behavior in nuclear reactor containment following a loss of coolant accident

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Khattab, M; Ibrahim, N A; Bedrose, C D [Reactors department, nuclear research center, atomic energy authority, Cairo, (Egypt)

1995-10-01

The scenarios of pressure variation following a loss of coolant accident (LOCA) inside the containment of pressurized water reactor (PWR) have been investigated. Critical mass flow rushing out from high pressure leg through pipe break is used to calculate the rate of coolant. The energy added to the containment atmosphere is determined to specify the rate of growth of pressure and temperature. The seniors of small, medium and large LOCA at 2%, 15%, and 25% flow released are investigated. Safety water spray system is initiated as the pressure reaches the containment design safety limit at about 3 bar to depressurise and to cooldown the system and thereby to reduce the concentration of radioactivity release in the containment atmosphere. The pressure response before and after operation of safety spray system is predicted in each size of LOCA using a typical design of westinghouse PWR system. The heat removal from the containment environment is rejected into the sump by drop-wise condensation mechanism. The effect of initial droplets diameters injected from the nozzles of the spray system is investigated. The results show that the droplet diameter of 3 mm gives best performance. 6 figs.

Pressure behavior in nuclear reactor containment following a loss of coolant accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khattab, M.; Ibrahim, N.A.; Bedrose, C.D.

1995-01-01

The scenarios of pressure variation following a loss of coolant accident (LOCA) inside the containment of pressurized water reactor (PWR) have been investigated. Critical mass flow rushing out from high pressure leg through pipe break is used to calculate the rate of coolant. The energy added to the containment atmosphere is determined to specify the rate of growth of pressure and temperature. The seniors of small, medium and large LOCA at 2%, 15%, and 25% flow released are investigated. Safety water spray system is initiated as the pressure reaches the containment design safety limit at about 3 bar to depressurise and to cooldown the system and thereby to reduce the concentration of radioactivity release in the containment atmosphere. The pressure response before and after operation of safety spray system is predicted in each size of LOCA using a typical design of westinghouse PWR system. The heat removal from the containment environment is rejected into the sump by drop-wise condensation mechanism. The effect of initial droplets diameters injected from the nozzles of the spray system is investigated. The results show that the droplet diameter of 3 mm gives best performance. 6 figs

Containment accident analysis using CONTEMPT4/M0D2 compared with experimental data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Metcalfe, L.J.; Hargroves, D.W.; Wells, R.A.

1978-01-01

CONTEMPT4/MOD2 is a new computer program developed to predict the long-term thermal hydraulic behavior of light-water reactor and experimental containment systems during postulated loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) conditions. Improvements over previous containment codes include multicompartment capability and ice condenser analytical models. A program description and comparisons of calculated results with experimental data are presented

Development and application of a deterministic-realistic hybrid methodology for LOCA licensing analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liang, Thomas K.S.; Chou, Ling-Yao; Zhang, Zhongwei; Hsueh, Hsiang-Yu; Lee, Min

2011-01-01

Highlights: → A new LOCA licensing methodology (DRHM, deterministic-realistic hybrid methodology) was developed. → DRHM involves conservative Appendix K physical models and statistical treatment of plant status uncertainties. → DRHM can generate 50-100 K PCT margin as compared to a traditional Appendix K methodology. - Abstract: It is well recognized that a realistic LOCA analysis with uncertainty quantification can generate greater safety margin as compared with classical conservative LOCA analysis using Appendix K evaluation models. The associated margin can be more than 200 K. To quantify uncertainty in BELOCA analysis, generally there are two kinds of uncertainties required to be identified and quantified, which involve model uncertainties and plant status uncertainties. Particularly, it will take huge effort to systematically quantify individual model uncertainty of a best estimate LOCA code, such as RELAP5 and TRAC. Instead of applying a full ranged BELOCA methodology to cover both model and plant status uncertainties, a deterministic-realistic hybrid methodology (DRHM) was developed to support LOCA licensing analysis. Regarding the DRHM methodology, Appendix K deterministic evaluation models are adopted to ensure model conservatism, while CSAU methodology is applied to quantify the effect of plant status uncertainty on PCT calculation. Generally, DRHM methodology can generate about 80-100 K margin on PCT as compared to Appendix K bounding state LOCA analysis.

A CANDU Severe Accident Analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Negut, Gheorghe; Catana, Alexandru; Prisecaru, Ilie

2006-01-01

As interest in severe accident studies has increased in the last years, we have developed a set of simple models to analyze severe accidents for CANDU reactors that should be integrated in the EU codes. The CANDU600 reactor uses natural uranium fuel and heavy water (D2O) as both moderator and coolant, with the moderator and coolant in separate systems. We chose to analyze accident development for a LOCA with simultaneous loss of moderator cooling and the loss of emergency core cooling system (ECCS). This type of accident is likely to modify the reactor geometry and will lead to a severe accident development. When the coolant temperatures inside a pressure tube reaches 10000 deg C, a contact between pressure tube and calandria tube occurs and the residual heat is transferred to the moderator. Due to the lack of cooling, the moderator eventually begins to boil and is expelled, through the calandria vessel relief ducts, into the containment. Therefore the calandria tubes (fuel channels) will be uncovered, then will disintegrate and fall down to the calandria vessel bottom. After all the quantity of moderator is vaporized and expelled, the debris will heat up and eventually boil. The heat accumulated in the molten debris will be transferred through the calandria vessel wall to the shield tank water, which normally surrounds the calandria vessel. The phenomena described above are modelled, analyzed and compared with the existing data. The results are encouraging. (authors)

Nonlinear dynamic response analysis in piping system for a loss of coolant accident in primary loop of pressurized water reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Xiwen; He Feng; Hao Pengfei; Wang Xuefang

2000-01-01

Based on the elaborate force and moment analysis with characteristics method and control-volume integrating method for the piping system of primary loop under pressurized water reactor' loss of coolant accident (LOCA) conditions, the nonlinear dynamic response of this system is calculated by the updated Lagrangian formulation (ADINA code). The piping system and virtual underpinning are specially processed, the move displacement of the broken pipe with time is accurately acquired, which is very important and useful for the design of piping system and virtual underpinning

An Overview of Westinghouse Realistic Large Break LOCA Evaluation Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cesare Frepoli

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Since the 1988 amendment of the 10 CFR 50.46 rule in 1988, Westinghouse has been developing and applying realistic or best-estimate methods to perform LOCA safety analyses. A realistic analysis requires the execution of various realistic LOCA transient simulations where the effect of both model and input uncertainties are ranged and propagated throughout the transients. The outcome is typically a range of results with associated probabilities. The thermal/hydraulic code is the engine of the methodology but a procedure is developed to assess the code and determine its biases and uncertainties. In addition, inputs to the simulation are also affected by uncertainty and these uncertainties are incorporated into the process. Several approaches have been proposed and applied in the industry in the framework of best-estimate methods. Most of the implementations, including Westinghouse, follow the Code Scaling, Applicability and Uncertainty (CSAU methodology. Westinghouse methodology is based on the use of the WCOBRA/TRAC thermal-hydraulic code. The paper starts with an overview of the regulations and its interpretation in the context of realistic analysis. The CSAU roadmap is reviewed in the context of its implementation in the Westinghouse evaluation model. An overview of the code (WCOBRA/TRAC and methodology is provided. Finally, the recent evolution to nonparametric statistics in the current edition of the W methodology is discussed. Sample results of a typical large break LOCA analysis for a PWR are provided.

Loss-of-Coolant and Loss-of-Flow Accidents in the SEAFP first wall/blanket cooling system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Komen, E.M.J.; Koning, H.

1995-01-01

This paper presents the RELAP5/MOD3 thermal-hydraulic analysis of three Loss-of-Coolant Accidents (LOCAs) and three Loss-of-Flow Accidents (LOFAs) in the first wall/blanket cooling system of the SEAFP reactor design. The analyses deal with the transient thermal-hydraulic behaviour inside the cooling systems and the temperature development inside the nuclear components. As it appears, the temperature increase in the first wall Be-coating is limited to 30 K when an emergency plasma shutdown is initiated within 10 s following pump trip. (orig.)

Loss-of-coolant and loss-of-flow accidents in the SEAFP first wall/blanket cooling system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Komen, E.M.J.; Koning, H.

1994-07-01

This paper presents the RELAP5/MOD3 thermal-hydraulic analysis of three Loss-of-Coolant Accidents (LOCAs) and three Loss-of-Flow Accidents (LOFAs) in the first wall/blanket cooling system of the SEAFP reactor design. The analyses deal with the transient thermal-hydraulic behaviour inside the cooling systems and the temperature development inside the nuclear components. As it appears, the temperature increase in the first wall Be-coating is limited to 30 K when an emergency plasma shutdown is initiated within 10 s following pump trip. (orig.)

Transient simulation of feedwater vaporization during a DBA LOP/LOCA using RELAP5/MOD3.1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harrell, J.R.; Fuller, R.W.

1996-01-01

The current design and testing requirements for the feedwater check valves (FWCVs) at the Grand Gulf Nuclear Station (GGNS) are established from original licensing requirements that necessitate extremely restrictive air testing with tight allowable leakage limits. As a direct result of these requirements, the original high endurance hard seats in the FWCVs were modified with elastomeric seals to provide a sealing surface capable of meeting the stringent air leakage limits. However, due to the relatively short functional life of the elastomeric seals compared to the hard seats, the overall reliability of the sealing function actually decreased. The original design and testing requirements were based on limited analysis and the belief that all of the high energy feedwater vaporized during the LOCA blowdown. These phenomena would have resulted in completely voided feedwater lines and thus a steam environment within the feedwater leak pathway. Given this condition, the appropriate testing criteria would be based on air with a relatively tight allowable limit. To challenge these criteria, a comprehensive design basis accident analysis was developed using the RELAP5/MOD3.1 thermal-hydraulic code. Realistic assumptions were used to more accurately model the post-accident fluid conditions within the feedwater system. The results of this analysis demonstrated that no leakage flow exists from the reactor vessel to the condenser through the feedwater piping during the reactor vessel blowdown phase. The analysis results also established more accurate allowable leakage limits, determined the real effective margins associated with the FWCV safety functions, and led to design changes that improved the overall functional performance of the valves

A Comparative analysis for control rod drop accident in WH and CE type

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Chang-Keun; Kim, Yo-Han; Ha, Jun-Sang

2008-01-01

In Korea, the nuclear industries such as fuel manufacturer, the architect engineer and the utility, have been using the methodologies and codes of vendors, such as Westinghouse(WH), Combustion Engineering, for the safety analyses of nuclear power plants. Consequently the industries have kept up the many organizations to operate the methodologies and to maintain the codes for each vendor. It may occur difficulty to improve the safety analyses efficiency and technology related. So, the necessity another of methodologies and code systems applicable to Non- LOCA, beyond design basis accident and performance analyses for all types of pressurized water reactor(PWR) has been raised. Due to the above reason, the Korea Electric Power Research Institute(KEPRI) had decided to develop the new safety analysis code system for Korea Standard Nuclear Power Plants in Korea. As the first requirement, the best-estimate codes were required for applicable wider application area and realistic behavior prediction of power plants with various and sophisticated functions. After the investigation for few candidates, RETRAN-3D has been chosen as a system analysis code. As a part of the feasibility estimation for the methodology and code system, CRD(Control Rod Drop) accident which an event of Non-LOCA accidents for Uljin units 3 and 4 and Yonggwang 1 and 2 was selected to verify the feasibility of the methodology using the RETRAN-3D. And the results were compared with those mentioned in the final safety analysis reports (FSARs) of the plants

Corrosion and solubility in a TSP-buffered chemical environment following a loss of coolant accident: Part 1 – Aluminum

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Howe, Kerry J., E-mail: howe@unm.edu [University of New Mexico, 210 University Blvd., Albuquerque, NM 87131 (United States); Mitchell, Lana, E-mail: lmitchell@alionscience.com [University of New Mexico, 210 University Blvd., Albuquerque, NM 87131 (United States); Kim, Seung-Jun, E-mail: skim@lanl.gov [University of New Mexico, 210 University Blvd., Albuquerque, NM 87131 (United States); Blandford, Edward D., E-mail: edb@unm.edu [University of New Mexico, 210 University Blvd., Albuquerque, NM 87131 (United States); Kee, Ernest J., E-mail: erniekee@gmail.com [South Texas Project Nuclear Operating Company, P.O. Box 270, Wadsworth, TX 77483 (United States)

2015-10-15

Highlights: • Trisodium phosphate (TSP) causes aluminum corrosion to cease after 24 h of exposure. • Chloride, iron, and copper have a minimal effect on the rate of aluminum corrosion when TSP is present. • Zinc can reduce the rate of aluminum corrosion when TSP is present. • Aluminum occasionally precipitates at concentrations lower than the calculated solubility for Al(OH){sub 3}. • Corrosion and solubility equations can be used to calculate the solids generated during a LOCA. - Abstract: Bench experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of the presence of trisodium phosphate (TSP) on the corrosion and release of aluminum from metallic aluminum surfaces under conditions representative of the containment pool following a postulated loss of coolant accident at a nuclear power generating facility. The experiments showed that TSP is capable of passivating the aluminum surface and preventing continued corrosion after about 24 h at the conditions tested. A correlation that describes the rate of corrosion including the passivation effect was developed from the bench experiments and validated with a separate set of experiments from a different test system. The saturation concentration of aluminum was shown to be well described by the solubility of amorphous aluminum hydroxide for the majority of cases, but instances have been observed when aluminum precipitates at concentrations lower than the calculated aluminum hydroxide solubility. Based on the experimental data and previous literature, an equation was developed to calculate the saturation concentration of aluminum as a function of pH and temperature under conditions representative of a loss of coolant accident (LOCA) in a TSP-buffered pressurized water reactor (PWR) containment. The corrosion equation and precipitation equation can be used in concert with each other to calculate the quantity of solids that would form as a function of time during a LOCA if the temperature and pH profiles were known.

Corrosion and solubility in a TSP-buffered chemical environment following a loss of coolant accident: Part 1 – Aluminum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Howe, Kerry J.; Mitchell, Lana; Kim, Seung-Jun; Blandford, Edward D.; Kee, Ernest J.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Trisodium phosphate (TSP) causes aluminum corrosion to cease after 24 h of exposure. • Chloride, iron, and copper have a minimal effect on the rate of aluminum corrosion when TSP is present. • Zinc can reduce the rate of aluminum corrosion when TSP is present. • Aluminum occasionally precipitates at concentrations lower than the calculated solubility for Al(OH) 3 . • Corrosion and solubility equations can be used to calculate the solids generated during a LOCA. - Abstract: Bench experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of the presence of trisodium phosphate (TSP) on the corrosion and release of aluminum from metallic aluminum surfaces under conditions representative of the containment pool following a postulated loss of coolant accident at a nuclear power generating facility. The experiments showed that TSP is capable of passivating the aluminum surface and preventing continued corrosion after about 24 h at the conditions tested. A correlation that describes the rate of corrosion including the passivation effect was developed from the bench experiments and validated with a separate set of experiments from a different test system. The saturation concentration of aluminum was shown to be well described by the solubility of amorphous aluminum hydroxide for the majority of cases, but instances have been observed when aluminum precipitates at concentrations lower than the calculated aluminum hydroxide solubility. Based on the experimental data and previous literature, an equation was developed to calculate the saturation concentration of aluminum as a function of pH and temperature under conditions representative of a loss of coolant accident (LOCA) in a TSP-buffered pressurized water reactor (PWR) containment. The corrosion equation and precipitation equation can be used in concert with each other to calculate the quantity of solids that would form as a function of time during a LOCA if the temperature and pH profiles were known

Proceedings of the joint CSNI/CNRA workshop on redefining the large break LOCA: technical basis and its implications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2003-01-01

viewpoints and experiences of the largest utility. The presentation summarized the experi ence data for known degradation mechanisms. The EDF presentation also covered leak before-break concept which is one of the integral elements (along with the in-service inspections and leak detection) in redefining the LB LOCA. The SKI presentation discussed the experience with the degradation specific in-service inspection programs. The presentation also covered a number of efforts that are currently underway to develop risk-informed ISI program. It should be recognized that any risk informed approach to in-service inspection programs must be based on an extensive experience, which at present will probably not cover every possible degradation mechanism. The Framatome presentation described the standardize criteria, methods, and procedures for assuring the design and operational adequacy of reactor coolant pressure boundary leak detection systems used in plants. The presentation also covered a new system based on the measurements of local humidity. 3. What are possible new definitions for the LB-LOCA? What are their implications for current and future reactors? Two papers were presented which highlighted different approaches to incorporating a change in the LB-LOCA definition into a plant. The first paper, 'Slovak approach during the gradual upgrading of Bohunice V 1', by Mr Kliment, described a programme of back fits to an operating plant, to increase the DBA LB-LOCA from 32 mm equivalent to 200 mm. The second paper, 'Westinghouse Owner's Group Large Break Loca Redefinition Program', presented by Mr Bastien, described the simplifications of design and operation that would be achieved if the DBA LB-LOCA were (significantly) reduced in size

Transient Analysis for Evaluating the Potential Boiling in the High Elevation Emergency Cooling Units of PWR Following a Hypothetical Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA) and Subsequent Water Hammer Due to Pump Restart

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Husaini, S. Mahmood; Qashu, Riyad K.

