Thermal-hydraulic analysis on the effect of operator action in the loss of shutdown cooling system accident in a PWR

It is necessary to develop PSA methodology and integrated accident management technology during low power/shutdown operations. To develop this technology, thermal-hydraulic analysis is necessarily required to access the trend of plant process parameters and operator's grace time after initiation of the accident. In this study, the thermal-hydraulic behavior in the loss of shutdown cooling system accident during low power/shutdown operations at the Korean standard nuclear power plant was analyzed using the best-estimate thermal-hydraulic analysis code, MARS2.1. The effects of operator's action and initiation of accident mitigation system, such as safety injection and gravity feed on mitigation of the accident during shutdown operations are also analyzed.When steam generators are unavailable or vent paths with large cross-sectional area are open in the accident, the core damage occurs earlier than the cases of steam generators available or vent paths with small cross-sectional area. If an operator takes an action to mitigate the accident, the accident can be mitigated considerably. To mitigate the accident, high-pressure safety injection is more effective in POS4B and gravity feed is more effective in POS5. The results of this study can contribute to the plant safety improvement because those can provide the time for an operator to take an action to mitigate the accident by providing quantitative time of core damage. The results of this study can also provide information in developing operating procedure and accident management technology.     

Accident management following loss-of-coolant accidents during cooldown in a Westinghouse two-loop PWR

Operation of pressurised water reactors involves shutdown periods for refuelling and maintenance. In preparation for this, the reactor system is cooled down, depressurised and partially drained. Although reactor coolant pressure is lower than during full-power operation, there remains the possibility of a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA), with a certain but low probability. While the decay heat to be removed is lower than that from a LOCA at full power, the reduced availability of safety systems implies a risk of failing to maintain core cooling, and hence of core damage. This is recognised though probabilistic safety analyses (PSA), which identify low but non-negligible contributions to core damage frequency from accidents during cooldown and shutdown. Analyses are made for a typical two-loop Westinghouse PWR of the consequences of a range of LOCAs during hot and intermediate shutdown, 4 and 5 h after reactor shutdown respectively. The accumulators are isolated, while power to some of the pumped safety injection systems (SIs) is racked out. The study assesses the effectiveness of the nominally assumed SIs in restoring coolant inventory and preventing core damage, and the margin against core damage where their actuation is delayed. The calculations use the engineering-level MELCOR1.8.5 code, supplemented by the SCDAPSIM and SCDAP/RELAP5 codes, which provide a more detailed treatment of coolant system thermal hydraulics and core behaviour. Both treatments show that the core is readily quenched, without damage, by the nominal SI which assumes operation of only one pump. Margins against additional scenario and model uncertainties are assessed by assuming a delay of 900 s (the time needed to actuate the remaining pumps) and a variety of assumptions regarding models and the number of pumps available in conjunction with both MELCOR and versions of SCDAP. Overall, the study provides confidence in the inherent robustness of the plant design with respect to LOCA during cooldown to cold shutdown, and in the validity of a two-tier calculational method. The results have been directly used in updating the plant shutdown PSA, by changing the success criteria for core cooling during cooldown of the plant and showing a reduction in overall risk.     

An estimation of an operator's action time by using the MARS code in a small break LOCA without a HPSI for a PWR

