Analysis of the effect of severe accident scenario on the vessel lower head failure in Nordic BWR using MELCOR code
2018 (English)In: PSAM 2018 - Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management, International Association for Probablistic Safety Assessment and Management (IAPSAM) , 2018Conference paper, Published paper (Refereed)
Abstract [en]
Severe accident management (SAM) in Nordic boiling water reactors (BWR) relies on ex-vessel core debris coolability. In case of core melt and vessel failure, melt is poured into a deep pool of water located under the reactor. The melt is expected to fragment, quench, and form a debris bed, coolable by natural circulation of water. Success of the strategy is contingent upon melt release conditions from the vessel which determine (i) properties and thus coolability of the debris bed, and (ii) potential for energetic steam explosion. Both non-coolable debris bed and steam explosion are credible threats to containment integrity. Melt release conditions are the major source of uncertainty in quantification of the risk of containment failure in Nordic BWRs using ROAAM+ Framework. The melt release conditions, including in-vessel\ex-vessel pressure, lower drywell pool depth and temperature, are affected by aleatory (severe accident scenario) and epistemic (modeling) uncertainties. In this work we use MELCOR code to perform the analysis of the effects of Severe accident scenarios and modelling options in MELCOR on the properties of debris relocated to the lower head, the time and the mode of vessel lower head failure. We identify the most influential uncertain factors and discuss the needs for improvements in the modeling approaches.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
International Association for Probablistic Safety Assessment and Management (IAPSAM) , 2018.
Keywords [en]
MELCOR, Nordic BWR, ROAAM, Severe accident, Accidents, Boiling water reactors, Debris, Explosions, Uncertainty analysis, Boiling water reactor (BWR), Containment integrity, Natural circulation, Severe accident management, Failure (mechanical)
National Category
Engineering and Technology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-252279Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85063129205OAI: oai:DiVA.org:kth-252279DiVA, id: diva2:1321140
Conference
14th Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management, PSAM 2018, 16 September 2018 through 21 September 2018
Note
QC20190607
2019-06-072019-06-072022-06-26Bibliographically approved