2004-01-01

The Generic Letter GL-96-06 issued by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) required the utilities to evaluate the potential for voiding in their Containment Emergency Cooling Units (ECUs) due to a hypothetical Loss Of Coolant Accident (LOCA) or a Main Steam Line Break (MSLB) accompanied by the Loss Of Offsite Power (LOOP). When the offsite power is restored, the Component Cooling Water (CCW) pumps restart causing water hammer to occur due to cavity closure. Recently EPRI (Electric Power Research Institute) performed a research study that recommended a methodology to mitigate the water hammer due to cavity closure. The EPRI methodology allows for the cushioning effects of hot steam and released air, which is not considered in the conventional water column separation analysis. The EPRI study was limited in scope to the evaluation of water hammer only and did not provide any guidance for evaluating the occurrence of boiling and the extent of voiding in the ECU piping. This paper presents a complete methodology based on first principles to evaluate the onset of boiling. Also, presented is a methodology for evaluating the extent of voiding and the water hammer resulting from cavity closure by using an existing generalized computer program that is based on the Method of Characteristics. The EPRI methodology is then used to mitigate the predicted water hammer. Thus it overcomes the inherent complications and difficulties involved in performing hand calculations for water hammer. The heat transfer analysis provides an alternative to the use of very cumbersome modeling in using CFD (computational fluid dynamics) based computer programs. (authors)

Cladding embrittlement during postulated loss-of-coolant accidents.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Billone, M.; Yan, Y.; Burtseva, T.; Daum, R.; Nuclear Engineering Division

2008-07-31

The effect of fuel burnup on the embrittlement of various cladding alloys was examined with laboratory tests conducted under conditions relevant to loss-of-coolant accidents (LOCAs). The cladding materials tested were Zircaloy-4, Zircaloy-2, ZIRLO, M5, and E110. Tests were performed with specimens sectioned from as-fabricated cladding, from prehydrided (surrogate for high-burnup) cladding, and from high-burnup fuel rods which had been irradiated in commercial reactors. The tests were designed to determine for each cladding material the ductile-to-brittle transition as a function of steam oxidation temperature, weight gain due to oxidation, hydrogen content, pre-transient cladding thickness, and pre-transient corrosion-layer thickness. For short, defueled cladding specimens oxidized at 1000-1200 C, ring compression tests were performed to determine post-quench ductility at {le} 135 C. The effect of breakaway oxidation on embrittlement was also examined for short specimens oxidized at 800-1000 C. Among other findings, embrittlement was found to be sensitive to fabrication processes--especially surface finish--but insensitive to alloy constituents for these dilute zirconium alloys used as cladding materials. It was also demonstrated that burnup effects on embrittlement are largely due to hydrogen that is absorbed in the cladding during normal operation. Some tests were also performed with longer, fueled-and-pressurized cladding segments subjected to LOCA-relevant heating and cooling rates. Recommendations are given for types of tests that would identify LOCA conditions under which embrittlement would occur.

Estimation of break location and size for loss of coolant accidents using neural networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Na, Man Gyun; Shin, Sun Ho; Jung, Dong Won; Kim, Soong Pyung; Jeong, Ji Hwan; Lee, Byung Chul

2004-01-01

In this work, a probabilistic neural network (PNN) that has been applied well to the classification problems is used in order to identify the break locations of loss of coolant accidents (LOCA) such as hot-leg, cold-leg and steam generator tubes. Also, a fuzzy neural network (FNN) is designed to estimate the break size. The inputs to PNN and FNN are time-integrated values obtained by integrating measurement signals during a short time interval after reactor scram. An automatic structure constructor for the fuzzy neural network automatically selects the input variables from the time-integrated values of many measured signals, and optimizes the number of rules and its related parameters. It is verified that the proposed algorithm identifies very well the break locations of LOCAs and also, estimate their break size accurately

Analysis of VVER-1000 large and small break LOCA experiments with RELAP5/MOD3.2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rychkov, M.; Chikkanagoudar, U.; Sehgal, B.R.

2004-01-01

A RELAP5 model for the analysis of the PSB-VVER test facility was developed by EREC in Russia. The PSB-VVER is a large-scale integral test facility to model the VVER-1000 type NPP. The volume and power scale in this test facility is 1:300 and the elevation scale is 1:1, which corresponds to the elevation mark of the reactor prototype. At the Division of Nuclear Safety, we have modified the PSB-VVER facility's RELAP5 model in order to analyze two of the transient tests performed on the PSB-VVER facility, which serve as the validation matrix described by NEA/CSNI. The objective of the work conducted was to validate the results obtained from RELAP5's calculation with the supplied experimental data from the PSB-VVER test facility. Two accident scenarios have been calculated and analyzed. After being verified against the '11% UP LOCA' test data, the RELAP5/MOD3.2 model was used for a so-called 'blind' transient calculation of the test '2*25% HL LOCA' and the results obtained were compared with the experimental data provided after the calculation. From the results of the qualitative and quantitative comparison of the 2 test calculations and the experimental data, we can state that the RELAP5/MOD3.2 code gives a satisfactory modeling of the PSB-VVER facility' thermal hydraulic phenomena

Thermal Hydraulic design parameters study for severe accidents using neural networks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Roh, Chang Hyun; Chang, Soon Heung [Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Taejon (Korea, Republic of); Chang, Keun Sun [Sunmoon University, Asan (Korea, Republic of)

1998-12-31

To provide the information on severe accident progression is very important for advanced or new type of nuclear power plant (NPP) design. A parametric study, therefore, was performed to investigate the effect of thermal hydraulic design parameters on severe accident progression of pressurized water reactors (PWRs). Nine parameters, which are considered important in NPP design or severe accident progression, were selected among the various thermal hydraulic design parameters. The backpropagation neural network (BPN) was used to determine parameters, which might more strongly affect the severe accident progression, among nine parameters. For training, different input patterns were generated by the latin hypercube sampling (LHS) technique and then different target patterns that contain core uncovery time and vessel failure time were obtained for Young Gwang Nuclear (YGN) Units 3 and 4 using modular accident analysis program (MAAP) 3.0B code. Three different severe accident scenarios, such as two loss of coolant accidents (LOCAs) and station blackout (SBO), were considered in this analysis. Results indicated that design parameters related to refueling water storage tank (RWST), accumulator and steam generator (S/G) have more dominant effects on the progression of severe accidents investigated, compared to the other six parameters. 9 refs., 5 tabs. (Author)

Thermal Hydraulic design parameters study for severe accidents using neural networks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Roh, Chang Hyun; Chang, Soon Heung [Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Taejon (Korea, Republic of); Chang, Keun Sun [Sunmoon University, Asan (Korea, Republic of)

1997-12-31

To provide the information on severe accident progression is very important for advanced or new type of nuclear power plant (NPP) design. A parametric study, therefore, was performed to investigate the effect of thermal hydraulic design parameters on severe accident progression of pressurized water reactors (PWRs). Nine parameters, which are considered important in NPP design or severe accident progression, were selected among the various thermal hydraulic design parameters. The backpropagation neural network (BPN) was used to determine parameters, which might more strongly affect the severe accident progression, among nine parameters. For training, different input patterns were generated by the latin hypercube sampling (LHS) technique and then different target patterns that contain core uncovery time and vessel failure time were obtained for Young Gwang Nuclear (YGN) Units 3 and 4 using modular accident analysis program (MAAP) 3.0B code. Three different severe accident scenarios, such as two loss of coolant accidents (LOCAs) and station blackout (SBO), were considered in this analysis. Results indicated that design parameters related to refueling water storage tank (RWST), accumulator and steam generator (S/G) have more dominant effects on the progression of severe accidents investigated, compared to the other six parameters. 9 refs., 5 tabs. (Author)

Ethylene propylene cable degradation during LOCA research tests: tensile properties at the completion of accelerated aging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bustard, L.D.

1982-05-01

Six ethylene-propylene rubber (EPR) insulation materials were aged at elevated temperature and radiation stress exposures common in cable LOCA qualification tests. Material samples were subjected to various simultaneous and sequential aging simulations in preparation for accident environmental exposures. Tensile properties subsequent to the aging exposure sequences are reported. The tensile properties of some, but not all, specimens were sensitive to the order of radiation and elevated temperature stress exposure. Other specimens showed more severe degradation when simultaneously exposed to radiation and elevated temperature as opposed to the sequential exposure to the same stresses. Results illustrate the difficulty in defining a single test procedure for nuclear safety-related qualification of EPR elastomers. A common worst-case sequential aging sequence could not be identified

Development of Highly Survivable Power and Communication System for NPP Instruments under Severe Accident

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yoo, Seung J.; Gu, Beom W.; Nguyen, Duy T.; Choi, Bo H.; Rim, Chun T. [KAIST, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Lee, So I. [KHNP CRI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2014-10-15

According to the detail report from the Fukushima nuclear accident, the failure of conventional instruments is mainly due to the following reasons. 1) Insufficient backup battery capacity after the station black out (SBO) 2) The malfunction or damage of instruments due to the extremely harsh ambient condition after the severe accident 3) The cut-off of power and communication cable due to the physical shocks of hydrogen explosion after the severe accident Since the current equipment qualification (EQ) for the NPP instruments is based on the design basis accident such as loss of coolant accident (LOCA), conventional instruments, which are examined under EQ condition, cannot guarantee their normal operation during the severe accident. A 7m-long-distance wireless power transfer and a radio frequency (RF) communication were introduced with conventional wired system to increase a redundancy. A heat isolation box and a harness are adopted to provide a protection from the expected physical shocks such as missiles and drastic increase of ambient temperature and pressure. A detail design principle of the highly survivable power and communication system, which has 4 sub-systems of a DCRS wireless power transfer, a Zigbee wireless communication, a GFRP harness, and a passive type router with a fly back regulator, has been presented in this paper. Each sub-system has been designed to have a robust operation characteristic regardless of the estimated physical shocks after the severe accident.

Development of Highly Survivable Power and Communication System for NPP Instruments under Severe Accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoo, Seung J.; Gu, Beom W.; Nguyen, Duy T.; Choi, Bo H.; Rim, Chun T.; Lee, So I.

2014-01-01

According to the detail report from the Fukushima nuclear accident, the failure of conventional instruments is mainly due to the following reasons. 1) Insufficient backup battery capacity after the station black out (SBO) 2) The malfunction or damage of instruments due to the extremely harsh ambient condition after the severe accident 3) The cut-off of power and communication cable due to the physical shocks of hydrogen explosion after the severe accident Since the current equipment qualification (EQ) for the NPP instruments is based on the design basis accident such as loss of coolant accident (LOCA), conventional instruments, which are examined under EQ condition, cannot guarantee their normal operation during the severe accident. A 7m-long-distance wireless power transfer and a radio frequency (RF) communication were introduced with conventional wired system to increase a redundancy. A heat isolation box and a harness are adopted to provide a protection from the expected physical shocks such as missiles and drastic increase of ambient temperature and pressure. A detail design principle of the highly survivable power and communication system, which has 4 sub-systems of a DCRS wireless power transfer, a Zigbee wireless communication, a GFRP harness, and a passive type router with a fly back regulator, has been presented in this paper. Each sub-system has been designed to have a robust operation characteristic regardless of the estimated physical shocks after the severe accident

The Application of Best Estimate and Uncertainty Analysis Methodology to Large LOCA Power Pulse in a CANDU 6 Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abdul-Razzak, A.; Zhang, J.; Sills, H.E.; Flatt, L.; Jenkins, D.; Wallace, D.J.; Popov, N.

2002-01-01

The paper describes briefly a best estimate plus uncertainty analysis (BE+UA) methodology and presents its proto-typing application to the power pulse phase of a limiting large Loss-of-Coolant Accident (LOCA) for a CANDU 6 reactor fuelled with CANFLEX R fuel. The methodology is consistent with and builds on world practice. The analysis is divided into two phases to focus on the dominant parameters for each phase and to allow for the consideration of all identified highly ranked parameters in the statistical analysis and response surface fits for margin parameters. The objective of this analysis is to quantify improvements in predicted safety margins under best estimate conditions. (authors)

Theoretical analysis of the temperature changes and resultant loss of fuel integrity in the IEA-R1 research reactor fuel elements following a loss of coalant accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garone, J.G.M.

1983-01-01

The IEA-R1 core following a loss of coolant accident (LOCA) is analysed. THe AIRLOCA code was used to calculate fuel temperatures, heat generation due to fission product decay and convective and radiative heat transfer from the fuel elements to the surrounding air both during and following the loss of coolant. The influence of certain critical parameters, such as log time, specific power was studied in detail. Representative results are presented and suggestions made to ensure that fuel integrity is maintained following a LOCA. (Author) [pt

A Review of Dangerous Dust in Fusion Reactors: from Its Creation to Its Resuspension in Case of LOCA and LOVA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrea Malizia

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The choice of materials for the future nuclear fusion reactors is a crucial issue. In the fusion reactors, the combination of very high temperatures, high radiation levels, intense production of transmuting elements and high thermomechanical loads requires very high-performance materials. Erosion of PFCs (Plasma Facing Components determines their lifetime and generates a source of impurities (i.e., in-vessel tritium and dust inventories, which cool down and dilute the plasma. The resuspension of dust could be a consequences of LOss of Coolant Accidents (LOCA and LOss of Vacuum Accidents (LOVA and it can be dangerous because of dust radioactivity, toxicity, and capable of causing an explosion. These characteristics can jeopardize the plant safety and pose a serious threat to the operators. The purpose of this work is to determine the experimental and numerical steeps to develop a numerical model to predict the dust resuspension consequences in case of accidents through a comparison between the experimental results taken from campaigns carried out with STARDUST-U and the numerical simulation developed with CFD codes. The authors in this work will analyze the candidate materials for the future nuclear plants and the consequences of the resuspension of its dust in case of accidents through the experience with STARDUST-U.

Application of realistic (best- estimate) methodologies for large break loss of coolant (LOCA) safety analysis: licensing of Westinghouse ASTRUM evaluation model in Spain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lage, Carlos; Frepoli, Cesare

2010-01-01

When the LOCA Final Acceptance Criteria for Light Water Reactors was issued in Appendix K of 10CFR50 both the USNRC and the industry recognized that the rule was highly conservative. At that time, however, the degree of conservatism in the analysis could not be quantified. As a result, the USNRC began a research program to identify the degree of conservatism in those models permitted in the Appendix K rule and to develop improved thermal-hydraulic computer codes so that realistic accident analysis calculations could be performed. The overall results of this research program quantified the conservatism in the Appendix K rule and confirmed that some relaxation of the rule can be made without a loss in safety to the public. Also, from a risk-informed perspective it is recognized that conservatism is not always a complete defense for lack of sophistication in models. In 1988, as a result of the improved understanding of LOCA phenomena, the USNRC staff amended the requirements of 10 CFR 50.46 and Appendix K, 'ECCS Evaluation Models', so that a realistic evaluation model may be used to analyze the performance of the ECCS during a hypothetical LOCA. Under the amended rules, best-estimate plus uncertainty (BEPU) thermal-hydraulic analysis may be used in place of the overly prescriptive set of models mandated by Appendix K rule. Further guidance for the use of best-estimate codes was provided in Regulatory Guide 1.157 To demonstrate use of the revised ECCS rule, the USNRC and its consultants developed a method called the Code Scaling, Applicability, and Uncertainty (CSAU) evaluation methodology as an approach for defining and qualifying a best-estimate thermal-hydraulic code and quantifying the uncertainties in a LOCA analysis. More recently the CSAU principles have been generalized in the Evaluation Model Development and Assessment Process (EMDAP) of Regulatory Guide 1.203. ASTRUM is the Westinghouse Best Estimate Large Break LOCA evaluation model applicable to two-, three

PWR pressure vessel integrity during overcooling accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheverton, R.D.