To estimate the success criteria of an operator's action time for a probabilistic safety/risk assessment (PSA/PRA) of a nuclear power plant, the information from a safety analysis report (SAR) and/or that by using a simplified simulation code such as the MAAP code has been used in a conventional PSA. However, the information from these is often too conservative to perform a realistic PSA for a risk-informed application. To reduce the undue conservatism, the use of a best-estimate thermal hydraulic code has become an essential issue in the latest PSA and it is now recognized as a suitable tool. In the same context, the ‘ASME PRA standard’ also recommends the use of a best-estimate code to improve the quality of a PSA. In Korea, a platform to use a best-estimate thermal hydraulic code called the MARS code has been developed for the PSA of the Korea standard nuclear power plant (KSNP). This study has proposed an estimation method for an operator's action time by using the MARS platform. The typical example case is a small break loss of coolant accident without the high pressure safety injection system, which is one of the most important accident sequences in the PSA of the KSNP. Under the given accident sequence, the operator has to perform a recovery action known as a fast cooldown operation. This study focuses on two aspects regarding an operator's action; one is how they can operate it under some restrictions; the other is how much time is available to mitigate this accident sequence. To assess these aspects, this study considered: (1) the operator's action model and (2) the starting time of the operation. To show an effect due to an operator's action, three kinds of control models (the best-fitting, the conservative, and the proportional-integral) have been assessed. This study shows that the developed method and the platform are useful tools for this type of problem and they can provide a valuable insight related to an operator's actions.     

Application of PSA Methodology to Design Improvement of JAERI Passive Safety Reactor (JPSR)

A probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) technique was applied to the design of JAERI Passive Safety Reactor (JPSR). A PSA was performed to clarify safety features and identify vulnerabilities of the original design. Based on the PSA results and considering thermal-hydraulic analyses and experiments, the JPSR design was improved to enhance plant safety. The improved design was re-evaluated with the PSA. Initiating events selected in this study were: large-break LOCA, medium- and small-break LOCAs, SGTR, main steam line break, loss of offsite power, loss of feed water, and other transients. Fault tree analyses were used to evaluate the system unavailabilities. The total core damage frequency due to internal events was estimated to be less than 10^?7/RY. The contribution of high frequency non-LOCA events could be significantly reduced by the design modification. The dominant initiating event was the small break LOCA and the dominant sequence was the failure of residual heat removal system. The present study indicated that the improved JPSR design has sufficient safety margin and the PSA methodology is very effective to improve reactor safety systems in a conceptual design phase.     

Probabilistic safety analyses developments resurgence in Bulgaria—Kozloduy nuclear power plant example

This paper presents some of the main technical features and insights of the Kozloduy nuclear power plant (NPP) units 5 and 6 probabilistic safety analysis (PSA) level 1. Probabilistic analyses and their applications in Bulgaria were given further impetus in recent years. More than 17 years after the first PSA study in Bulgaria in 1992 today probabilistic analyses receive increasing attention and application than ever before. The Bulgarian regulatory body (BNRA) is also interested in expanding their capability of reviewing and using PSA in plant safety assessments. In November 2008 within the framework of the program financed by European Union (PHARE), a project for assisting the BNRA in establishing the regulatory requirements on the base of PSA was completed. One of the objectives of this project was performance of the independent review of Kozloduy NPP units 5 and 6 PSA. This review was a new impulse for the authors to present in more details of Kozloduy NPP probabilistic assessment studies in the present paper.     

WWER-1000 shutdown probabilistic risk assessment: An introductory insight

The probabilistic risk assessment has become an essential part of every plant’s safety/risk analysis. In the past, regulations and safety assessments of nuclear power plants were traditionally concentrated on full power operation. However, because of the events that might potentially occur during low power and shutdown modes, the assessment of risk at these operational modes is now gaining more importance.     

次临界或低功率启动工况下控制棒组失控抽出事故DNBR裕量分析

次临界或低功率启动工况下控制棒组失控抽出事故定义为RCC-P Ⅱ类事故,它一直是核电厂安全分析的极限事故之一。本文以典型三环路压水堆为对象,分析了热停堆状态下不同停堆棒组组合对该事故DNBR裕量的影响。研究表明,通过优化热停堆状态下停堆棒组组合,在保证足够的停堆深度下,可进一步提高典型三环路压水堆核电厂在该事故下的DNBR裕量。     

Thermal hydraulic behaviors during loss of RHR system at mid-loop operation of Chinese 300 MWe PWR NPP

