Sensitivity analysis of the SBLOCA induced severe accident for a natural circulation small modular reactors

  • Longze Li
  • , Jue Wang
  • , Yapei Zhang
  • , G. H. Su

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

The natural circulation small modular reactor (NCSMR) is a 330 MW reactor which has no reactor coolant pumps (RCP) and no active safety injection systems at all. The reactor is mainly comprised of the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) with integral pressurizer and steam generator. RPV is enclosed by a vacuumed pressure containment vessel (PCV) and the PCV is submerged in the underground containment pool. A MELCOR model and corresponding input deck are developed for the RPV, PCV, and containment pool. The containment pool takes the role of ultimate heat sink (UHS) in accident situations. The containment pool may crack and leak in some critical accidents as the earthquake, leading to the severe accident of the reactor. A TMI-2 like SBLOCA in the RPV (stuck open RVVs) along with the containment pool crack (loss of ultimate heat sink) is simulated in the work. Some key parameters as the RRVs stuck open fraction, the PCV-SRVs open or not, the containment pool crack position would have large influence on the severe accident sequence. The sensitivity of these parameters to the accident sequence is analyzed in the work. According to the simulation results, the RPV pressure decreased with the RRVs stuck open. The depressurization of RPV accelerated with the RPV-SRV open fraction increase. The PCV pressure increased after that. Two cases as the PCV-SRV open after PCV pressure increase to 5 MPa, and PCV break while the RV did not open, are analysis. The coolant discharge mass flowrate in RPV and PCV were different in two cases, leading to the different degradation situation of the core. Since the containment pool is so important for the accident mitigation, sensitivity analysis is done for the containment pool crack position in the pool. The work will be meaningful in gaining an insight into the detailed process involved. One of the final goals of this work would be to identify appropriate accident management strategies and countermeasures for the potential extreme natural hazard induced severe accidents during the design process of NCSMR.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationThermal-Hydraulics and Safety Analyses
PublisherAmerican Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
ISBN (Electronic)9780791851494
DOIs
StatePublished - 2018
Event2018 26th International Conference on Nuclear Engineering, ICONE 2018 - London, United Kingdom
Duration: 22 Jul 201826 Jul 2018

Publication series

NameInternational Conference on Nuclear Engineering, Proceedings, ICONE
Volume6B

Conference

Conference2018 26th International Conference on Nuclear Engineering, ICONE 2018
Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
CityLondon
Period22/07/1826/07/18

Keywords

  • Natural Circulation SMR
  • SBLOCA
  • Sensitivity analysis
  • Severe Accident

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Sensitivity analysis of the SBLOCA induced severe accident for a natural circulation small modular reactors'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this