1981-01-01

Pressurized water reactors are susceptible to certain types of hypothetical accidents that under some circumstances, including operation of the reactor beyond a critical time in its life, could result in failure of the pressure vessel as a result of propagation of crack-like defects in the vessel wall. The accidents of concern are those that result in thermal shock to the vessel while the vessel is subjected to internal pressure. Such accidents, referred to as pressurized thermal shock or overcooling accidents (OCA), include a steamline break, small-break LOCA, turbine trip followed by stuck-open bypass valves, the 1978 Rancho Seco and the TMI accidents and many other postulated and actual accidents. The source of cold water for the thermal shock is either emergency core coolant or the normal primary-system coolant. ORNL performed fracture-mechanics calculations for a steamline break in 1978 and for a turbine-trip case in 1980 and concluded on the basis of the results that many more such calculations would be required. To meet the expected demand in a realistic way a computer code, OCA-I, was developed that accepts primary-system temperature and pressure transients as input and then performs one-dimensional thermal and stress analyses for the wall and a corresponding fracture-mechanics analysis for a long axial flaw. The code is briefly described, and its use in both generic and specific plant analyses is discussed

Upper plenum break LOCA investigation in the ISB-VVER and PSB-VVER facilities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Blinkov, V. N.; Melikhov, O. I.; Lipatov, I. A.; Nikonov, S. M.; Dremin, G. I.; Galchanskaya, S. A.; Gashenko, M. P.; Rovnov, A. A.; Kapustin, A. V.; Elkin, I. V. [EREC, Moscow (Russian Federation)

2003-07-01

The capability to define the actual NPP transient/accident scenario depends to a great extent on facilities' scaling and reliability of the system thermalhydraulic codes which, in turn, are assessed against the experimental data taken in the same facilities. At the present time, it is received fact that the rigorous modeling of the cumulative set of all thermalhydraulic processes in the plant primary and secondary sides during accident is unfeasible. Therefore, the extrapolation of the facilities loops behavior to the actual systems constitutes a fundamental problem in this area. In the paper, some aspects for the problem have been discussed in the course of comparative analysis of the data derived from the 11 % upper plenum break LOCA tests performed in the PSB-VVER and ISB-VVER integral test facilities under the close scenarios. Both facilities, PSB-VVER and ISB-VVER, are modeled the same VVER-1000 reactor in different scales. The thermalhydraulic behavior of the primary systems in both facilities has been discussed in the paper, and shown to be similar. Also, the attention has been focused upon the discrepancies in the significant variables trends. The discrepancies are shown to be caused by influence of peculiarities of the facilities hardware and due to the scale factor. The scaling study is an important aspect of the thermalhydraulic codes verification procedure. Being qualified against the experimentally simulated accident sequence in two test facilities of different scales, the thermalhydraulic codes will be capable of evaluation of the prototype behavior to greater accuracy.

Fan Cooler Operation in Kori 1 for Mitigating Severe Accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suh, Nam Duk; Park, Jae Hong

2005-01-01

The Korea Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) issued the 'Policy on Severe Accident of Nuclear Power Plants' in August 2001. According to the policy it was required for the licensee to develop a plant specific severe accident management guideline (SAMG) and to implement it. Thus the utility has made an implementation plan to develop SAMGs for operating plants. The SAMG for Kori unit 1 was submitted to the government on January 2004. Since then, the government trusted KINS to review the submitted SAMG in view of its feasibility and effectiveness. The first principle of the developed SAMG is to use only the available facilities as it is without introducing any system change. Because Kori-1 has no mitigative facility against combustible gases during severe accident, it relies heavily both on spray and on fan cooler systems to control the containment condition. Thus one of the issues raised during the review is to know whether the fan coolers which are designed for DBA LOCA can be effective in mitigating the severe accident conditions. This paper presents an analysis result of fan cooler operation in controlling the containment condition during severe accident of Kori 1

LOFT/L3-, Loss of Fluid Test, 7. NRC L3 Small Break LOCA Experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-01-01

1 - Description of test facility: The LOFT Integral Test Facility is a scale model of a LPWR. The intent of the facility is to model the nuclear, thermal-hydraulic phenomena which would take place in a LPWR during a LOCA. The general philosophy in scaling coolant volumes and flow areas in LOFT was to use the ratio of the LOFT core [50 MW(t)] to a typical LPWR core [3000 MW(t)]. For some components, this factor is not applied; however, it is used as extensively as practical. In general, components used in LOFT are similar in design to those of a LPWR. Because of scaling and component design, the LOFT LOCA is expected to closely model a LPWR LOCA. 2 - Description of test: This was the seventh in the NRC L3 Series of small-break LOCA experiments. A 2.5-cm (10-in.) cold-leg non-communicative-break LOCA was simulated. The experiment was conducted on 20 June 1980

Pressure vessel fracture studies pertaining to a PWR LOCA-ECC thermal shock: experiments TSE-1 and TSE-2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheverton, R.D.

1976-09-01

The LOCA-ECC Thermal Shock Program was established to investigate the potential for flaw propagation in pressurized-water reactor (PWR) vessels during injection of emergency core coolant following a loss-of-coolant accident. Studies thus far have included fracture mechanics analyses of typical PWRs, the design and construction of a thermal shock test facility, determination of material properties for test specimens, and two thermal shock experiments with 0.53-m-OD (21-in.) by 0.15-m-wall (6-in.) cylindrical test specimens. The PWR calculations indicated that under some circumstances crack propagation could be expected and that experiments should be conducted for cracks that would have the potential for propagation at least halfway through the wall

Public Response to a Near-Miss Nuclear Accident Scenario Varying in Causal Attributions and Outcome Uncertainty.

Science.gov (United States)

Cui, Jinshu; Rosoff, Heather; John, Richard S

2018-05-01

Many studies have investigated public reactions to nuclear accidents. However, few studies focused on more common events when a serious accident could have happened but did not. This study evaluated public response (emotional, cognitive, and behavioral) over three phases of a near-miss nuclear accident. Simulating a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) scenario, we manipulated (1) attribution for the initial cause of the incident (software failure vs. cyber terrorist attack vs. earthquake), (2) attribution for halting the incident (fail-safe system design vs. an intervention by an individual expert vs. a chance coincidence), and (3) level of uncertainty (certain vs. uncertain) about risk of a future radiation leak after the LOCA is halted. A total of 773 respondents were sampled using a 3 × 3 × 2 between-subjects design. Results from both MANCOVA and structural equation modeling (SEM) indicate that respondents experienced more negative affect, perceived more risk, and expressed more avoidance behavioral intention when the near-miss event was initiated by an external attributed source (e.g., earthquake) compared to an internally attributed source (e.g., software failure). Similarly, respondents also indicated greater negative affect, perceived risk, and avoidance behavioral intentions when the future impact of the near-miss incident on people and the environment remained uncertain. Results from SEM analyses also suggested that negative affect predicted risk perception, and both predicted avoidance behavior. Affect, risk perception, and avoidance behavior demonstrated high stability (i.e., reliability) from one phase to the next. © 2017 Society for Risk Analysis.

Analysis of loss-of-coolant accidents in pressurized water reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moldaschl, H.

1982-01-01

Analysis of loss-of-coolant accidents in pressurized water reactors -Quantification of the influence of leak size, control assembly worth, boron concentration and initial power by a dynamic operations criterion. Neutronic and thermohydraulic behaviour of a pressurized water reactor during a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) is mainly influenced by -change of fuel temperature, -void in the primary coolant. They cause a local stabilization of power density, that means that also in the case of small leaks local void is the main stabilization effect. As a consequence the increase of fuel temperature remains very small even under extremely hypothetical assumptions: small leak, positive reactivity feedback (positive coolant temperature coefficient, negative density coefficient) at the beginning of the accident and all control assemblies getting stuck. Restrictions which have been valid up to now for permitted start-up conditions to fulfill inherent safety requirements can be lossened substantially by a dynamic operations criterion. Burnable poisons for compensation of reactivity theorefore can be omitted. (orig.)

Modeling in fast dynamics of accidents in the primary circuit of PWR type reactors; Modelisation en dynamique rapide d'accidents dans le circuit primaire des reacteurs a eau pressurisee

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Robbe, M.F

2003-12-01

Two kinds of accidents, liable to occur in the primary circuit of a Pressurized Water Reactor and involving fast dynamic phenomena, are analyzed. The Loss Of Coolant Accident (LOCA) is the accident used to define the current PWR. It consists in a large-size break located in a pipe of the primary circuit. A blowdown wave propagates through the circuit. The pressure differences between the different zones of the reactor induce high stresses in the structures of the lower head and may degrade the reactor core. The primary circuit starts emptying from the break opening. Pressure decreases very quickly, involving a large steaming. Two thermal-hydraulic simulations of the blowdown phase of a LOCA are computed with the Europlexus code. The primary circuit is represented by a pipe-model including the hydraulic peculiarities of the circuit. The main differences between both computations concern the kind of reactor, the break location and model, and the initialization of the accidental operation. Steam explosion is a hypothetical severe accident liable to happen after a core melting. The molten part of the core (called corium) falls in the lower part of the reactor. The interaction between the hot corium and the cold water remaining at the bottom of the vessel induces a massive and violent vaporization of water, similar to an explosive phenomenon. A shock wave propagates in the vessel. what can damage seriously the neighbouring structures or drill the vessel. This work presents a synthesis of in-vessel parametrical studies carried out with the Europlexus code, the linkage of the thermal-hydraulic code Mc3d dedicated to the pre-mixing phase with the Europlexus code dealing with the explosion, and finally a benchmark between the Cigalon and Europlexus codes relative to the Vulcano mock-up. (author)

Development and Assessment of CFD Models Including a Supplemental Program Code for Analyzing Buoyancy-Driven Flows Through BWR Fuel Assemblies in SFP Complete LOCA Scenarios

Science.gov (United States)

Artnak, Edward Joseph, III

This work seeks to illustrate the potential benefits afforded by implementing aspects of fluid dynamics, especially the latest computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling approach, through numerical experimentation and the traditional discipline of physical experimentation to improve the calibration of the severe reactor accident analysis code, MELCOR, in one of several spent fuel pool (SFP) complete loss-ofcoolant accident (LOCA) scenarios. While the scope of experimental work performed by Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) extends well beyond that which is reasonably addressed by our allotted resources and computational time in accordance with initial project allocations to complete the report, these simulated case trials produced a significant array of supplementary high-fidelity solutions and hydraulic flow-field data in support of SNL research objectives. Results contained herein show FLUENT CFD model representations of a 9x9 BWR fuel assembly in conditions corresponding to a complete loss-of-coolant accident scenario. In addition to the CFD model developments, a MATLAB based controlvolume model was constructed to independently assess the 9x9 BWR fuel assembly under similar accident scenarios. The data produced from this work show that FLUENT CFD models are capable of resolving complex flow fields within a BWR fuel assembly in the realm of buoyancy-induced mass flow rates and that characteristic hydraulic parameters from such CFD simulations (or physical experiments) are reasonably employed in corresponding constitutive correlations for developing simplified numerical models of comparable solution accuracy.

ROSA-V/LSTF vessel top head LOCA tests SB-PV-07 and SB-PV-08 with break sizes of 1.0 and 0.1% and operator recovery actions for core cooling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzuki, Mitsuhiro; Takeda, Takeshi; Nakamura, Hideo

2010-02-01

A series of break size parameter tests (SB-PV-07 and SB-PV-08) were conducted at the Large Scale Test Facility (LSTF) of ROSA-V Program by simulating a vessel top small break loss-of-coolant accident (SBLOCA) at a pressurized water reactor (PWR). Typical phenomena to the vessel top break LOCA and effectiveness of operator recovery actions on core cooling were studied under an assumption of total failure of high pressure injection (HPI) system. The LSTF simulates a 4-loop 3423 MWt PWR by a full-height, full-pressure and 1/48 volume scaling two-loop system. Typical phenomena of vessel top break LOCA are clarified for the cases with break sizes of 1.0 and 0.1% cold leg break equivalent. The results from a 0.5% top break LOCA test (SB-PV-02) in the early ROSA-IV Program was referred during discussion. Operator actions of HPI recovery in the 1.0% top break test and steam generator (SG) depressurization in the 0.1% top break test were initiated when temperature at core exit thermocouple (CET) reached 623 K during core boil-off. Both operator actions resulted in immediate recovery of core cooling. Based on the obtained data, several thermal-hydraulic phenomena were discussed further such as relations between vessel top head water level and steam discharge at the break, and between coolant mass inventory transient and core heat-up and quench behavior, and CET performances to detect core heat-up under influences of three-dimensional (3D) steam flows in the core and core exit. (author)

A Comparative analysis for control rod drop accident in RETRAN DNB and CETOP DNB Model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Chang Keun; Kim, Yo Han; Ha, Sang Jun

2009-01-01

In Korea, the nuclear industries such as fuel manufacturer, the architect engineer and the utility, have been using the methodologies and codes of vendors, such as Westinghouse(WH), Combustion Engineering, for the safety analyses of nuclear power plants. Consequently the industries have kept up the many organizations to operate the methodologies and to maintain the codes for each vendor. It may occur difficulty to improve the safety analyses efficiency and technology related. So, the necessity another of methodologies and code systems applicable to Non- LOCA, beyond design basis accident and performance analyses for all types of pressurized water reactor(PWR) has been raised. Due to the above reason, the Korea Electric Power Research Institute(KEPRI) had decided to develop the new safety analysis code system for Korea Standard Nuclear Power Plants in Korea. As the first requirement, the best-estimate codes were required for applicable wider application area and realistic behavior prediction of power plants with various and sophisticated functions. After the investigation for few candidates, RETRAN-3D has been chosen as a system analysis code. As a part of the feasibility estimation for the methodology and code system, CRD(Control Rod Drop) accident which an event of Non-LOCA accidents for Uljin units 3 and 4 and Yonggwang 1 and 2 was selected to verify the feasibility of the methodology using the RETRAN-3D. In this paper, RETRAN DNB Model and CETOP DNB Model were analyzed by using comparative method

Analysis of containment pressure and temperature changes following loss of coolant accident (LOCA)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nguyen Van Thai; Kieu Ngoc Dung

2015-01-01

This paper present a preliminary thermal-hydraulics analysis of AP1000 containment following loss of coolant accident events such as double-end cold line break (DECLB) or main steam line break (MSLB) using MELCOR code. A break of this type will produce a rapid depressurization of the reactor pressure vessel (primary system) and release initially high pressure water into the containment followed by a much smaller release of highly superheated steam. The high pressure liquid water will flash and rapidly pressurize the containment building. The performance of passive containment cooling system for steam removal by condensation on large steel containment structure is a major contributing process, controlling the pressure and temperature maximum reached during the accident event. The results are analyzed, discussed and compared with the similar work done by Sandia National Laboratories. (author)

Corrosion of aluminum and zinc in containment following a LOCA and potential for precipitation of corrosion products in the sump

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Niyogi, K.K.; Lunt, R.R.; Mackenzie, J.S.

1982-01-01

Following a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) in a LWR containment, certain materials in the containment come in contact with alkaline emergency cooling and containment spray solutions and may corrode yielding hydrogen gas. The problems associated with the production of hydrogen gas and the control of combustible gas concentration have been extensively explored in recent years. However, the phenomenon of corrosion and its consequences in the long term cooling of the reactor and the containment have drawn very little attention. United Engineers and Constructors Inc. has made an extensive effort to study through literature survey the solubility of the corrosion products from aluminum and zinc in order to assess the potential for precipitation in the containment sump. The analysis presented in this article is based on parameters for a typical large dry reactor containment with caustic/boric acid buffered spray solution. Parameters used in this study may vary from one plant to another. However, they are not expected to affect the overall conclusions

Analysis of the metallic containment integrity of Angra 2/3 reactor under the effects of the design basis accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Costa, J.R.

1981-06-01

The application of Condru 4 computer code, developed to determine the maximum values of pressure and temperature that occur inside the metallic containment building of PWR nuclear power plants, in case of a hypothetic accident - LOCA - considered as a Design Basic Accident - DBA. The hypothesis, input and results for the simulation of a loss of coolant in the hot leg of the Angra-2/3 reactors, considered as the most critical case for that Kind of project, are presented. The analysis was made with input provided by the manufacturer. (Author) [pt

Analysis of multidimensional and countercurrent effects in a BWR loss-of-coolant accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shiralkar, B.S.; Dix, G.E.; Alamgir, M.

