AP1000 Plant CILC/CIPS Risk Assessment Using Advanced TH Methodology

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Wang ◽  
P. Sapienza ◽  
R. J. Fetterman ◽  
M. Y. Young ◽  
J. R. Secker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Nucleate Boiling ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Localized Corrosion ◽  
Pressurized Water ◽  
Assembly Design ◽  
Power Shift ◽  
Fuel Assemblies ◽  
Water Reactors ◽  
The Relationship

Similar to many existing Pressurized Water Reactors (PWR), the AP1000® cores will undergo sub-cooled nucleate boiling in the upper grid spans of some fuel assemblies at normal operating conditions. Sub-cooled nucleate boiling may increase crud deposits on the fuel cladding surface which may increase the risk of Crud Induced Power Shift (CIPS) and/or Crud Induced Localized Corrosion (CILC). A CIPS/CILC risk assessment has been performed to support the AP1000 fuel assembly design finalization. In this paper, the advanced thermal-hydraulic (TH) methodology used in the AP1000 plant CIPS/CILC risk assessments are summarized and discussed, and the relationship between the CIPS/CILC mechanisms, fuel reliability, and plant operating conditions is also presented. Finally, acceptable AP1000 core CIPS/CILC risk assessment results are summarized and suggestions that specifically target reducing CIPS/CILC risks for AP1000 plants are described.

Methods to Reduce CIPS/CILC Risk for the Zero Fuel Failure by 2010 Initiative

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guoqiang Wang ◽  
Michael Y. Young ◽  
William A. Byers ◽  
Michael A. Krammen
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Risk Assessments ◽  
Localized Corrosion ◽  
Pressurized Water ◽  
Power Shift ◽  
Power Operations ◽  
Fuel Failure ◽  
Water Reactors ◽  
Westinghouse Electric

In order to support the industry goal of zero fuel failures by 2010 and beyond, established by the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO), this paper describes how the Crud Induced Power Shift (CIPS) and Crud Induced Localized Corrosion (CILC) risk is being addressed by Westinghouse Electric Company LLC. As one of the key fuel failure mechanisms, CIPS/CILC risk assessments are being targeted, and the relationship between the CIPS/CILC mechanisms, fuel reliability, and plant operating conditions will be discussed. Plant and experimental data will be presented to show the current state of CIPS/CILC risk assessments for Westinghouse fuel. Finally, suggestions and other initiatives that specifically target reducing CIPS/CILC risk will be described for Pressurized Water Reactors (PWRs) supported by test and/or analysis results.

Questions Relative to CHF Testing for New Pressurized Water Reactor Advanced Fuel Assemblies

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christophe Herer
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Heat Flux ◽  
Heat Removal ◽  
Nucleate Boiling ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Pressurized Water Reactor ◽  
Pressurized Water ◽  
Water Reactor ◽  
Fuel Assemblies ◽  
Advanced Fuel

One of the limiting conditions during operation of a Pressurized Water Reactor is cladding integrity in case of occurrence of any conditions I or II events. The decoupling criterion is the absence of Departure from Nucleate Boiling (DNB) during the full sequence of any of these transients. Heat transfer between the clad and the water is limited by the DNB phenomenon when local surface heat flux is greater than the so-called Critical Heat Flux (CHF). Heat production at the surface is higher than heat removal capacity by the coolant therefore a vapor blanket is formed around the clad; consequently the heat transfer will drastically drop resulting in a sudden significant increase of the local wall temperature and clad damage may appear if no corrective action is initiated. DNB can not be estimated with physical principles only. Experimental support is needed for evaluation. Occurrence of DNB is evaluated using the Departure from Nucleate Boiling Ratio (DNBR) which is a function of both core thermal hydraulic (T/H) parameters and design of the fuel assembly. Advanced fuel assemblies claim higher CHF values compared to previous designs. Along with increased DNB performances for advanced fuel assemblies, CHF correlation development and advanced methodologies enable to extend normal operating conditions of a nuclear plant. On the one hand, CHF performances really increased allow additional margin related to the loss of fuel cladding integrity whereas on the other hand optimized correlations and advanced methodologies reduce this margin. An accurate assessment of the CHF performance of the advanced fuel assemblies is therefore required. This paper will raise issues regarding the assessment of the CHF performance of new advanced fuel assemblies design. The issues will be focused on the reliability of the experimental assessment of the CHF values and the accuracy of the transposition of mock up geometries to plant core configuration (representativity of the experiments). The verification that the tests conditions (pressure, flowrate, quality, heat flux …) ensure a proper coverage of all core conditions encountered during any of the conditions I & II transients is closely linked to DNBR methods and will not be extensively covered in this paper. This paper suggests some thoughts about relevance of the demonstration carried out by vendors on these matters.