Thermal hydraulic behavior of nuclear power plant (NPP) is analyzed by using mechanistic computer code for loss of residual heat removal (RHR) system during mid-loop operation of Chinese 300 MWe two-loop pressurized water reactor is presented. In the absence of recovery of RHR or other accident management measures, the reactor core will be uncovered for a long term resulting in core heat-up, degradation and relocation to the lower plenum. The effectiveness of available mitigate measures, such as safety injection system, gravity feed from refueling water storage tank (RWST) and steam generator (SG) reflux-condensation, are investigated. Coolant injection is highly effective in halting the accident progression and make the core recovered. The cooling capability of SG reflux-condensation has a relationship with different availabilities of steam generators and decay heat power. 6 days after shutdown, 2SG operation can keep the water level at mid-line of hot leg. 12 days after shutdown, both 2SG operation and 1SG operation can keep the water level at mid-line of hot leg. The analyses also indicate that the cooling mechanism of safety injection system is more effective than gravity feed from RWST and SG reflux-condensation. Through confirming the success criteria of SG reflux-condensation, time windows can be devided. Then, event trees for loss of RHR system under mid-loop operation are built with considering the analysis results and abnormal procedure.     

自然循环反应堆NHR-200Ⅱ失水事故初步研究

破口事故是压水堆最为关注的一类重要事故,其失水量与事故后果严重程度密切相关。NHR-200Ⅱ是由清华大学核能与新能源技术研究院经过多年研究和不断改进,设计的一种全功率自然循环低温供热反应堆,其设计中采用了多种先进的非能动和固有安全设计。本研究针对NHR-200Ⅱ反应堆,选取后果最为严重的控制棒引水管断裂且无法隔离事故,利用系统热工瞬态分析程序对事故过程进行了模拟和分析。结果表明,即使在最严重的破口失水事故下,NHR-200Ⅱ主回路中剩余的冷却剂始终能覆盖反应堆堆芯,并有效通过非能动余热载出系统带走堆芯热量,从而保证反应堆堆芯不会因裸露造成烧毁,这表明NHR-200Ⅱ具有很好的安全特性。     

西安脉冲堆反应性引入事故瞬态安全特性分析

为研究西安脉冲堆（XAPR）在意外引入反应性且停堆系统失效事故下的瞬态安全特性,本文基于XAPR的结构和运行特点,建立了适用于XAPR的瞬态热工水力分析模型,并开发了用于XAPR安全特性分析的瞬态热工水力程序TSAC-XAPR。利用TSAC-XAPR程序对反应性引入事故进行模拟计算,结果表明：当XAPR在额定功率范围内运行时,发生反应性引入事故后,堆芯能依靠自身的固有反馈机制使脉冲堆重新达到稳定运行状态;当运行功率过高尤其是超过临界值时,反应性引入事故将导致脉冲堆关键热工水力参数发生振荡,无法再次达到稳态。此外,不同反应性引入方式将影响堆芯参数在反应性引入过程中的变化趋势,但并不影响其最终稳态值。     

Transient Safety Characteristic Analysis of Xi’an Pulsed Reactor during Reactivity Insertion Accident

In order to study the transient safety characteristics of Xi’an Pulsed Reactor (XAPR) when unexpected reactivity insertion accident happened and shutdown system failed, the main mathematical models were established based on the specific core structure and operation conditions of XAPR. Meanwhile, a transient thermal-hydraulic code called TSAC-XAPR was developed to analyze the safety characteristics of XAPR. The TSAC-XAPR code was then used to simulate the reactivity insertion accident of XAPR. The calculation results indicate that when XAPR operating under rated power, reactor can reach a new steady state for reactivity insertion accident, depending on its inherent feedback mechanism. When XAPR operating under high power, especially above the critical power, key thermal-hydraulic parameters of reactor will tend to oscillate and can’t reach a steady state again for reactivity insertion accident. Besides, it is also found that different reactivity insertion modes will only affect the variation trend during the phase of reactivity insertion instead of the final value at steady state.     

