scholarly journals Моделирование окисления расплава активной зоны ядерного реактора при наличии оксидной корки на поверхности расплава

2021 ◽  
Vol 91 (2) ◽  
pp. 232
Author(s):  
В.Б. Хабенский ◽  
В.И. Альмяшев ◽  
В.С. Грановский ◽  
Е.В. Крушинов ◽  
С.А. Витоль ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Solid Phase ◽  
Reactor Vessel ◽  
Hydrogen Release ◽  
Severe Accident ◽  
Water Steam ◽  
Exothermic Reactions ◽  
Realistic Situation ◽  
Water Reactors

At a severe accident of nuclear power plants with light-water reactors, the most effective way to localize the forming melt (corium) is to keep it in the cooled reactor vessel, the integrity of which depends on the value of heat flux from the melt to the reactor vessel. In this case, one of the critical processes is the melt oxidation by a water steam or a steam-air mixture. It process can lead to a significant increase in the thermal load on the reactor vessel due to a heat of exothermic reactions of oxidation of reducing agents, which presents in the melt, a thickness decreasing of the metallic part of the molten pool, and a hydrogen release. All of these factors strictly depends on the rate of oxidation. When considering the conditions of melt oxidation, it taken into account that for the accepted scenarios of a severe accident, the most realistic situation is the presence of a solid-phase oxide layer (oxidic crust) on the melt surface. Under these conditions, a dependence for calculating the rate of core melt oxidation based on the diffusion model proposed and its validation by using the obtained experimental data performed.

A Novel Point Estimate Procedure for IVR Calculations in Core-Molten Severe Accident

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yapei Zhang ◽  
Suizheng Qiu ◽  
Guanghui Su ◽  
Wenxi Tian
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Safety Margin ◽  
Thermal Response ◽  
Reactor Vessel ◽  
Severe Accident ◽  
Point Estimate ◽  
Accident Management ◽  
Water Reactors ◽  
Estimate Procedure

In-Vessel Retention (IVR) of core melt is a key severe accident management strategy adopted by operating nuclear power plants and advanced light water reactors (ALWRs), AP600, AP1000 etc. External Reactor Vessel Cooling (ERVC), which involves flooding the reactor cavity to submerge the reactor vessel in an attempt to cool core debris relocated to the vessel low head, is a novel severe accident management for IVR analysis. In present study, IVR analysis code in severe accident (IVRASA) has been proposed to evaluate the safety margin of IVR in AP600 with anticipative depressurization and reactor cavity flooding in severe accident. For, IVRASA, the point estimate procedure has been developed for modeling the steady-state endpoint of core melt configurations. Furthermore, IVRASA was developed in a more general fashion so that it is applicable to compute various molten configurations such as UCSB FInal Bounding State (FIBS) etc. The results by IVRASA were consistent with those of the UCSB and INEEL. Benchmark calculations of UCSB-assumed FIBS indicate the applicability and accuracy of IVRASA and it could be applied to predict the thermal response of various molten configurations.

scholarly journals Reactor Vessel Internals Segmentation Experience using Mechanical Cutting Tools

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 6-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petr Pospíšil
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Cutting Tools ◽  
Reactor Vessel ◽  
Boiling Water Reactors ◽  
Abrasive Waterjet ◽  
Pressurized Water ◽  
Water Reactors ◽  
Mechanical Cutting ◽  
Reactor Internals

Abstract Some commercial nuclear power plants have been permanently shut down to date and decommissioned using dismantling methods. Other operating plants have decided to undergo an upgrade process that includes replacement of reactor internals. In both cases, there is a need to perform a segmentation of the reactor vessel internals with proven methods for long term waste disposal. Westinghouse has developed several concepts to dismantle reactor internals based on safe and reliable techniques, including plasma arc cutting (PAC), abrasive waterjet cutting (AWJC), metal disintegration machining (MDM), or mechanical cutting. Mechanical cutting has been used by Westinghouse since 1999 for both Pressurized Water Reactors (PWR’s) and Boiling Water Reactors (BWR’s) and its process has been continuously improved over the years. The complexity of the work requires well designed and reliable tools. Different band saws, disc saws, tube cutters and shearing tools have been developed to cut the reactor internals. All of those equipments are hydraulically driven which is very suitable for submerged applications. Westinghouse experience in mechanical cutting has demonstrated that it is an excellent technique for segmentation of internals. In summary, the purpose of this paper will be to provide an overview of the Westinghouse mechanical segmentation process, based on actual experience from the work that has been completed to date.