Advanced First Core Design for the Westinghouse AP1000

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Fetterman
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cycle ◽  
The United States ◽  
Pressurized Water ◽  
Loading Pattern ◽  
The Core ◽  
Low Leakage ◽  
Fuel Assemblies ◽  
Cycle Loading ◽  
Water Reactors ◽  
Under Construction

As the nuclear renaissance is now upon us and new plants are either under construction or being ordered, a considerable amount of attention has also turned to the design of the first fuel cycle. Requirements for core designs originate in the Utilities Requirements Document (URD) for the United States and the European Utilities Requirements (EUR) for Europe. First core designs created during the development of these documents were based on core design technology dating back to the 1970’s, where the first cycle core loading pattern placed the highest enrichment fuel on the core periphery and two other lower enrichments in the core interior. While this sort of core design provided acceptable performance, it underutilized the higher enriched fuel assemblies and tended to make transition to the first reload cycle challenging, especially considering that reload core designs are now almost entirely of the Low Leakage Loading Pattern (LLLP) design. The demands placed on today’s existing fleet of pressurized water reactors for improved fuel performance and economy are also desired for the upcoming Generation III+ fleet of plants. As a result of these demands, Westinghouse has developed an Advanced First Core (AFCPP) design for the initial cycle loading pattern. This loading pattern design simulates the reactivity distribution of an 18 month low leakage reload cycle design by placing the higher enriched assemblies in the core interior which results in improved uranium utilization for those fuel assemblies carried through the first and second reload cycles. Another feature of the advanced first core design is radial zoning of the high enriched assemblies, which allows these assemblies to be located in the core interior while still maintaining margin to peaking factor limits throughout the cycle. Finally, the advanced first core loading pattern also employs a variety of burnable absorber designs and lengths to yield radial and axial power distributions very similar to those found in typical low leakage reload cycle designs. This paper will describe each of these key features and demonstrate the operating margins of the AFC design and the ability of the AFC design to allow easy transition into 18 month low leakage reload cycles. The fuel economics of the AFC design will also be compared to those of a more traditional first core loading pattern.

Effects of Weld Overlays on Leak-Before-Break Margins

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Angah Miessi ◽  
Peter C. Riccardella ◽  
Peihua Jing
Keyword(s):  
Stress Corrosion ◽  
Stress Corrosion Cracking ◽  
Corrosion Cracking ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Intergranular Stress Corrosion ◽  
Pressurized Water ◽  
Weld Overlay ◽  
Water Reactors ◽  
Weld Overlays ◽  
Leak Before Break

Weld overlays have been used to remedy intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC) in boiling water reactors (BWRs) since the 1980s. Overlays have also been applied in the last few years in pressurized water reactors (PWRs) where primary water stress corrosion cracking (PWSCC) has developed. The weld overlay provides a structural reinforcement with SCC resistant material and favorable residual stresses at the ID of the overlaid component. Leak-before-break (LBB) had been applied to several piping systems in PWRs prior to recognizing the PWSCC susceptibility of Alloy 82/182 welds. The application of the weld overlay changes the geometric configuration of the component and as such, the original LBB evaluation is updated to reflect the new configuration at the susceptible weld. This paper describes a generic leak-before-break (LBB) analysis program which demonstrates that the application of weld overlays always improves LBB margins, relative to un-overlaid, PWSCC susceptible welds when all the other parameters or variables of the analyses (loads, geometry, operating conditions, analysis method, etc…) are kept equal. Analyses are performed using LBB methodology previously approved by the US NRC for weld overlaid components. The analyses are performed for a range of nozzle sizes (from 6″ to 34″) spanning the nominal pipe sizes to which LBB has been commonly applied, using associated representative loads and operating conditions. The analyses are performed for both overlaid and un-overlaid configurations of the same nozzles, and using both fatigue and PWSCC crack morphologies in the leakage rate calculations and the LBB margins are compared to show the benefit of the weld overlays.