1991-01-01

The presence of parallel enclosed channels in a boiling water reactor (BWR) provides opportunities for multiple flow regimes in cocurrent and countercurrent flow under loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) conditions. To address and understand these phenomena, an integrated experimental and analytical study has been conducted. The primary experimental facility was the steam sector test facility (SSFT), which simulated a full scale 30deg sector of a BWR/6 reactor vessel. Both steady-state separate effects tests an integral transients with vessel vlowdown and refill were performed. The presence of multidimensional and parallel-channel effects was found to be very beneficial to BWR LOCA performance. The best estimate TRAC-BWR computer code was extended as part of this study by incorporation of a phenomenological upper plenum mixing model. TRAC-BWR was applied to the analysis of these full scale experiments. Excellent predictions of phenomena and experimental trends were achieved. (orig.)

Parallel channel effects under BWR LOCA conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzuki, H.; Hatamiya, S.; Murase, M.

1988-01-01

Due to parallel channel effects, different flow patterns such as liquid down-flow and gas up-flow appear simultaneously in fuel bundles of a BWR core during postulated LOCAs. Applying the parallel channel effects to the fuel bundle, water drain tubes with a restricted bottom end have been developed in order to mitigate counter-current flow limiting and to increase the falling water flow rate at the upper tie plate. The upper tie plate with water drain tubes is an especially effective means of increasing the safety margin of a reactor with narrow gaps between fuel rods and high steam velocity at the upper tie plate. The characteristics of the water drain tubes have been experimentally investigated using a small-scaled steam-water system simulating a BWR core. Then, their effect on the fuel cladding temperature was evaluated using the LOCA analysis program SAFER. (orig.)

LOFT/LP-LB-1, Loss of Fluid Test, Large-Break LOCA Experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1989-01-01

1 - Description of test facility: The LOFT Integral Test Facility is a scale model of a LPWR. The intent of the facility is to model the nuclear, Thermal-hydraulic phenomena which would take place in a LPWR during a LOCA. The general philosophy in scaling coolant volumes and flow areas in LOFT was to use the ratio of the LOFT core [50 MW(t)] to a typical LPWR core [3000 MW(t)]. For some components, this factor is not applied; however, it is used as extensively as practical. In general, components used in LOFT are similar in design to those of a LPWR. Because of scaling and component design, the LOFT LOCE is expected to closely model a LPWR LOCA. 2 - Description of test: Experiment LP-LB-1 was conducted on 3 February 1984 in the Loss-of-Fluid Test (LOFT) facility at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory under the auspices of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The primary objectives of Experiment LP-LB-1 were to determine system transient characteristics and to assess code predictive capabilities for design basis large-break loss-of-coolant accidents in pressurized water reactors (PWRs). This experiment simulated a double-ended offset shear of one inlet pipe in a four-loop PWR and was initiated from conditions representative of licensing limits in a PWR. Other boundary conditions for the simulation were loss of offsite power, rapid primary coolant pump coast down, and United Kingdom minimum safeguard emergency core coolant injection rates. The nuclear fuel rods were not pressurized. The transient was initiated by opening the quick-opening blowdown valves in the broken loop hot and cold legs. 3 - Experimental limitations or shortcomings: Short core and steam generator, excessive core bypass, other scaling compromises, and lack of adequate measurements in certain areas

LOFT/L3-6, Loss of Fluid Test, 6. NRC L3 Small Break LOCA Experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-01-01

1 - Description of test facility: The LOFT Integral Test Facility is a scale model of a LPWR. The intent of the facility is to model the nuclear, thermal-hydraulic phenomena which would take place in a LPWR during a LOCA. The general philosophy in scaling coolant volumes and flow areas in LOFT was to use the ratio of the LOFT core [50 MW(t)] to a typical LPWR core [3000 MW(t)]. For some components, this factor is not applied; however, it is used as extensively as practical. In general, components used in LOFT are similar in design to those of a LPWR. Because of scaling and component design, the LOFT LOCA is expected to closely model a LPWR LOCA. 2 - Description of test: This was the sixth in the NRC L3 Series of small-break LOCA experiments. A 10-cm (2.5-in.) cold-leg non-communicative-break LOCA was simulated. Pumps were running. The experiment was conducted on 10 December 1980

LOFT/L3-5, Loss of Fluid Test, 5. NRC L3 Small Break LOCA Experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-01-01

1 - Description of test facility: The LOFT Integral Test Facility is a scale model of a LPWR. The intent of the facility is to model the nuclear, thermal-hydraulic phenomena which would take place in a LPWR during a LOCA. The general philosophy in scaling coolant volumes and flow areas in LOFT was to use the ratio of the LOFT core [50 MW(t)] to a typical LPWR core [3000 MW(t)]. For some components, this factor is not applied; however, it is used as extensively as practical. In general, components used in LOFT are similar in design to those of a LPWR. Because of scaling and component design, the LOFT LOCA is expected to closely model a LPWR LOCA. 2 - Description of test: This was the fifth in the NRC L3 Series of small-break LOCA experiments. A 10-cm (2.5-in.) cold-leg non-communicative-break LOCA was simulated. Pumps were shut off. The experiment was conducted on 29 September 1980

Computer Based Road Accident Reconstruction Experiences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Milan Batista

2005-03-01

Full Text Available Since road accident analyses and reconstructions are increasinglybased on specific computer software for simulationof vehicle d1iving dynamics and collision dynamics, and forsimulation of a set of trial runs from which the model that bestdescribes a real event can be selected, the paper presents anoverview of some computer software and methods available toaccident reconstruction experts. Besides being time-saving,when properly used such computer software can provide moreauthentic and more trustworthy accident reconstruction, thereforepractical experiences while using computer software toolsfor road accident reconstruction obtained in the TransportSafety Laboratory at the Faculty for Maritime Studies andTransport of the University of Ljubljana are presented and discussed.This paper addresses also software technology for extractingmaximum information from the accident photo-documentationto support accident reconstruction based on the simulationsoftware, as well as the field work of reconstruction expertsor police on the road accident scene defined by this technology.

Transuranium contamination in BWRs after fuel accidents and its impact on decommissioning exposures and costs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lundgren, K.

1996-12-01

The theme of the present study is to quantify the amount of transuranium activity in different parts of the plant after various fuel accidents, and which impact such contamination has on radiation exposure and costs for decommissioning the plant. The consequences of four different accident degrees have been treated: Common fuel failures, e.g. in line with recent experiences from Swedish BWRs; Fuel channel obstruction resulting in partial melting of one fuel assembly; Total loss of electric power resulting in partial meltdown of the core, but with primary circuit intact preventing a massive contamination of the containment; A LOCA followed by a core meltdown and melting and penetration of the reactor pressure vessel. The amount of transuranium activity distributed, the form of this activity and the plant contamination are evaluated for these accidents. The costs and exposures have been split up on cleanup activities after the accident and decommissioning. 75 refs.

Transuranium contamination in BWRs after fuel accidents and its impact on decommissioning exposures and costs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lundgren, K.

1996-12-01

The theme of the present study is to quantify the amount of transuranium activity in different parts of the plant after various fuel accidents, and which impact such contamination has on radiation exposure and costs for decommissioning the plant. The consequences of four different accident degrees have been treated: Common fuel failures, e.g. in line with recent experiences from Swedish BWRs; Fuel channel obstruction resulting in partial melting of one fuel assembly; Total loss of electric power resulting in partial meltdown of the core, but with primary circuit intact preventing a massive contamination of the containment; A LOCA followed by a core meltdown and melting and penetration of the reactor pressure vessel. The amount of transuranium activity distributed, the form of this activity and the plant contamination are evaluated for these accidents. The costs and exposures have been split up on cleanup activities after the accident and decommissioning. 75 refs

Aging, condition monitoring, and loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) tests of class 1E electrical cables

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jacobus, M.J.

1992-11-01

This report describes the results of aging, condition monitoring, and accident testing of miscellaneous cable types. Three sets of cables were aged for up to 9 months under simultaneous thermal (≅100 degrees C) and radiation (≅0.10 kGy/hr) conditions. A sequential accident consisting of high dose rate irradiation (≅6 kGy/hr) and high temperature steam followed the aging. Also exposed to the accident conditions was a fourth set of cables, which were unaged. The test results indicate that, properly installed, most of the various miscellaneous cable products tested should be able to survive an accident after 60 years for total aging doses of at least 150 kGy or higher (depending on the material) and for moderate ambient temperatures on the order of 45--55 degrees C (potentially higher or lower, depending on material specific activtion energies and total radiation doses). Mechanical measurements (primarily elongation, modulus, and density) were more effective than electrical measurements for monitoring age-related degradation

Thermal hydraulics of CANDU severe accident analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Negut, Gheorghe; Catana, Alexandru; Prisecaru, Ilie; Dupleac, Daniel

2007-01-01

As interest in severe accident studies has increased in the last years, we have developed a set of simple models to analyze severe accidents in CANDU reactors that should be integrated in the EU codes. The CANDU600 reactor uses natural uranium fuel and heavy water (D 2 O) as both moderator and coolant, with the moderator and coolant in separate systems. We chose to analyze accident development for a LOCA with simultaneous loss of moderator cooling and the loss of emergency core cooling system (ECCS). This type of accident is likely to modify the reactor geometry and will lead to a severe accident development. When the coolant temperatures inside a pressure tube reaches 1000 deg. C, a contact between pressure tube and calandria tube occurs and the residual heat is transferred to the moderator. Due to the lack of cooling, the moderator eventually begins to boil and is expelled, through the calandria vessel relief ducts, into the containment. Therefore the calandria tubes (fuel channels) will be uncovered, then will disintegrate and fall down to the calandria vessel bottom. After all the quantity of moderator is vaporized and expelled, the debris will heat up and eventually boil. The heat accumulated in the molten debris will be transferred through the calandria vessel wall to the shield tank water, which normally surrounds the calandria vessel. The phenomena described above are modelled, analyzed and compared with the available data. The results are encouraging. (authors)

Influence of partial blockage of a BWR bundle on heat transfer, cladding temperature, and quenching during bottom flooding or top spraying under simulated LOCA conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brand, B.; Gaul, H.P.; Sarkar, J.

1982-01-01

In a test facility with two parallel boiling water reactor fuel assemblies, experiments were carried out with top spray and bottom flooding, simulating loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) conditions. The flow area restriction, caused by the ballooning of fuel rod cladding within one of the bundles, was provided by blockage plates, which had reductions of 37% in one case and in a second series 70% of the flow area. Test parameters were system pressure (1, 5, and 10 bars), spray (0.68 and 1.02 m 3 /h) and flooding rates (1.5,2, and 3.3 cm/s), power input (520 and 614 kW), and the initial cladding temperature (600 and 800 0 C at midplane) of the heaters. The test results showed no significant variations from those without blockage, except in the blocked region. An enhancement of heat transfer was observed in a close region downstream from the blockage in cases such as bottom flooding and top spray tests. The results will serve the purpose of code verification for reactor LOCA analysis

Pilot study of dynamic Bayesian networks approach for fault diagnostics and accident progression prediction in HTR-PM

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhao, Yunfei; Tong, Jiejuan; Zhang, Liguo, E-mail: lgzhang@tsinghua.edu.cn; Zhang, Qin

2015-09-15

Highlights: • Dynamic Bayesian network is used to diagnose and predict accident progress in HTR-PM. • Dynamic Bayesian network model of HTR-PM is built based on detailed system analysis. • LOCA Simulations validate the above model even if part monitors are lost or false. - Abstract: The first high-temperature-reactor pebble-bed demonstration module (HTR-PM) is under construction currently in China. At the same time, development of a system that is used to support nuclear emergency response is in progress. The supporting system is expected to complete two tasks. The first one is diagnostics of the fault in the reactor based on abnormal sensor measurements obtained. The second one is prognostic of the accident progression based on sensor measurements obtained and operator actions. Both tasks will provide valuable guidance for emergency staff to take appropriate protective actions. Traditional method for the two tasks relies heavily on expert judgment, and has been proven to be inappropriate in some cases, such as Three Mile Island accident. To better perform the two tasks, dynamic Bayesian networks (DBN) is introduced in this paper and a pilot study based on the approach is carried out. DBN is advantageous in representing complex dynamic systems and taking full consideration of evidences obtained to perform diagnostics and prognostics. Pearl's loopy belief propagation (LBP) algorithm is recommended for diagnostics and prognostics in DBN. The DBN model of HTR-PM is created based on detailed system analysis and accident progression analysis. A small break loss of coolant accident (SBLOCA) is selected to illustrate the application of the DBN model of HTR-PM in fault diagnostics (FD) and accident progression prognostics (APP). Several advantages of DBN approach compared with other techniques are discussed. The pilot study lays the foundation for developing the nuclear emergency response supporting system (NERSS) for HTR-PM.

Modeling in fast dynamics of accidents in the primary circuit of PWR type reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Robbe, M.F.

2003-12-01

Two kinds of accidents, liable to occur in the primary circuit of a Pressurized Water Reactor and involving fast dynamic phenomena, are analyzed. The Loss Of Coolant Accident (LOCA) is the accident used to define the current PWR. It consists in a large-size break located in a pipe of the primary circuit. A blowdown wave propagates through the circuit. The pressure differences between the different zones of the reactor induce high stresses in the structures of the lower head and may degrade the reactor core. The primary circuit starts emptying from the break opening. Pressure decreases very quickly, involving a large steaming. Two thermal-hydraulic simulations of the blowdown phase of a LOCA are computed with the Europlexus code. The primary circuit is represented by a pipe-model including the hydraulic peculiarities of the circuit. The main differences between both computations concern the kind of reactor, the break location and model, and the initialization of the accidental operation. Steam explosion is a hypothetical severe accident liable to happen after a core melting. The molten part of the core (called corium) falls in the lower part of the reactor. The interaction between the hot corium and the cold water remaining at the bottom of the vessel induces a massive and violent vaporization of water, similar to an explosive phenomenon. A shock wave propagates in the vessel. what can damage seriously the neighbouring structures or drill the vessel. This work presents a synthesis of in-vessel parametrical studies carried out with the Europlexus code, the linkage of the thermal-hydraulic code Mc3d dedicated to the pre-mixing phase with the Europlexus code dealing with the explosion, and finally a benchmark between the Cigalon and Europlexus codes relative to the Vulcano mock-up. (author)

Development of a severe accident training simulator using a MELCOR code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Ko Ryu; Jeong, Kwang Sub; Ha, Jae Joo; Jung, Won Dae

2002-03-01

Nuclear power plants' severe accidents are, despite of their rareness, very important in safety aspects, because of their huge damages when occurred. For the appropriate execution of severe accident strategy, more information for decision-making are required because of the uncertainties included in severe accidents. Earlier NRC raised concerns over severe accident training in the report NUREC/CR-477, and accordingly, developing effective training tools for severe accident were emphasized. In fact the training tools were requested from industrial area, nevertheless, few training tools were developed due to the uncertainties in severe accidents, lacks of analysis computer codes and technical limitations. SATS, the severe accident training simulator, is developed as a multi-purpose tools for severe accident training. SATS uses the calculation results of MELCOR, an integral severe accident analysis code, and with the help of SL-GMS graphic tools, provides dynamic displays of severe accident phenomena on the terminal of IBM PC. It aimed to have two main features: one is to provide graphic displays to represent severe accident phenomena and the other is to process and simulate severe accident strategy given by plant operators and TSC staffs. Severe accident strategies are basically composed of series of operations of available pumps, valves and other equipments. Whenever executing strategies with SATS, the trainee should follow the HyperKAMG, the on line version of the recently developed severe accident guidance (KAMG). Severe accident strategies are closely related to accidents scenarios. TLOFW and LOCA , two representative severe accident scenarios of Uljin 3,4, are developed as a built-in scenarios of SATS. Although SATS has some minor problems at this time, we expect SATS will be a good severe accident training tool after the appropriate addition of accident scenarios. Moreover, we also expect SATS will be a good advisory tool for the severe accident research

Revisiting the analysis of passive plasma shutdown during an ex-vessel loss of coolant accident in ITER blanket

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rivas, J.C.; Dies, J.; Fajarnés, X.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • We have repeated the safety analysis for the hypothesis of passive plasma shutdown for beryllium evaporation during an ex-vessel LOCA of ITER first wall, with AINA code. • We have performed a sensitivity analysis over some key parameters that represents uncertainties in physics and engineering, to identify cliff edge effects. • The obtained results for the 500 MW inductive scenario, with an ex-vessel LOCA affecting a third of first wall surface are similar to those of previous studies and point to the possibility of a passive plasma shutdown during this safety case, before a serious damage is inflicted to the ITER wall. • The sensitivity analysis revealed a new scenario potentially damaging for the first wall if we increase fusion power and time delay for impurity transport, and decrease fraction of affected first wall area and initial beryllium fraction in plasma. • After studying the 700 MW inductive scenario, with an ex-vessel LOCA affecting 10% of first wall surface, with 0.5% of Be in plasma and a time delay twice the energy confinement time, it was found that affected area of first wall would melt before a passive plasma shutdown occurs. - Abstract: In this contribution, the analysis of passive safety during an ex-vessel loss of coolant accident (LOCA) in the first wall/shield blanket of ITER has been studied with AINA safety code. In the past, this case has been studied using robust safety arguments, based on simple 0D models for plasma balance equations and 1D models for wall heat transfer. The conclusion was that, after first wall heating up due to the loss of all coolant, the beryllium evaporation in the wall surface would induce a growing impurity flux into core plasma that finally would end in a passive shut down of the discharge. The analysis of plasma-wall transients in this work is based in results from AINA code simulations. AINA (Analyses of IN vessel Accidents) code is a safety code developed at Fusion Energy Engineering

Analysis of effects of calandria tube uncovery under severe accident conditions in CANDU reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rogers, J.T.; Currie, T.C.; Atkinson, J.C.; Dick, R.