scholarly journals Analysis of criticality of melt during severe accidents in reactor vessel

2018 ◽  
pp. 3-10
Author(s):  
Yu. Kovbasenko ◽  
Yevgen Bilodid
Keyword(s):  
Boric Acid ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Reactor Core ◽  
Cooling Water ◽  
Nuclear Fission ◽  
Reactor Vessel ◽  
Severe Accident ◽  
Emergency Situations ◽  
The Core

The article investigates the possibility of a self-sustaining chain nuclear fission reaction during the development of a severe accident in the core at nuclear power plants with reactors WWER-1000 of Ukraine. Some models for calculating a criticality at different stages of the severe accident in the reactor VVER-1000 vessel were developed and calculations of multiplication properties of fuel containing masses were performed. The severe accident in the VVER-1000 core approximately divided into seven major stages: the intact reactor core, beginning of cladding damage (swelling), cladding melting and flowing down to the support grid, melting of constructional materials, homogenization of the materials at the bottom of the reactor vessel, stratification of corium at the bottom of the reactor vessel, the exit of the corium from the reactor shaft. It was shown that at the beginning of an accident, if fuel rods geometry is maintained, criticality might appear even if the emergency protection rods is triggered. With further development of the accident, the melt of fuel and structural materials will be deeply subcritical if water cannot penetrate into the pores or voids of the melt. In the case of the formation of pores or voids in the melt and the ingress of water into them, a recriticality may arise. A compensating measure is the addition of a boric acid solution to a cooling water with a certain concentration. According to the results of the computation analysis, a reactor core loaded with TVSA fuel (Russian production) requires a higher concentration of boric acid in water to compensate the multiplication properties of the fuel system in emergency situations compared to the core loaded with TVS-WR fuel (manufactured by Westinghouse), i.e. TVS-WR fuel is safer from the criticality point of view.

Countermeasures to Improve LWR Safety Level in Design and Operation by Accident Analyses at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plants

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazumasa Shimizu ◽  
Yuhei Hamada ◽  
Hiroto Sakashita ◽  
Michitsugu Mori
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Natural Circulation ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Severe Accident ◽  
Simulation Code ◽  
Safety Level ◽  
Plant Operations ◽  
Fukushima Daiichi ◽  
Water Reactors

The 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake occurred on March 11. The earthquake attacked the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station with six boiling water reactors (BWRs), three out of which, units 1 through 3 in rated operation except for three reactors of units 4 through 6 in scheduled periodic inspection, automatically shut down in response to the intense seismic motion. Emergency diesel generators started to pump water to cool reactors, and an hour later, the back-up generators lost their all functions by the station blackout resulting from tsunami flooding. In this situation at the unit 1, the isolation condenser system (IC) should have made a critical role to keep the reactor pressure and water level to be safety by removing the decay heat by natural circulation. In fact at the unit 1 during the accident, IC valves were closed by fail-safe and could not have shown the ability of the designed function. An accident report gave general descriptions of the causes and results of accidents, but not the quantitative data indicative of details; therefore, it seems difficult to identify the specific problems in plant operations. Even in this case, if an appropriate analysis code is available for reproducing events based on the reports, it will be possible to determine individual data quantitatively and identify problems in plant operations. In our work, we used the nuclear reactor thermal-hydraulic code RETRAN-3D/MOD4, which has been approved and licensed by U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, to model light water reactors (LWRs) and reproduce the circumstances of the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident as the simulation code. Here, we subjected transition analyses of the process on the core-meltdown accident, and put forward the system to prevent the accident, where the accident analysis report was employed to simulate conditions of the accident. It could enable us to suggest adequate operation procedures suitable for LWR to avoid the severe accident, and to propose countermeasures to improve LWR safety level in design and operation.