Steady-State Safety Analysis of Ghana Research Reactor-1 With Low-Enriched-Uranium Core

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward Shitsi ◽  
Prince Amoah ◽  
Emmanuel Ampomah-Amoako ◽  
Henry Cecil Odoi
Keyword(s):  
Steady State ◽  
Research Reactor ◽  
Flow Instability ◽  
Argonne National Laboratory ◽  
Safety Analysis ◽  
Nucleate Boiling ◽  
Pressurized Water ◽  
Safety Margins ◽  
Water Reactors ◽  
Enriched Uranium

Abstract Research reactors all over the world are expected to operate within certain safety margins just like pressurized water reactors and boiling water reactors. These safety margins mainly include onset of nucleate boiling ratio (ONBR), departure from nucleate boiling ratio (DNBR), and flow instability ratio (FIR) in addition to the maximum clad or fuel temperature and saturation temperature or boing point of the coolant inside the core of the reactor. This study carried out steady-state safety analysis of the Ghana Research Reactor-1 (GHARR-1) with low enriched uranium (LEU) core. Monte Carlo N-particle (MCNP) code was used to obtain radial and axial power peaking factors used as inputs in the preparation of the input file of plate temperature code of Argonne National Laboratory (PLTEMP/ANL code), which was then used to obtain the mentioned safety parameters of GHARR-1 with LEU core in this study. The data obtained on the ONBR were used to obtain the initiation of nucleate boiling boundary data with respect to the active length of the reactor core for various reactor powers. The obtained results for LEU core were also compared with that of the high enriched uranium (HEU) core. The results obtained show that the 34 kW GHARR-1 with LEU core is safe to operate just as the previous 30 kW HEU core was safe to operate.

Modeling of Porous Crud Layer Based on Effects of Diffusion and Water Radiolysis on Anomalous Porous Crud Deposition on Fuel Pin Surfaces in PWRs

2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyun-Jong Joe ◽  
Barclay G. Jones
Keyword(s):  
Negative Impact ◽  
Nucleate Boiling ◽  
Water Radiolysis ◽  
Trace Impurities ◽  
Primary Coolant ◽  
Pressurized Water ◽  
Fuel Pin ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Water Reactors ◽  
Coolant System

Many studies have been undertaken to understand crud formation on the upper spans of fuel pin clad surfaces, which is called axial offset anomaly (AOA), is observed in pressurized water reactors (PWR) as a result of sub-cooled nucleate boiling. Separately, researchers have considered the effect of water radiolysis in the primary coolant of PWR. This study examines the effects of radiolysis of liquid water, which aggressively participate in general cladding corrosion and solutes within the primary coolant system, in the terms of pH, temperature, and Linear Energy Transfer (LET). It also discusses the effect of mass transfer, especially diffusion, on the concentration distribution of the radiolytic products, H2 and O2, in the porous crud layer. Finally it covers the effects of chemical reactions of boric acid (H3BO3), which has a negative impact on the mechanisms of water recombination with hydrogen, lithium hydroxide (LiOH), which has a negative effect on water decomposition, dissolved hydrogen (DH), and some trace impurities.

Sensitivity of CTF Solution to Subchannel Window Size

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roman Mukin ◽  
Marcus Seidl ◽  
Ivor Clifford ◽  
Hakim Ferroukhi
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flux ◽  
Window Size ◽  
Local Heat ◽  
Nucleate Boiling ◽  
Pressurized Water Reactor ◽  
Reference Case ◽  
Pressurized Water ◽  
Local Flow ◽  
Power Maps ◽  
Fuel Assemblies

In this work, a so-called mini-core consisting of a 3 × 3 array of 17 × 17 pressurized water reactor (PWR) fuel assemblies (FA) is considered with the aim of identifying the most conservative window size for hot channel analysis of bowed fuel assemblies. Overall, five different mini-core configurations are analyzed: one is the reference case, i.e. without FA displacement and four different cases with diagonal and parallel FA displacements. Rod power maps for these mini-cores were exported from neutronic calculations with CASMO-SIMULATE codes. Subchannel modelling with COBRA-TF code of all five mini-cores allows one to identify the rod position with a minimum departure from the nucleate boiling ratio (DNBR) and to construct input decks with different rod window sizes around the previously identified rod position. Overall, eight different window sizes are considered: 3 × 3, 5 × 5, 7 × 7, 9 × 9, 11 × 11, 13 × 13, 15 × 15 and 17 × 17. Results of subchannel analysis for a mini-core and different subchannel window configurations are compared with the help of DNBR parameter, which is the ratio between the critical heat flux (CHF) and the actual local heat flux on a rod. An assessment of three different CHF models is applied in this work: Groeneveld CHF look-up table (LUT), W3 CHF correlation, and Doroschuk CHF LUT. The general conclusion of this work is that for deformed core configurations, an appropriate rod window size needs to be determined to adequately capture the local flow redistribution. For large displacements (the largest displacement considered in this work is 10 mm), the DNBR ratio can drop to one. DNBRs obtained with the W3 CHF correlation give the most conservative results.

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