1983-01-01

A study is being undertaken for the Atomic Energy Control Board to assess the thermal and hydraulic behaviour of CANDU reactor cores under accident conditions more severe than those normally considered in the licensing process. In this paper, we consider the effects on a coolant channel of the uncovery of a calandria tube by moderator boil-off following a LOCA in a Bruce reactor unit in which emergency cooling is ineffective and the moderator heat sink is impaired by the failure of the moderator cooling system. Calandria tube uncovery and its immediate consequences, as described here, constitute only one part of the entire accident sequence. Other aspects of this sequence as well as results of the analysis of the other accident sequences studied will be described in the final report on the project and in later papers

Development of the model for the stress calculation of fuel assembly under accident load

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Il Kon

1993-01-01

The finite element model for the stress calculation in guide thimbles of a fuel assembly (FA) under seismic and loss-of-coolant-accident (LOCA) load is developed. For the stress calculation of FA under accident load, at first the program MAIN is developed to select the worst bending mode shaped FA from core model. And then the model for the stress calculation of FA is developed by means of the finite element code. The calculated results of program MAIN are used as the kinematic constraints of the finite element model of a FA. Compared the calculated results of the stiffness of the finite element model of FA with the test results they have good agreements. (Author)

Analysis of multi-dimensional and countercurrent effects in a BWR loss-of-coolant accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shiralkar, B.S.; Dix, G.E.; Alamgir, M.

1989-01-01

The presence of parallel enclosed channels in a BWR provides opportunities for multiple flow regimes in co-current and countercurrent flow under Loss-of-Coolant Accident (LOCA) conditions. To address and understand these phenomena, an integrated experimental and analytical study has been conducted. The primary experimental facility was the Steam Sector Test Facility (SSTF) which simulated a full scale 30deg sector of a BWR/6 reactor vessel. Both steady-state separate effects tests and integral transients with vessel blowdown and refill were performed. The present of multi-dimensional and parallel channel effects was found to be very beneficial to BWR LOCA performance. The best estimate TRAC-BWR computer code was extended as part of this study by incorporation of a phenomenological upper plenum mixing model. TRAC-BWR was applied to the analysis of these full scale experiments. Excellent predictions of phenomena and experimental trends were achieved. (orig.)

Preliminary experiment design of graphite dust emission measurement under accident conditions for HTGR

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Peng, Wei, E-mail: pengwei@tsinghua.edu.cn [Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology of Tsinghua University, Advanced Nuclear Energy Technology Cooperation Innovation Center, The Key Laboratory of Advanced Nuclear Engineering and Safety, Ministry of Education, Beijing 100084 (China); Chen, Tao; Sun, Qi; Wang, Jie [Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology of Tsinghua University, Advanced Nuclear Energy Technology Cooperation Innovation Center, The Key Laboratory of Advanced Nuclear Engineering and Safety, Ministry of Education, Beijing 100084 (China); Yu, Suyuan, E-mail: suyuan@tsinghua.edu.cn [Center for Combustion Energy, The Key Laboratory for Thermal Science and Power Engineering, Ministry of Education, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China)

2017-05-15

Highlights: • A theoretical analysis is used to predict the total graphite dust release for an AVR LOCA. • Similarity criteria must be satisfied between the experiment and the actual HTGR system. • Model experiments should be conducted to predict the graphite dust resuspension rate. - Abstract: The graphite dust movement behavior is significant for the safety analyses of high-temperature gas cooled reactor (HTGR). The graphite dust release for accident conditions is an important source term for HTGR safety analyses. Depressurization release tests are not practical in HTGR because of a radioactivity release to the environment. Thus, a theoretical analysis and similarity principles were used to design a group of modeling experiments. Modeling experiments for fan start-up and depressurization process and actual experiments of helium circulator start-up in an HTGR were used to predict the rate of graphite dust resuspension and the graphite dust concentration, which can be used to predict the graphite dust release during accidents. The modeling experiments are easy to realize and the helium circulator start-up test does not harm the reactor system or the environment, so this experiment program is easily achieved. The revised Rock’n’Roll model was then used to calculate the AVR reactor release. The calculation results indicate that the total graphite dust releases during a LOCA will be about 0.65 g in AVR.

The condensation of steam on the external surfaces of the shells of HIFAR heavy water heat exchangers during a loss-of-coolant accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chapman, A.G.

1987-03-01

A study of steam condensation rates on the HIFAR heavy water heat exchangers was undertaken to predict thermohydraulic conditions in the HIFAR containment during a postulated loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA). The process of surface condensation from a mixture of air and steam, and methods for calculating the rate of condensation, are briefly reviewed. Suitable experimental data are used to estimate coefficients of condensation heat transfer to cool surfaces in a reactor containment during a LOCA. The relevance of the available data to a LOCA in the HIFAR materials testing reactor is examined, and two sets of data are compared. The differences between air/H 2 O and air/D 2 O mixtures are discussed. Formulae are derived for the estimation of the coefficient of heat transfer from the heat exchanger shells to the cooling water, and a method of calculating the rate of condensation per unit area of surface is developed

Analytical methods of leakage rate estimation from a containment under a LOCA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chun, M.H.

1981-01-01

Three most outstanding maximum flow rate formulas are identified from many existing models. Outlines of the three limiting mass flow rate models are given along with computational procedures to estimate approximate amount of fission products released from a containment to environment for a given characteristic hole size for containment-isolation failure and containment pressure and temperature under a loss of coolant accident. Sample calculations are performed using the critical ideal gas flow rate model and the Moody's graphs for the maximum two-phase flow rates, and the results are compared with the values obtained from then mass leakage rate formula of CONTEMPT-LT code for converging nozzle and sonic flow. It is shown that the critical ideal gas flow rate formula gives almost comparable results as one can obtain from the Moody's model. It is also found that a more conservative approach to estimate leakage rate from a containment under a LOCA is to use the maximum ideal gas flow rate equation rather than the mass leakage rate formula of CONTEMPT-LT. (author)

Debris transport evaluation during the blow-down phase of a LOCA using computational fluid dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Jong Pil; Jeong, Ji Hwan; Kim, Won Tae; Kim, Man Woong; Park, Ju Yeop

2011-01-01

Highlights: → We conducted CFD simulation on the spreading of the coolant in the containment after a break of the hot leg. It is used to estimate the dispersion of the debris within the containment. → It was assumed that the small and fine debris is transported by the discharge flow so that a fraction of the small and fine debris transport can be estimated based on the amount of water. → The break flow was assumed to be a homogeneous two-phase mixture without phase separation. Isenthalpic expansion of the break flow was used to specify the inlet boundary condition of the break flow. → The fraction of the small and fine debris transported to the upper part is 73%; this value is close to the value calculated using 1D lumped-parameter codes by the USNRC and the KINS, respectively, while 48% more than the value shown in the NEI 04-07. - Abstract: The performance of the emergency recirculation water sump under the influence of debris accumulation following a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) has long been of safety concern. Debris generation and transport during a LOCA are significantly influenced by the characteristics of the ejected coolant flow. One-dimensional analyses previously have been attempted to evaluate the debris transport during the blow-down phase but the transport evaluation still has large uncertainties. In this work, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis was utilized to evaluate small and fine debris transport during the blow-down phase of a pressurized water reactor, OPR1000. The coolant ejected from the ruptured hot-leg was assumed to expand in an isenthalpic process. The transport of small and fine debris was assumed to be dominated by water-borne transport, and the transport fractions for the upper and lower parts of the containment were quantified based on the CFD analysis. It was estimated that 73% of small and fine debris is transported to the upper part of the containment. This value is close to the values estimated by nuclear

Investigation of break location effects on thermal-hydraulics during intermediate break loss-of-coolant accident experiments at ROSA-III

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koizumi, Yasuo; Tasaka, Kanji

1986-01-01

The rig of safety assessment (ROSA)-III facility is a volumetrically scaled (1/424) boiling water reactor (BWR/6) system with an electrically heated core designed for integral loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) and emergency core cooling system (ECCS) tests. Break location effects on thermal-hydraulics during intermediate LOCAs were investigated by using four experiments at the ROSA-III, the 15 and 25 % main recirculation pump suction line break (MRPS-B) experiments, the 21 % single-ended jet pump drive line break (JPD-B) experiment and the 15 % main steam line break (MSL-B) experiment. Water injection from the high pressure core spray (HPCS) was not used in any of the experiments. Failure of ECCS actuation by the high containment pressure was also assumed in the tests. In the MRPS-B experiments, the discharge flow turned from low quality fluid to high quality fluid when the downcomer water level dropped to the main recirculation line outlet elevation, which suppressed coolant loss from the vessel and the core. In the JPD-B experiment, the jet pump drive nozzle was covered with low quality fluid and low quality fluid discharge continued even after the downcomer water level reached the jet pump suction elevation. Low quality fluid discharge ceased after the ADS actuation. It suggestes that the JPD-B LOCA has the possibility of causing larger and more severe core dryout and cladding temperature excursion than the MRPS-B LOCA. The MSL-B LOCA was characterized by mixture level swell in the downcomer and the core. The core mixture level swell resulted in the much later core dryout initiation than that in the MRPS-B LOCA, however, ECCS actuation was also delayed because of slow downcomer water level drop. (author)

Consistent Posttest Calculations for LOCA Scenarios in LOBI Integral Facility

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Reventós

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Integral test facilities (ITFs are one of the main tools for the validation of best estimate thermalhydraulic system codes. The experimental data are also of great value when compared to the experiment-scaled conditions in a full NPP. The LOBI was a single plus a triple-loop (simulated by one loop test facility electrically heated to simulate a 1300 MWe PWR. The scaling factor was 712 for the core power, volume, and mass flow. Primary and secondary sides contained all main active elements. Tests were performed for the characterization of phenomenologies relevant to large and small break LOCAs and special transients in PWRs. The paper presents the results of three posttest calculations of LOBI experiments. The selected experiments are BL-30, BL-44, and A1-84. They are LOCA scenarios of different break sizes and with different availability of safety injection components. The goal of the analysis is to improve the knowledge of the phenomena occurred in the facility in order to use it in further studies related to qualifying nodalizations of actual plants or to establish accuracy data bases for uncertainty methodologies. An example of procedure of implementing changes in a common nodalization valid for simulating tests occurred in a specific ITF is presented along with its confirmation based on posttests results.

Reentrainment of droplet from grid spacer in mist flow portion of LOCA reflood of PWR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, S.L.; Cho, S.K.; Sheen, H.J.

1983-01-01

An investigation is made on the influence of a quenched grid spacer on the greatly enhanced heat transfer from heated fuel rods during the mist flow phase of emergency reflood of loss of coolant accident (LOCA) of a pressurized water reactor (PWR). The situation for the case of a dry grid spacer before its quenching has not been covered in this study. The experimental technique used is a relatively simple optical scheme which combines the reference-mode laser-Doppler anemometry making use of the scattering of a light beam from a droplet. The results reveal that the large droplets in the mist flow, which are intercepted by the grid spacer, are responsible for the creation of a large number of smaller droplets. These small droplets, due to their large surface area to mass ratios, can serve as superb evaporative cooling agents to heat transfer downstream of the grid spacer

Concept of the LORELEI Test Device for LOCA Experiment in the JHR Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moran, N.; Ferry, L.; Azulay, A.; Mileguir, O.; Weiss, Y.; Szanto, M.

2014-01-01

Modeling of nuclear fuel cladding behavior during a Loss of Coolant accident (LOCA) is a principal requirement in reactor safety analysis. Former safety criteria were obtained from experiments during the 1970's, conducted mainly with fresh fuels. Changes in modern fuel design, introduction of new cladding materials and motivation towards higher burn-ups have generated a need to re-examine safety criteria and their continued validity. This led to the growing development of both experiments and simulations meant to address this need. The Halden IFA-650 series of experiments for example, beginning in the early 2000's have clearly shown that existing criteria and experimental data are insufficient for the growing demand for higher burn-ups. In JHR material testing reactor, which is currently under construction, one significant experimental device is the LORELEI testing device. The objective is to examine the LOCA sequence influence on: thermo-mechanical behavior of the fuel clad, possible fuel relocation, corrosion at high temperature, oxidation, hydriding and resulted clad embrittment. The device is a single rod closed loop system placed on a displacement device inside a defined channel in the reflector. Several operational constrains on the device, as required by the reactor operational philosophy resulted quite a few challenges in the design. Constrains as: pre experimental re-irradiation phase under thermo-syphonic flow, application of active insulation to simulate the surrounding fuel, application of tensile force during refolding simulation, controlling the experiment with non-direct temperature measurement, etc. requires sophisticated solutions. The main objective of the conceptual design was to remove the uncertainties of those challenging requirements. The current presentation describes the approach applied defining the concept of the device, using sophisticated design combined with computational and experimental tools

SCRELA, LOCA Analysis of Super-Critical Light-Water Reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, J.H.; Koshizuka, S.; Oka, Y.

2001-01-01

Description of program or function: LOCA Analysis Code for the Supercritical-Water Cooled Reactor. - Blowdown Module: Calculation of the Blowdown Phase and Refill Phase. - Reflood Module: Calculation of the Reflood Phase

Loss of coolant accident analysis (thermal hydraulic analysis) - Japanese industries experience

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Okabe, K.