scholarly journals Simulation of a Station Blackout Accident for the SMART Using the CINEMA Code

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyoung Tae Kim ◽  
Jin Ho Song ◽  
Rae-Joon Park
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Hydrogen Generation ◽  
Alternate Current ◽  
Reactor Vessel ◽  
Severe Accident ◽  
Fukushima Accident ◽  
Active Safety Systems ◽  
Station Blackout ◽  
Safety Systems

SMART is a small-sized integral type PWR containing major components within a single reactor pressure vessel. Advanced design features implemented into SMART have been proven or qualified through experience, testing, or analysis according to the applicable approved standards. After Fukushima accident, a rising attention is posed on the strategy to cope with a Station Blackout (SBO) accident, which is one of the representative severe accidents related to the nuclear power plants. The SBO is initiated by a loss of all offsite power with a concurrent failure of both emergency diesel generators. With no alternate current power source, most of the active safety systems that perform safety functions are not available. The purpose of SBO analysis in this paper is to show that the integrity of the containment can be maintained during a SBO accident in the SMART (System-integrated Modular Advanced ReacTor). Therefore, the accident sequence during a SBO accident was simulated using the CINEMA-SMART (Code for INtegrated severe accidEnt Management and Analysis-SMART) code to evaluate the transient scenario inside the reactor vessel after an initiating event, core heating and melting by core uncovery, relocation of debris, reactor vessel failure, discharge of molten core, and pressurization of the containment. It is shown that the integrity of the containment can be maintained during a SBO accident in the SMART reactor. It has to be mentioned that the assumptions used in this analysis are extremely conservative that the passive safety systems of PSIS and PRHRS were not credited. In addition, as ANS73 decay heat with 1.2 multiplier was used in this analysis, actual progression of the accident would be much slow and amount of hydrogen generation will be much less.

Westinghouse PWR and BWR Reactor Vessel Segmentation Experience in Using Mechanical Cutting Process

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Per Segerud ◽  
Joseph Boucau ◽  
Stefan Fallstro¨m ◽  
Paul J. Kreitman
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Reactor Vessel ◽  
Boiling Water Reactors ◽  
Abrasive Waterjet ◽  
Pressurized Water ◽  
Water Reactors ◽  
Mechanical Cutting ◽  
Reactor Internals

Some commercial nuclear power plants have been permanently shut down to date and decommissioned using dismantling methods. Other operating plants have decided to undergo an upgrade process that includes replacement of reactor internals. In both cases, there is a need to perform a segmentation of the reactor vessel internals with proven methods for long term waste disposal. Westinghouse has developed several concepts to dismantle reactor internals based on safe and reliable techniques, including plasma arc cutting (PAC), abrasive waterjet cutting (AWJC), metal disintegration machining (MDM), or mechanical cutting. Mechanical cutting has been used by Westinghouse since 1999 for both Pressurized Water Reactors (PWR’s) and Boiling Water Reactors (BWR’s) and its process has been continuously improved over the years. The complexity of the work requires well designed and reliable tools. Different band saws, disc saws, tube cutters and shearing tools have been developed to cut the reactor internals. All of those equipments are hydraulically driven which is very suitable for submerged applications. Westinghouse experience in mechanical cutting has demonstrated that it is an excellent technique for segmentation of internals. In summary, the purpose of this paper will be to provide an overview of the Westinghouse mechanical segmentation process, based on actual experience from the work that has been completed to date.