1995-01-01

An overview of LOCA analysis in Japanese industry is presented. The BASH-M code, developed for large scale LOCA reflooding analysis, is given as an example of verification and improvement of US computer programs are given. The code's application to the operational safety analysis concerns the following main areas: 1D drift flux model base computer program CANAC; CANAC-based advanced training simulator; emergency operating procedures. The author considers also the code application to the following new PWR safety design concepts: use of steam generators for decay heat removal at LOCA conditions; use of horizontal type steam generator for maintaining two-phase natural circulation under the reactor coolant system submerged. 9 figs

Comparative Experiments to Assess the Effects of Accumulator Nitrogen Injection on Passive Core Cooling During Small Break LOCA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li Yuquan

2017-02-01

Full Text Available The accumulator is a passive safety injection device for emergency core cooling systems. As an important safety feature for providing a high-speed injection flow to the core by compressed nitrogen gas pressure during a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA, the accumulator injects its precharged nitrogen into the system after its coolant has been emptied. Attention has been drawn to the possible negative effects caused by such a nitrogen injection in passive safety nuclear power plants. Although some experimental work on the nitrogen injection has been done, there have been no comparative tests in which the effects on the system responses and the core safety have been clearly assessed. In this study, a new thermal hydraulic integral test facility—the advanced core-cooling mechanism experiment (ACME—was designed and constructed to support the CAP1400 safety review. The ACME test facility was used to study the nitrogen injection effects on the system responses to the small break loss-of-coolant accident LOCA (SBLOCA transient. Two comparison test groups—a 2-inch cold leg break and a double-ended direct-vessel-injection (DEDVI line break—were conducted. Each group consists of a nitrogen injection test and a nitrogen isolation comparison test with the same break conditions. To assess the nitrogen injection effects, the experimental data that are representative of the system responses and the core safety were compared and analyzed. The results of the comparison show that the effects of nitrogen injection on system responses and core safety are significantly different between the 2-inch and DEDVI breaks. The mechanisms of the different effects on the transient were also investigated. The amount of nitrogen injected, along with its heat absorption, was likewise evaluated in order to assess its effect on the system depressurization process. The results of the comparison and analyses in this study are important for recognizing and understanding the

Comparative experiments to assess the effects of accumulator nitrogen injection on passive core cooling during small break LOCA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, YuQuan; Hao, Botao; Zhong, Jia; Wan Nam [State Nuclear Power Technology R and D Center, South Park, Beijing Future Science and Technology City, Beijing (China)

2017-02-15

The accumulator is a passive safety injection device for emergency core cooling systems. As an important safety feature for providing a high-speed injection flow to the core by compressed nitrogen gas pressure during a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA), the accumulator injects its precharged nitrogen into the system after its coolant has been emptied. Attention has been drawn to the possible negative effects caused by such a nitrogen injection in passive safety nuclear power plants. Although some experimental work on the nitrogen injection has been done, there have been no comparative tests in which the effects on the system responses and the core safety have been clearly assessed. In this study, a new thermal hydraulic integral test facility—the advanced core-cooling mechanism experiment (ACME)—was designed and constructed to support the CAP1400 safety review. The ACME test facility was used to study the nitrogen injection effects on the system responses to the small break loss-of-coolant accident LOCA (SBLOCA) transient. Two comparison test groups—a 2-inch cold leg break and a double-ended direct-vessel-injection (DEDVI) line break—were conducted. Each group consists of a nitrogen injection test and a nitrogen isolation comparison test with the same break conditions. To assess the nitrogen injection effects, the experimental data that are representative of the system responses and the core safety were compared and analyzed. The results of the comparison show that the effects of nitrogen injection on system responses and core safety are significantly different between the 2-inch and DEDVI breaks. The mechanisms of the different effects on the transient were also investigated. The amount of nitrogen injected, along with its heat absorption, was likewise evaluated in order to assess its effect on the system depressurization process. The results of the comparison and analyses in this study are important for recognizing and understanding the potential negative

Safety Significance of the Halden IFA-650 LOCA Test Results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fuketa, Toyoshi; Nagase, Fumihisa; Grandjean, Claude; Petit, Marc; Hozer, Zoltan; Kelppe, Seppo; Khvostov, Grigori; Hafidi, Biya; Therache, Benjamin; Heins, Lothar; Valach, Mojmir; Voglewede, John; Wiesenack, Wolfgang

2010-01-01

The safety criteria for loss-of-coolant accidents were defined to ensure that the core would remain coolable. Since the time of the first LOCA experiments, which were largely conducted with fresh fuel, changes in fuel design, the introduction of new cladding materials and in particular the move to high burnup have generated a need to re-examine these criteria and to verify their continued validity. As part of international efforts to this end, the OECD Halden Reactor Project program implemented a LOCA test series. Based on recommendations of a group of experts from the US NRC, EPRI, EDF, IRSN, FRAMATOME-ANP and GNF, the primary objective of the experiments were defined as 1. Measure the extent of fuel (fragment) relocation into the ballooned region and evaluate its possible effect on cladding temperature and oxidation. 2. Investigate the extent (if any) of 'secondary transient hydriding' on the inner side of the cladding above and below the burst region. The fourth test of the series, IFA-650.4 conducted in April 2006, caused particular attention in the international nuclear community. The fuel used in the experiment had a high burnup, 92 MWd/kgU, and a low pre-test hydrogen content of about 50 ppm. The test aimed at and achieved a peak cladding temperature of 850 deg. C. The rod burst occurred at 790 deg. C. The burst caused a marked temperature increase at the lower end and a decrease at the upper end of the system, indicating that fuel relocation had occurred. Subsequent gamma scanning showed that approximately 19 cm of the fuel stack were missing from the upper part of the rod and that fuel had fallen to the bottom of the capsule. PIE at the IFE-Kjeller hot cells corroborated this evidence of substantial fuel relocation. The fact that fuel dispersal could occur upon ballooning and burst, i.e. at cladding temperatures as low as 800 deg. C and thus far lower than the temperature entailed by the current 1200 deg. C / 17% ECR limit, caused concern. The

Analysis of a convection loop for GFR post-LOCA decay heat removal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Williams, W.C.; Hejzlar, P.; Saha, P.

2004-01-01

A computer code (LOCA-COLA) has been developed at MIT for steady state analysis of convective heat transfer loops. In this work, it is used to investigate an external convection loop for decay heat removal of a post-LOCA gas-cooled fast reactor (GFR). The major finding is that natural circulation cooling of the GFR is feasible under certain circumstances. Both helium and CO 2 cooled system components are found to operate in the mixed convection regime, the effects of which are noticeable as heat transfer enhancement or degradation. It is found that CO 2 outdoes helium under identical natural circulation conditions. Decay heat removal is found to have a quadratic dependence on pressure in the laminar flow regime and linear dependence in the turbulent flow regime. Other parametric studies have been performed as well. In conclusion, convection cooling loops are a credible means for GFR decay heat removal and LOCA-COLA is an effective tool for steady state analysis of cooling loops. (authors)

Small break loss of coolant accident analysis of advanced PWR plant designs utilizing DVI line venturis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kemper, Robert M.; Gagnon, Andre F.; McNamee, Kevin; Cheung, Augustine C.

1995-01-01

The Westinghouse Advanced Passive and evolutionary Pressurizer Water Reactors (i.e. AP600 and APWR) incorporate direct vessel injection (DVI) of emergency core coolant as a means of minimizing the potential spilling of emergency core cooling water during a loss of coolant accident (LOCA). As a result, the most limiting small break LOCA (SBLOCA) event for these designs, with respect core inventory makeup capability, is a postulated double ended rupture of one of the DVI lines. This paper presents the results of a design optimization study that examines the installation of a venturi in the DVI line as a means of limiting the reactor coolant lost from the reactor vessel. The comparison results demonstrate that by incorporating a properly sized venturi in the DVI line, core uncovery concerns as a result of a DVI line break can be eliminated for both the AP600 and APWR plants. (author)

Small break LOCA RELAP5/MOD3 uncertainty quantification: Bias and uncertainty evaluation for important phenomena

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ortiz, M.G.; Ghan, L.S.; Vogl, J.

1991-01-01

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) revised the Emergency Core Cooling System (ECCS) licensing rule to allow the use of Best Estimate (BE) computer codes, provided the uncertainty of the calculations are quantified and used in the licensing and regulation process. The NRC developed a generic methodology called Code Scaling, Applicability and Uncertainty (CSAU) to evaluate BE code uncertainties. The CSAU methodology was demonstrated with a specific application to a pressurized water reactor (PWR), experiencing a postulated large break loss-of-coolant accident (LBLOCA). The current work is part of an effort to adapt and demonstrate the CSAU methodology to a small break (SB) LOCA in a PWR of B and W design using RELAP5/MOD3 as the simulation tool. The subject of this paper is the Assessment and Ranging of Parameters (Element 2 of the CSAU methodology), which determines the contribution to uncertainty of specific models in the code

Safety analysis methodology for OPR 1000

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hwang-Yong, Jun

2005-01-01

Full text: Korea Electric Power Research Institute (KEPRI) has been developing inhouse safety analysis methodology based on the delicate codes available to KEPRI to overcome the problems arising from currently used vendor oriented methodologies. For the Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA) analysis, the KREM (KEPRI Realistic Evaluation Methodology) has been developed based on the RELAP-5 code. The methodology was approved for the Westinghouse 3-loop plants by the Korean regulatory organization and the project to extent the methodology to the Optimized Power Reactor 1000 (OPR1000) has been ongoing since 2001. Also, for the Non-LOCA analysis, the KNAP (Korea Non-LOCA Analysis Package) has been developed using the UNICORN-TM code system. To demonstrate the feasibility of these codes systems and methodologies, some typical cases of the design basis accidents mentioned in the final safety analysis report (FSAR) were analyzed. (author)

The development of a safety analysis methodology for the optimized power reactor 1000

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hwang-Yong, Jun; Yo-Han, Kim

2005-01-01

Korea Electric Power Research Institute (KEPRI) has been developing inhouse safety analysis methodology based on the delicate codes available to KEPRI to overcome the problems arising from currently used vendor oriented methodologies. For the Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA) analysis, the KREM (KEPRI Realistic Evaluation Methodology) has been developed based on the RELAP-5 code. The methodology was approved for the Westinghouse 3-loop plants by the Korean regulatory organization and the project to extent the methodology to the Optimized Power Reactor 1000 (OPR1000) has been ongoing since 2001. Also, for the Non-LOCA analysis, the KNAP (Korea Non-LOCA Analysis Package) has been developed using the UNICORN-TM code system. To demonstrate the feasibility of these codes systems and methodologies, some typical cases of the design basis accidents mentioned in the final safety analysis report (FSAR) were analyzed. (author)

CANDU severe accident analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Negut, Gheorghe; Catana, Alexandru; Prisecaru, Ilie; Dupleac, Daniel

2007-01-01

Romania is a EU member since January first 2007. This country faces now new challenges which imply also the nuclear power reactors now in operation. Romania operates since 1996 a CANDU nuclear power reactor and soon will start up a second unit. In EU PWR reactors are mostly operated, so that the Romania's reactors have to meet EU standards. Safety analysis guidelines require to model severe accidents for reactors of this type. Starting from previous studies a thermal-hydraulic model for a degraded CANDU core was developed. The initiating event is assumed to be a LOCA with simultaneous loss of moderator and coolant and the failure of emergency core cooling system (ECCS). This type of accident is likely to modify the reactor geometry and will lead to a severe accident development. When the coolant temperatures inside a pressure tube reaches 1000 deg. C, a contact between pressure tube and calandria tube occurs and the decay heat is transferred to the moderator. Due to the lack of cooling, the moderator eventually begins to boil and is expelled, through the calandria vessel relief ducts, into the containment. Therefore the calandria tubes (fuel channels) uncover, then disintegrate and fall down to the calandria vessel bottom. All the quantity of calandria moderator is vaporized and expelled, the debris will heat up and eventually boil. The heat accumulated in the molten debris will be transferred through the calandria vessel wall to the shield water tank surrounding the calandria vessel. The thermal hydraulics phenomena described above are modeled, analyzed and compared with the existing data. (authors)

Analysis of the LaSalle Unit 2 Nuclear Power Plant: Risk Methods Integration and Evaluation Program (RMIEP)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Payne, A.C. Jr.; Eide, S.A.; LaChance, J.C.; Whitehead, D.W.

1992-10-01

This volume presents the results of the initiating event and accident sequence delineation analyses of the LaSalle Unit II nuclear power plant performed as part of the Level III PRA being performed by Sandia National Laboratories for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The initiating event identification included a thorough review of extant data and a detailed plant specific search for special initiators. For the LaSalle analysis, the following initiating events were defined: eight general transients, ten special initiators, four LOCAs inside containment, one LOCA outside containment, and two interfacing LOCAs. Three accident sequence event trees were constructed: LOCA, transient, and ATWS. These trees were general in nature so that a tree represented all initiators of a particular type (i.e., the LOCA tree was constructed for evaluating small, medium, and large LOCAs simultaneously). The effects of the specific initiators on the systems and the different success criteria were handled by including the initiating events directly in the system fault trees. The accident sequence event trees were extended to include the evaluation of containment vulnerable sequences. These internal event accident sequence event trees were also used for the evaluation of the seismic, fire, and flood analyses

Some insights into the role of axial gas flow in fuel rod behaviour during the LOCA based on Halden tests and calculations with the FALCON-PSI code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khvostov, G.; Wiesenack, W.; Zimmermann, M.A.; Ledergerber, G.

2011-01-01

Highlights: → A model for the dynamics of axial gas redistribution in fuel rods during the LOCA is developed and coupled to the FALCON fuel behaviour code. → The first verification of the model is carried out using the data of the selected Halden LOCA tests. → According to calculation, the short rods used in the Halden tests show a small effect of the delayed gas redistribution during the clad ballooning. → The predicted effect is significant in the full length rods, eventually resulting in a considerable delay of the predicted moment of cladding rupture. → The predicted delay of cladding burst may be large enough to eventually affect the efficiency of the emergency core cooling system. - Abstract: A model for axial gas flow in a fuel rod during the LOCA is integrated into the FRELAX model that deals with the thermal behaviour and fuel relocation in the fuel rods of the Halden LOCA test series. The first verification was carried out using the experimental data for the inner pressure during the gas outflow after cladding rupture in tests 3, 4 and 5. Furthermore, the modified FRELAX model is implicitly coupled to the FALCON fuel behaviour code. The analysis with the new methodology shows that the dynamics of axial gas-flow along the rod and through the cladding rupture can have a strong influence on the fuel rod behaviour. Specifically, a delayed axial gas redistribution during the heat-up phase of the LOCA can result in a drop of local pressure in the ballooned area, which is eventually able to affect the cladding burst. The results of the new model seem to be useful when analysing some of the Halden LOCA tests (showing considerable fuel relocation) and selected cases of LOCA in full-length fuel rods. While the short rods used in the Halden tests only show a very small effect of the delayed gas redistribution during the clad ballooning, such an effect is predicted to be significant in the full-scale rods - with a power peak located sufficiently away from

The analysis of pressurizer safety valve stuck open accident for low power and shutdown PSA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lim, Ho Gon; Park, Jin Hee; Jang, Seong Chul; Kim, Tae Woon

2005-01-01

The PSV (Pressurizer Safety Valve) popping test carried out practically in the early phase of a refueling outage has a little possibility of triggering a test-induced LOCA due to a PSV not fully closed or stuck open. According to a KSNP (Korea Standard Nuclear Power Plant) low power and shutdown PSA (Probabilistic Safety Assessment), the failure of a HPSI (High Pressure Safety Injection) following a PSV stuck open was identified as a dominant accident sequence with a significant contribution to low power and shutdown risks. In this study, we aim to investigate the consequences of the NPP for the various accident sequences following the PSV stuck open as an initiating event through the thermal-hydraulic system code calculations. Also, we search the accident mitigation method for the sequence of HPSI failure, then, the applicability of the method is verified by the simulations using T/H system code.

LOFT/L2-3, Loss of Fluid Test, 2. NRC L2 Large Break LOCA Experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-01-01

1 - Description of test facility: The LOFT Integral Test Facility is a scale model of a LPWR. The intent of the facility is to model the nuclear, thermal-hydraulic phenomena which would take place in a LPWR during a LOCA. The general philosophy in scaling coolant volumes and flow areas in LOFT was to use the ratio of the LOFT core [50 MW(t)] to a typical LPWR core [3000 MW(t)]. For some components, this factor is not applied; however, it is used as extensively as practical. In general, components used in LOFT are similar in design to those of a LPWR. Because of scaling and component design, the LOFT LOCA is expected to closely model a LPWR LOCA. 2 - Description of test: This experiment was the second of the NRC L2 Series of nuclear large Break LOCA experiments, and was conducted on 12 May 1979. It simulated a 100% cold leg break with a maximum heat generation of 39 kW/m

Developing a knowledge base for the management of severe accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nelson, W.R.; Jenkins, J.P.

1986-01-01

Prior to the accident at Three Mile Island, little attention was given to the development of procedures for the management of severe accidents, that is, accidents in which the reactor core is damaged. Since TMI, however, significant effort has been devoted to developing strategies for severe accident management. At the same time, the potential application of artificial intelligence techniques, particularly expert systems, to complex decision-making tasks such as accident diagnosis and response has received considerable attention. The need to develop strategies for accident management suggests that a computerized knowledge base such as used by an expert system could be developed to collect and organize knowledge for severe accident management. This paper suggests a general method which could be used to develop such a knowledge base, and how it could be used to enhance accident management capabilities

An on-line pressurizer surveillance system design to prevent small-break loss-of-coolant accidents through power-operated relief valves using a microcomputer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, J.H.; Chang, S.H.

1987-01-01

A small-break loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) caused by a stuck-open power-operated relief valve is one of the important contributors to nuclear power plant risk. A pressurizer surveillance system was designed to use a microcomputer to prevent the malfunction of the system; the effect of this improvement has been assessed through probabilistic risk assessment. The microcomputer diagnoses the malfunction of the system by a process-checking method and automatically performs the backup action related to each malfunction. This improvement means that we can correctly diagnose ''spurious opening,'' ''failure to reclose,'' and ''small-break LOCA,'' which are difficult for operators to diagnose quickly and correctly, and by taking automatic backup action one can reduce the probability of human error

Lumped-parameter modeling of PWR downcomer and pressurizer for LOCA conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rohatgi, U.S.; Saha, P.; Dubow, A.A.

1978-01-01

Two lumped-parameter models, one for a PWR downcomer and the other for a pressurizer, are presented. The models are based on the transient, nonhomogeneous, drift-flux description of two-phase flow, and are suitable for simulating a hypothetical LOCA condition. Effects of thermal nonequilibrium are incorporated in the downcomer model, whereas the pressurizer model can track the interfaces among various flow regimes. Semiimplicit numerical schemes are used for solution. Encouraging results have been obtained for both the models. (author)

MELCOR Severe Accident Analysis on the SMART Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Tae Woon; Jin, Young Ho; Kim, Young In; Kim, Keung Koo; Wang, Ziao; Revankar, Shripad

2014-01-01

A severe accident is analyzed for Korea SMR reactor, SMART. Core melt down sequences are analyzed for SMART reactor core using MELCOR version 1.8.5. MELCOR is developed by Sandia National Laboratory for US NRC for the simulation of severe accidents in nuclear power plants. Two cases are simulated here and compared between them; one is the case for core having 3 concentric rings and the other is the case for core having 5 concentric rings. One inch break LOCA scenario is simulated and compared between these two core models. Time sequences for the thermal hydraulic behaviors of RPV and thermal heatup behaviors of reactor core are explained in graphically. Thermal hydraulic behavior such as the change of pressure, level, mass, and temperature of RPV is explained. Thermal heatup behavior of reactor core such as oxidation of cladding, hydrogen generation, core slumping down to lower plenum, and finally creep rupture of PRV lower head is explained. Engineered safety features such as safety injection systems (SIS), and Passive residual heat removal systems (PHRS), etc. are assumed to be not working. One inch break of severe accident is simulated on Korean SMR (SMART) Integral PWR with MELCOR code version 1.8.5. Core melt progression and lower head failure time is very slow compared to other commercial reactors. Simulation on 3 and 5 radial rings core models gives very similar pattern in core cell failure timings. Other various accident scenarios (for example, SBO in Fukushima) will be tried further. Containment behaviors and source term behaviors in severe accident conditions will be analyzed in future

Loss of Coolant Accident Simulation for the Top-Slot break at Cold Leg Focusing on the Loop Seal Reformation under Long Term Cooling with the ATLAS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Jong Rok; Park, Yu Sun; Bae, Byoung Uhn; Choi, Nam Hyun; Kang, Kyoung Ho; Choi, Ki Yong [KAERI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-05-15

In the present paper, loss of coolant accident for the top-slot break at cold leg was simulated with the ATLAS, which is a thermal-hydraulic integral effect test facility for evolutionary pressurized water reactors (PWRs) of an advanced power reactor of 1400 MWe (APR1400). The simulation was focused on the loop seal reformation under long term cooling condition. During a certain class of Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA) in a PWR like an advanced power reactor of 1400 MWe (APR1400), the steam volume in the reactor vessel upper plenum and/or upper head may continue expanding until steam blows liquid out of the intermediate leg (U-shaped pump suction cold leg), called loop seal clearing (LSC), opening a path for the steam to be relieved from the break. Prediction of the LSC phenomena is difficult because they are varies for many parameters, which are break location, type, size, etc. This LSC is the major factor that affects the coolant inventory in the small break LOCA (SBLOCA) or intermediate break LOCA (IBLOCA). There is an issue about the loop seal reformation that liquid refills intermediate leg and blocks the steam path after LSC. During the SBLOCA or IBLOCA, the Emergency Core Cooling System (ECCS) is operated. For long term of the top slot small or intermediate break at cold leg, the primary steam condensation by SG heat transfer or SIP, SIT water flooding (reverse flow to loop seal) make loop seal reformation possibly. The primary pressure increase at the top core region due to the steam release blockage by loop seal reformation. And then core level decreases and partial core uncover may occur. The loss of coolant accident for the top-slot break at cold leg was simulated with the ATLAS. The loop seal clearing and loop seal reformation were occurred repeatedly.

Accident analyses on TMLB' and LOCA for KNGR using MELCOR code

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Soo Yong; Choi, Y.; Ahn, K.I

2000-11-01

Plant specific phenomenological analyses for the Korean Next Generation Reactor, using MELCOR program, are described in this report. The most important two accident sequences, a station blackout and a loss of coolant scenario, are selected. Complete coverage of corium behavior both in-vessel and ex-vessel, and the corresponding containment responses, are analyzed. The in-vessel progression includes the thermal hydraulics in the primary system, core heat up, hydrogen generation, and melt progression up to the reactor vessel breach. The ex-vessel progression describes molten corium - concrete interaction phenomena and the pressure behavior in the containment atmosphere.

The Accident Sequence Precursor program: Methods improvements and current results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Minarick, J.W.; Manning, F.M.; Harris, J.D.

1987-01-01

Changes in the US NRC Accident Sequence Precursor program methods since the initial program evaluations of 1969-81 operational events are described, along with insights from the review of 1984-85 events. For 1984-85, the number of significant precursors was consistent with the number observed in 1980-81, dominant sequences associated with significant events were reasonably consistent with PRA estimates for BWRs, but lacked the contribution due to small-break LOCAs previously observed and predicted in PWRs, and the frequency of initiating events and non-recoverable system failures exhibited some reduction compared to 1980-81. Operational events which provide information concerning additional PRA modeling needs are also described

Predicted HIFAR fuel element temperatures for postulated loss-of-coolant accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Green, W.J.

1987-04-01

A two-dimensional theoretical heat transfer model of a HIFAR Mark IV/Va fuel element has been developed and validated by comparing predicted thermal performances with experimental temperature responses obtained from irradiated fuel elements during simulated accident conditions. Full details of the model's development and its verification have been reported elsewhere. In this report, the model has been further used to ascertain acceptable limits of fuel element decay power for the start of two specific LOCAs which have been identified by the Regulatory Bureau of the AAEC. For a single fuel element which is positioned within a fuel load/unload flask and is not subjected to any forced convective air cooling, the model indicates that fission product decay powers must not exceed 1.86 kW if fuel surface temperatures are not to exceed 450 deg C. In the case of a HIFAR core LOCA in which the complete inventory of heavy water is lost, it is calculated that the maximum fission product decay power of a central element must not exceed 1.1 kW if fuel surface temperatures are not to exceed 450 deg C anywhere in the core

Dilatational behaviour of ZrNb1 fuel cans of a WWER-type reactor during a loss-of-coolant accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adam, E.; Stephan, M.; Wetzel, L.

1987-01-01

Based on an assessment of various factors of influence on the performance of fuel cans during normal operation and imaginable accidents, the necessity of studying creep and burst behaviour of WWER-type fuel cans of ZrNb1 under simulated LOCA conditions has been proved and an experimental facility designed for this purpose is described. Control of fuel can temperature is accomplished through a minicomputer during the creep and bursts experiments. With this, various temperature loading profiles of the fuel cans can be realized. Experimental results on dilatational behaviour of ZrNb1 fuel cans from isothermal creep and burst experiments in air are presented and compared with values for Zircaloy. (author)

Thermal-Hydraulic Integral Effect Test with ATLAS for an Intermediate Break Loss of Coolant Accident at a Pressurizer Surge Line

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kang, Kyoung Ho; Seok Cho; Park, Hyun Sik; Choi, Nam Hyun; Park, Yu Sun; Kim, Jong Rok; Bae, Byoung Uhn; Kim, Yeon Sik; Kim, Kyung Doo; Choi, Ki Yong; Song, Chul Hwa [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2013-10-15

The main objectives of this test were not only to provide physical insight into the system response of the APR1400 during the pressurizer surge line break accident but also to produce an integral effect test data to validate the SPACE code. In order to simulate a double-ended guillotine break of a pressurizer surge line in the APR1400, the IB-SUR-01R test was performed with ATLAS. The major thermal-hydraulic phenomena such as the system pressures, the collapsed water levels, and the break flow rate were presented and discussed. Despite the core was uncovered, no excursion in the cladding temperature was observed. The pressurizer surge line break can be classified as a hot leg break from a break location point of view. Compared with a cold leg break, coolability in the core may be better in case of a hot leg break due to the enhanced flow in the core region. This integral effect test data will be used to evaluate the prediction capability of existing safety analysis codes of the MARS and the RELAP5 as well as the SPACE code. Furthermore, this data can be utilized to identify any code deficiency for an IBLOCA simulation, especially for DVI-adapted plants. Redefinition of break size for design basis accident (DBA) based on risk information is being extensively investigated due to the potential for safety benefits and unnecessary burden reduction from current LBLOCA (large break loss of coolant accident)-based ECC (Emergency Core Cooling) Acceptance Criteria. As a transition break size (TBS), the rupture of medium-size pipe is considered to be more important than ever in risk-informed regulation (RIR)-relevant safety analysis. As plants age, are up-rated, and continue to seek improved operating efficiencies, the small break and intermediate break LOCA (IBLOCA) can become a concern. In particular, IBLOCA with DVI (Direct Vessel Injection) features will be addressed to support redefinition of a design-basis LOCA. With an aim of expanding code validation to address small

Korean Consortium's preliminary research for enhancing a probabilistic fracture mechanics code, PRO-LOCA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Sun-Hye; Park, Jung-Soon; Lee, Jin-Ho; Yun, Eun-Sub; Kang, Sun-Ye; Shim, Do-Jun

2015-01-01

The Battelle developed a probabilistic fracture mechanics code called PRO-LOCA, which can be used as a tool for evaluating the pipe break frequency. It is being further developed through the international co-operative research program, PARTRIDGE. KINS, KHNP-CRI, and KEPCO-E&C are participating in the PARTIRDGE program by composing a Korean Consortium. The members of Korean Consortium performed benchmark analyses using the beta version of PRO-LOCA 4.0 to evaluate the effect of variables such as simulation methods, crack features, loading conditions, and inspection models on the failure probabilities. The benchmark analyses showed that the PRO-LOCA can provide a trend consistent with the expected crack growth and pipe failure behavior. Especially, the availability of the stress intensity factor and crack opening displacement for non-idealized through-wall cracks was proven from this study. This new solution for non-idealized through-wall cracks had been developed by the Korean Consortium and it was newly included in PRO-LOCA 4.0. However, further improvement is needed to address the problems such as the instability of adaptive sampling method and the unexpected trend of failure probabilities at the early stage of crack growth

Iodine behaviour in severe accidents

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dutton, L M.C.; Grindon, E; Handy, B J; Sutherland, L [NNC Ltd., Knutsford (United Kingdom); Bruns, W G; Sims, H E [AEA Technology, Harwell (United Kingdom); Dickinson, S [AEA Technology, Winfrith (United Kingdom); Hueber, C; Jacquemain, D [IPSN/CEA, Cadarache, Saint Paul-Lez-Durance (France)

1996-12-01

A description is given of analyses which identify which aspects of the modelling and data are most important in evaluating the release of radioactive iodine to the environment following a potential severe accident at a PWR and which identify the major uncertainties which affect that release. Three iodine codes are used namely INSPECT, IODE and IMPAIR, and their predictions are compared with those of the PSA code MAAP. INSPECT is a mechanistic code which models iodine behaviour in the aqueous aerosol, spray water and sump water, and the partitioning of volatile species between the aqueous phases and containment gas space. Organic iodine is not modelled. IODE and IMPAIR are semi-empirical codes which do not model iodine behaviour in the aqueous aerosol, but model organic iodine. The fault sequences addressed are based on analyses for the Sizewell `B` design. Two types of sequence have been analysed.: (a) those in which a major release of fission products from the primary circuit to the containment occur, e.g. a large LOCAS, (b) those where the release by-passes the containment, e.g. a leak into the auxiliary building. In the analysis of the LOCA sequences where the pH of the sump is controlled to be a value of 8 or greater, all three codes predict that the oxidation of iodine to produce gas phase species does not make a significant contribution to the source term due to leakage from the reactor building and that the latter is dominated by iodide in the aerosol. In the case where the pH of the sump is not controlled, it is found that the proportion of gas phase iodine increases significantly, although the cumulative leakage predicted by all three codes is not significantly different from that predicted by MAAP. The radiolytic production of nitric acid could be a major factor in determining the pH, and if the pH were reduced, the codes predict an increase in gas phase iodine species leaked from the containment. (author) 4 figs., 7 tabs., 13 refs.

CANSWEL-2: a computer model of the creep deformation of Zircaloy cladding under loss-of-coolant accident conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haste, T.J.

1982-07-01

The CANSWEL-2 code models cladding creep deformation under conditions relevant to a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) in a pressurised water reactor (PWR). It considers in detail the centre rod of a 3 x 3 nominally square array, taking into account azimuthal non-uniformities in cladding thickness and temperature, and the mechanical restraint imposed on contact with neighbouring rods. Any of the rods in the array may assume a non-circular shape. Models are included for primary and secondary creep, dynamic phase change and superplasticity when both alpha- and beta-phase Zircaloy are present. A simple treatment of oxidation strengthening is incorporated. Account is taken of the anisotropic creep behaviour of alpha-phase Zircaloy which leads to cladding bowing. The CANSWEL-2 model is used both as a stand-alone code and also as part of the LOCA analysis code MABEL-2. (author)

LOFT/L2-5, Loss of Fluid Test, 3. NRC L2 Large Break LOCA Experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-01-01

1 - Description of test facility: The LOFT Integral Test Facility is a scale model of a LPWR. The intent of the facility is to model the nuclear, thermal-hydraulic phenomena which would take place in a LPWR during a LOCA. The general philosophy in scaling coolant volumes and flow areas in LOFT was to use the ratio of the LOFT core [50 MW(t)] to a typical LPWR core [3000 MW(t)]. For some components, this factor is not applied; however, it is used as extensively as practical. In general, components used in LOFT are similar in design to those of a LPWR. Because of scaling and component design, the LOFT LOCA is expected to closely model a LPWR LOCA. 2 - Description of test: This experiment was the third of the NRC L2 Series of nuclear large Break LOCA experiments, conducted on 16 June 1981. It simulated a 100% cold leg break with a maximum heat generation of 40 kW/m and rapid pump coast down

JERICHO computer code: PWR containment response during severe accidents description and sensitivity analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fermandjian, J.; Evrard, J.M.

1983-12-01

The JERICHO code has been developed in order to study the thermodynamic behaviour inside the reactor containment building for the complete spectrum of accident sequences likely to occur in such a reactor, including models for the various mass and energy transfer phenomena, for water spray, for hydrogen and carbon monoxide flammability limits and combustion, as well as for containment venting. Sensitivity analyses have been performed on a severe accident sequence, (namely, small LOCA with failure of the emergency core cooling and containment spray systems), involving core melting and subsequent concrete containment basemat erosion. The effect of various models, such as mass and energy transfer to the structures, has been studied. The influence of the concrete composition, of the fission product deposition and of the thermal degradation of the reactor cavity concrete walls on long term thermodynamic behaviour has also been investigated

Probabilistic risk assessment for a loss of coolant accident in McMaster Nuclear Reactor and application of reliability physics model for modeling human reliability

Science.gov (United States)

Ha, Taesung

A probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) was conducted for a loss of coolant accident, (LOCA) in the McMaster Nuclear Reactor (MNR). A level 1 PRA was completed including event sequence modeling, system modeling, and quantification. To support the quantification of the accident sequence identified, data analysis using the Bayesian method and human reliability analysis (HRA) using the accident sequence evaluation procedure (ASEP) approach were performed. Since human performance in research reactors is significantly different from that in power reactors, a time-oriented HRA model (reliability physics model) was applied for the human error probability (HEP) estimation of the core relocation. This model is based on two competing random variables: phenomenological time and performance time. The response surface and direct Monte Carlo simulation with Latin Hypercube sampling were applied for estimating the phenomenological time, whereas the performance time was obtained from interviews with operators. An appropriate probability distribution for the phenomenological time was assigned by statistical goodness-of-fit tests. The human error probability (HEP) for the core relocation was estimated from these two competing quantities: phenomenological time and operators' performance time. The sensitivity of each probability distribution in human reliability estimation was investigated. In order to quantify the uncertainty in the predicted HEPs, a Bayesian approach was selected due to its capability of incorporating uncertainties in model itself and the parameters in that model. The HEP from the current time-oriented model was compared with that from the ASEP approach. Both results were used to evaluate the sensitivity of alternative huinan reliability modeling for the manual core relocation in the LOCA risk model. This exercise demonstrated the applicability of a reliability physics model supplemented with a. Bayesian approach for modeling human reliability and its potential

Steady state and LOCA analysis of Kartini reactor using RELAP5/SCDAP code: The role of passive system

Science.gov (United States)

Antariksawan, Anhar R.; Wahyono, Puradwi I.; Taxwim

2018-02-01

Safety is the priority for nuclear installations, including research reactors. On the other hand, many studies have been done to validate the applicability of nuclear power plant based best estimate computer codes to the research reactor. This study aims to assess the applicability of the RELAP5/SCDAP code to Kartini research reactor. The model development, steady state and transient due to LOCA calculations have been conducted by using RELAP5/SCDAP. The calculation results are compared with available measurements data from Kartini research reactor. The results show that the RELAP5/SCDAP model steady state calculation agrees quite well with the available measurement data. While, in the case of LOCA transient simulations, the model could result in reasonable physical phenomena during the transient showing the characteristics and performances of the reactor against the LOCA transient. The role of siphon breaker hole and natural circulation in the reactor tank as passive system was important to keep reactor in safe condition. It concludes that the RELAP/SCDAP could be use as one of the tool to analyse the thermal-hydraulic safety of Kartini reactor. However, further assessment to improve the model is still needed.