Comparison of Thermal Hydraulic Simulations of Beyond Design Basis Events Using the MAAP4 and CENTS Computer Codes

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Reed LaBarge ◽  
Barbara R. Baron ◽  
Raymond E. Schneider ◽  
Mathew C. Jacob
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Computer Code ◽  
Hydraulic Modeling ◽  
Severe Accident ◽  
Pressurized Water ◽  
Design Basis ◽  
Best Estimate ◽  
Water Reactors ◽  
Thermal Hydraulic Modeling

The MAAP4 computer code (Reference 1) is often used to perform thermal hydraulic simulations of severe accident sequences for nuclear power plant Probabilistic Risk Assessments (PRAs). MAAP4 can be used to simulate accidents for both Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs) as well as Pressurized Water Reactors (PWRs). This assessment employs MAAP 4.0.6a for PWRs (References 1 and 5), which incorporates explicit thermal hydraulic modeling of the Reactor Coolant System (RCS) and Steam Generators (SGs), along with a nodalized integrated containment model. In the PRA environment, MAAP4 has been used for applications such as the development of PRA Level 1 and Level 2 success criteria and human action timings. The CENTS computer code (Reference 2) is a simulation tool that is typically used to analyze non-Loss of Coolant Accident (non-LOCA) events postulated to occur in nuclear power plants incorporating Combustion Engineering (CE) and Westinghouse Nuclear Steam Supply System (NSSS) designs. It is licensed by the NRC perform design basis non-LOCA safety analyses. It is a best estimate code which uses detailed thermal hydraulic modeling of the RCS and SGs; however, it does not model the containment performance. It is used to perform a wide spectrum of licensing and best estimate non-LOCA event analysis and has the capability to simulate operator actions. The CENTS models are the basis for several full scope simulators in the industry. The purpose of the analyses described in this paper is to compare MAAP4 and CENTS predictions for the Station Blackout (SBO) and Total Loss of Feedwater (TLOFW) scenarios for a representative PWR in the Westinghouse fleet that employs a CE NSSS design. The results of this comparison are used to highlight postulated MAAP4 user challenges and assist in developing guidance on selecting MAAP4 parameters for use in these scenarios. The results of the analyses presented in this paper indicate several useful insights. Overall, this paper shows that when care is taken to normalize the MAAP4 and CENTS primary side natural circulation flowrate and SG modeling, the trends of the MAAP4 and CENTS predictions of core uncovery agree reasonably well.

scholarly journals A decision-support approach to severe accident management in nuclear power plants

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Marko Bohanec ◽  
Ivan Vrbanić ◽  
Ivica Bašić ◽  
Klemen Debelak ◽  
Luka Štrubelj
Keyword(s):  
Decision Support ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Nuclear Power Plants ◽  
Severe Accident ◽  
Accident Management

Finite Element Analyses of Residual Stresses in Typical Welded Joints Used in Nuclear Power Plants and Comparisons With Experiments

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dean Deng ◽  
Kazuo Ogawa ◽  
Nobuyoshi Yanagida ◽  
Koichi Saito
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Simulation ◽  
Residual Stress ◽  
Residual Stresses ◽  
Welded Joints ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Butt Joint ◽  
Welding Residual Stress ◽  
Dissimilar Metal ◽  
Water Reactors

Recent discoveries of stress corrosion cracking (SCC) at nickel-based metals in pressurized water reactors (PWRs) and boiling water reactors (BWRs) have raised concerns about safety and integrity of plant components. It has been recognized that welding residual stress is an important factor causing the issue of SCC in a weldment. In this study, both numerical simulation technology and experimental method were employed to investigate the characteristics of welding residual stress distribution in several typical welded joints, which are used in nuclear power plants. These joints include a thick plate butt-welded Alloy 600 joint, a dissimilar metal J-groove set-in joint and a dissimilar metal girth-butt joint. First of all, numerical simulation technology was used to predict welding residual stresses in these three joints, and the influence of heat source model on welding residual stress was examined. Meanwhile, the influence of other thermal processes such as cladding, buttering and heat treatment on the final residual stresses in the dissimilar metal girth-butt joint was also clarified. Secondly, we also measured the residual stresses in three corresponding mock-ups. Finally, the comparisons of the simulation results and the measured data have shed light on how to effectively simulate welding residual stress in these typical joints.

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