Radiological consequence analyses of loss of coolant accidents of various break sizes of Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanyasi Rao, V.V.S.; Hari Prasad, M.; Ghosh, A.K.

2010-01-01

For any advanced technology, it is essential to ensure that the consequences associated with the accident sequences arising, if any, from the operation of the plant are as low as possible and certainly below the guidelines/limits set by the regulatory bodies. Nuclear power is no exception to this. In this paper consequences of the events arising from Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA) sequences in Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR), are analysed. The sequences correspond to different break sizes of LOCA followed by the operation or otherwise of Emergency Core Cooling System (ECCS). Operation or otherwise of the containment safety systems has also been considered. It has been found that there are no releases to the environment when ECCS is available. The releases, when ECCS is not available, arise from the slack and the ground. The radionuclides considered include noble gases, iodine, and cesium. The hourly meteorological parameters (wind speed, wind direction, precipitation and stability category), considered for this study, correspond to those of Kakrapar site. The consequences evaluated are the thyroid dose and the bone marrow dose received by a person located at various distances from the release point. Isodose curves are generated. From these evaluations, it has been found that the doses are very low. The complementary cumulative frequency distributions (CCFD) for thyroid and bone marrow doses have also been presented for the cases analysed. (author)

Study on thermo-hydraulic behavior during reflood phase of a PWR-LOCA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sugimoto, Jun

1989-01-01

This paper describes thermo-hydraulic behavior during the reflood phase in a postulated large-break loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) of a PWR. In order to better predict the reflood transient in a nuclear safety analysis specific analytical models have been developed for, saturated film boiling heat transfer in inverted slung flow, the effect of grid spacers on core thermo-hydraulics, overall system thermo-hydraulic behavior, and the thermal response similarity between nuclear fuel rods and simulated rods. A heat transfer correlation has been newly developed for saturated film boiling based on a 4 x 4-rod experiment conducted at JAERI. The correlation provides a good agreement with existing experiments except in the vicinity of grid spacer locations. An analytical model has then been developed addressing the effect of grid spacers. The thermo-hydraulic behavior near the grid spacers was found to be predicted well with this model by considering the breakup of droplets in dispersed flow and water accumulation above the grid spacers in inverted slung flow. A system analysis code has been developed which couples the one-dimensional core and multi-loop primary system component models. It provides fairly good agreement with system behavior obtained in a large-scale integral reflood experiment with active primary system components. An analytical model for the radial temperature distribution in a rod has been developed and verified with data from existing experiments. It was found that a nuclear fuel rod has a lower cladding temperature and an earlier quench time than an electrically heated rod in a typical reflood condition. (author)

Impact of 2D/3D-project on LOCA-licensing analysis and reactor safety of PWRs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Winkler, F.; Krebs, W.D.

1989-01-01

In the past LOCA-licensing analysis has included large conservatisms to compensate for the lack of detailed two phase flow and full scale experimental data. The 2D/3D-project was established to improve the data base in order to minimize the conservatisms required. The significant results and findings of the full scale Upper Plenum Test Facility (UPTF) and from the electrically heated Slab Core Test Facility (SCTF) were particularly useful for understanding the multidimensional phenomena in the primary system and in the core of a PWR. UPTF results were used to verify the TRAC-PF1 analysis of a PWR with combined ECC-Injection during the reflood phase of a large break-LOCA. Comparison of these results with results from classic licensing calculations quantifies the large safety margin in earlier licensing procedures and in reactor systems. (orig.)

Assessment of Radiological and Economic Consequences of a Hypothetical Accident for ETRR-2, Egypt Utilizing COSYMA Code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tawfik, F.S.; Abdel-Aal, M.M.

2008-01-01

A comprehensive probabilistic study of an accident consequence assessment (ACA) for loss of coolant accident (LOCA) has accomplished to the second research reactor ETRR-2, located at Inshas Nuclear Research Center, Cairo, Egypt. PC-COSYMA, developed with the support of European Commission, has adopted to assess the radiological and economic consequences of a proposed accident. The consequences of the accident evaluated in case of early and late effects. The effective doses and doses in different organs carried out with and without countermeasures. The force mentioned calculations were required the following studies: the core inventory due to the hypothetical accident, the physical parameters of the source term, the hourly basis meteorological parameters for one complete year, and the population distribution around the plant. The hourly stability conditions and height of atmospheric boundary layers (ABL) of the concerned site were calculated. The results showed that, the nuclides that have short half-lives (few days) give the highest air and ground concentrations after the accident than the others. The area around the reactor requires the early and late countermeasures action after the accident especially in the downwind sectors. Economically, the costs of emergency plan are effectively high in case of applying countermeasures but countermeasures reduce the risk effects

Core heatup prediction during SB LOCA with RELAP5/MOD3.2.2 Gamma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parzer, I.; Mavko, B.; Petelin, S.

2001-01-01

The paper focuses on the phenomena leading to core uncovering and heatup during the SB LOCA and the ability of RELAP5/MOD3.2.2 Gamma to predict core overheating. The code prediction has been compared to the three experiments, one conducted on the separate effect test facility NEPTUN in Switzerland and the other two conducted on two integral test facilities, PMK-2 in Hungary and PACTEL facility in Finland. In the case of a series of boiloff experiments performed on the NEPTUN test facility the influence of the two correlations available in MOD3.2.2 Gamma for determining interphase drag has been studied. In the case of IAEA-SPE-4 experiment simulation on PMK-2 facility the main goal of the analysis was to study the adequate modeling of the hexagonal core channel with 19-rod bundle and the phenomena during the core uncovering. The third analyzed experiment, OECD-ISP-33, was performed on PACTEL facility to study different natural circulation modes during SB LOCA. The analysis also focused on the final stage of this SB LOCA experiment, when core dryout and heatup was observed due to gradual emptying of the primary system. Following the experience the appropriate modeling options have been used to achieve better representation of the important phenomena during the SB LOCA.(author)

IFPE/MT4-MT6A-LOCA, Large-break LOCA in-reactor fuel bundle materials tests at NRU

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cunningham, Mitchel E.; Turnbull, J.A.

2003-01-01

Description - Objectives - Results: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) conducted a series of thermal-hydraulic and cladding mechanical deformation tests in the National Research Universal (NRU) reactor at the Chalk River National Laboratory in Canada. The objective of these tests was to perform simulated loss-of-coolant-accident (LOCA) experiments using full-length light-water reactor fuel rods to study mechanical deformation, flow blockage, and coolability. Three phases of a LOCA (i.e., heat-up, reflood, and quench) were performed in situ using nuclear fissioning to simulate the low-level decay power during a LOCA after shutdown. All tests used PWR-type, non-irradiated fuel rods. Provided here is information on two materials tests, MT-6A and MT-4, which PNNL considers the better characterized for the purposes of setting up computer cases. The NRU reactor is a heterogeneous, thermal, tank-type research reactor. It has a power level of 135 MWth and is heavy-water moderated and cooled. The coolant has an inlet temperature of 310 K at a pressure of 0.65 MPa. The MT tests were conducted in a specially designed test train to supply the specified coolant conditions of flowing steam, stagnant steam, and then reflood. Typical instrumentation for the MT tests included fuel centerline thermocouples, cladding inner surface thermocouples, cladding outer surface thermocouples, rod internal gas pressure transducers or pressure switches, coolant channel steam probes, and self-powered neutron detectors. This instrumentation allowed for determining rupture times and cladding temperature. The test rods for the LOCA cases in the NRU reactor were irradiated in flowing steam prior to the transient, stagnant steam during the transient and prior to reflood, and then reflood conditions to complete the transient. Both cladding inner surface and outer surface temperatures were measured, in addition to coolant temperatures. However, only cladding inner surface temperatures were

LOCA scenario tests of irradiated fuel rod specimens

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scott, Harold

2004-01-01

Full text: The NRC's cladding performance program at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) is testing fueled high-burnup segments subjected to LOCA integral phenomena. The data are provided to NRC and the nuclear industry for their independent assessment of the adequacy of licensing criteria for LOCA events. The tests are being conducted with high-burnup 30 cm segments from Limerick (9x9 Zry-2) and H.B. Robinson (15x15 Zry-4) reactors. Prior to testing, sibling samples are characterized with respect to fuel morphology, fuel-cladding bond, cladding oxide layer thickness, hydrogen content and high-temperature steam oxidation kinetics. Specimens that survive quench are subjected to four-point bend tests, followed by local diametral compression tests. The retention of post-quench ductility is a more limiting requirement than surviving thermal stresses during quench. Companion tests are conducted with unirradiated cladding to generate baseline data for comparison with the high-burnup fuel results. LOCA integral tests have the following sequential steps: stabilization of temperature, internal pressure and steam flow at 300 C, ramping of temperature (∼5C/s) through ballooning and burst to 1204 C, hold at 1204 C for 1-5 minutes, slow-cooling (∼3C/s) to 800 C, and water quenching at ∼800C. Two high-burnup tests were completed in 2002 with Limerick BWR rod segments: ramp to burst in argon followed by slow cooling; and the LOCA test with 5-minute hold time at 1204 C, followed by slow cooling. With the exception of burst-opening shape, results for burst temperature, burst pressure, burst length, and ballooning strain profile are more similar to, than different from, results for unirradiated Zry-2 cladding exposed to the same time-temperature history. The 3rd Limerick test with quench was performed in December 2003, and a 4th Limerick test was performed in March 2004. Tests on high-burnup Robinson PWR fuel segments are scheduled to begin in June 2004. The presentation points

Application of the ALARA principle to minimize the collective dose in NPP accident management within the containment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bogorad, V.; Slepchenko, O.; Kyrylenko, Y.

2016-01-01

The paper focuses on application of the ALARA principle to minimize the collective doses (both for NPP personnel and the public) related to admission of personnel to the containment for accident management activities and depending on operation of ventilation systems. Results from assessment of radiation consequences are applied to a small - break LOCA with failure of LPIS at VVER - 1000 reactors. The public doses are evaluated using up - to - date RODOS, MACCS and HotSpot software for assessment of radiation consequences. The personnel doses are evaluated with MicroShield and InterRAS codes. The time function and optimal value of the collective dose are defined. The developed approach can be applied for minimization of the collective dose for optimization of accident management strategies at NPPs

Mechanical interaction between fuel pins and assemblies during LOCA in BWR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jonsson, T.

1978-10-01

The size of the rod elongation by oxidation is so large that deformation of a standard BWR fuel element with tie rods in the outer row will surely occur during a LOCA transient typical for BWRs with external pumps. Available data does not however show whether this deformation will occur early in the transient or during the cooling. Combined effects of thermal expansion of zircaloy and expansion due to oxidation and dissolution of oxygen can be expected to be large enough to cause rod bowing early in a LOCA transient. It is however not impossible that observed residual expansion of zircaloy tubes to a dominating extent are caused through expansion of zirconium oxide during cool-down. Length measurements of zircaloy tubes during a transient are desirable. (author)

A proposal for accident management optimization based on the study of accident sequence analysis for a BWR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sobajima, M.

1998-01-01

The paper describes a proposal for accident management optimization based on the study of accident sequence and source term analyses for a BWR. In Japan, accident management measures are to be implemented in all LWRs by the year 2000 in accordance with the recommendation of the regulatory organization and based on the PSAs carried out by the utilities. Source terms were evaluated by the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) with the THALES code for all BWR sequences in which loss of decay heat removal resulted in the largest release. Identification of the priority and importance of accident management measures was carried out for the sequences with larger risk contributions. Considerations for optimizing emergency operation guides are believed to be essential for risk reduction. (author)

CONTEMPT: computer program for predicting containment pressure-temperature response to a loss-of-coolant accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hsii, Y.H.

1978-04-01

The CONTEMPT code is used by Babcock and Wilcox for containment analysis following a postulated loss of coolant accident. An additional model is described which is used for the calculation of long term post reflood mass and energy releases to the containment that is used for the containment design basis LOCA calculations. These calculations maximize the rate of energy flow to the containment. The mass and energy data are given to the containment designer for use in calculating the containment building design pressure and temperature and in sizing containment heat removal equipment

Simulation of Containment Pressurization in a Large Break-Loss of Coolant Accident Using Single-Cell and Multicell Models and CONTAIN Code

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Omid Noori-Kalkhoran

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Since the inception of nuclear power as a commercial energy source, safety has been recognized as a prime consideration in the design, construction, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning of nuclear power plants. The release of radioactivity to the environment requires the failure of multiple safety systems and the breach of three physical barriers: fuel cladding, the reactor cooling system, and containment. In this study, nuclear reactor containment pressurization has been modeled in a large break-loss of coolant accident (LB-LOCA by programming single-cell and multicell models in MATLAB. First, containment has been considered as a control volume (single-cell model. In addition, spray operation has been added to this model. In the second step, the single-cell model has been developed into a multicell model to consider the effects of the nodalization and spatial location of cells in the containment pressurization in comparison with the single-cell model. In the third step, the accident has been simulated using the CONTAIN 2.0 code. Finally, Bushehr nuclear power plant (BNPP containment has been considered as a case study. The results of BNPP containment pressurization due to LB-LOCA have been compared between models, final safety analysis report, and CONTAIN code’s results.

Simulation of containment pressurization in a large break-loss of coolant accident using single-cell and multicell models and CONTAIN code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kalkahoran, Omid Noori; Ahangari, Rohollah; Shirani, Amir Saied

2016-01-01

Since the inception of nuclear power as a commercial energy source, safety has been recognized as a prime consideration in the design, construction, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning of nuclear power plants. The release of radioactivity to the environment requires the failure of multiple safety systems and the breach of three physical barriers: fuel cladding, the reactor cooling system, and containment. In this study, nuclear reactor containment pressurization has been modeled in a large break-loss of coolant accident (LB-LOCA) by programming single-cell and multicell models in MATLAB. First, containment has been considered as a control volume (single-cell model). In addition, spray operation has been added to this model. In the second step, the single-cell model has been developed into a multicell model to consider the effects of the nodalization and spatial location of cells in the containment pressurization in comparison with the single-cell model. In the third step, the accident has been simulated using the CONTAIN 2.0 code. Finally, Bushehr nuclear power plant (BNPP) containment has been considered as a case study. The results of BNPP containment pressurization due to LB-LOCA have been compared between models, final safety analysis report, and CONTAIN code's results

Simulation of containment pressurization in a large break-loss of coolant accident using single-cell and multicell models and CONTAIN code

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kalkahoran, Omid Noori; Ahangari, Rohollah [Reactor Research School, Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Shirani, Amir Saied [Faculty of Engineering, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2016-10-15

Since the inception of nuclear power as a commercial energy source, safety has been recognized as a prime consideration in the design, construction, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning of nuclear power plants. The release of radioactivity to the environment requires the failure of multiple safety systems and the breach of three physical barriers: fuel cladding, the reactor cooling system, and containment. In this study, nuclear reactor containment pressurization has been modeled in a large break-loss of coolant accident (LB-LOCA) by programming single-cell and multicell models in MATLAB. First, containment has been considered as a control volume (single-cell model). In addition, spray operation has been added to this model. In the second step, the single-cell model has been developed into a multicell model to consider the effects of the nodalization and spatial location of cells in the containment pressurization in comparison with the single-cell model. In the third step, the accident has been simulated using the CONTAIN 2.0 code. Finally, Bushehr nuclear power plant (BNPP) containment has been considered as a case study. The results of BNPP containment pressurization due to LB-LOCA have been compared between models, final safety analysis report, and CONTAIN code's results.

Effects of a hypothetical loss-of-coolant accident on a Mark I Boiling Water Reactor pressure-suppression system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pitts, J.H.; McCauley, E.W.