Incorporation of passive components aging into PRAs

The probabilistic risk assessments being developed at most nuclear power plants to calculate the risk of core damage generally focus on the possible failure of active components. The possible failure of passive components is given little consideration. We are developing a method for selecting risk-significant passive components and including them in probabilistic risk assessments. We demonstrated the method by selecting a weld in the auxiliary feedwater system. The selection of this component was based on expert judgement of the likelihood of failure and on an estimate of the consequence of component failure to plant safety. We then used the PRAISE computer code to perform a probabilistic structural analysis to calculate the probability that crack growth due to aging would cause the weld to fail. The calculation included the effects of mechanical loads and thermal transients considered in the design and the effects of thermal cycling caused by a leaking check valve. We modified an existing probabilistic risk assessment (NUREG-1150 plant) to include the possible failure of the auxiliary feedwater weld, and then we used the weld failure probability as input to the modified probabilistic risk assessment to calculate the change in plant risk with time. The results showed that if the failure probability of the selected weld is high, the effect on plant risk is significant. However, this particular calculation showed a very low weld failure probability and no change in plant risk for the 48 years of service analyzed. The success of this demonstration shows that this method could be applied to nuclear power plants.     

我国今后新建核电站若干安全问题的考虑

根据国内外经验 ,提出了我国今后新建核电站的若干安全要求 ,包括安全目标、决定论方法和概率论方法、严重事故、安全壳及其系统、氢的控制和停堆状态下的安全问题     

Seismic probabilistic risk assessment and its impact on margin studies

In recent years a number of seismic probabilistic risk assessments of nuclear power plants have been conducted. These studies have highlighted the significance of seismic events to the overall plant risk and have identified several dominant contributors to the seismic risk. It has been learnt from the seismic PRAs that the uncertainty in the seismic hazard results contribute to the large uncertainty in the core damage and severe release frequencies. A procedure is needed to assess the seismic safety of a plant which is somewhat removed from the influence of the uncertainties in seismic hazard estimates. In the last two years, seismic margin review methodologies have been developed based on the results and insights from the seismic probabilistic risk assessments. They focus on the question of how much larger an earthquake should be beyond the plant design basis before it compromises the safety of the plant. An indicator of the plant seismic capacity called the High Confidence Low Probability of Failure (HCLPF) capacity, is defined as the level of earthquake for which one could state with high confidence that the plant will have a low probability of severe core damage. The seismic margin review methodologies draw from the seismic PRAs, experience in seismic analyses, testing and actual earthquakes in order to minimize the review effort. The salient steps in the review consists of preliminary screening of components and systems, performance of detailed seismic walkdowns and evaluation of seismic margins for components, systems and plant.     

兆瓦级空间气冷堆系统启停堆瞬态分析

本文针对兆瓦级高温气冷堆布雷顿循环系统,采用Fortran语言开发系统分析程序TASS,包括堆芯、透平-发电机-压气机、回热器、冷却器和热管式辐射散热器等模型。通过设计值与程序计算值对比对TASS进行验证,并利用TASS对系统启动、停堆瞬态工况进行数值模拟。结果显示,通过分两阶段、阶梯式引入正反应性和提高涡轮机械的转轴速度,堆芯流量和功率匹配良好,系统可在3.5 h内完成启动过程,达到反应堆功率3 406 kW、流量14.2 kg/s的稳态运行。系统停堆过程中,反应堆可依靠自身的非能动余热排出能力,确保芯块和包壳温度与熔点间存在较大安全裕量,实现安全停堆。     

Simplified thermal-hydraulic methods for analyzing light water reactor event sequence families

A simplified method for obtaining thermal-hydraulic plant responses for light water reactors is described. The method combines the application of detailed and simplified plant models, using an advanced computer code (such as RELAP5), to simulate plant responses to accident or operational transient events. Calculations using a simplified plant model are performed to extend the results obtained with a detailed plant model. The simplified model is then used to investigate the effects of minor changes in event sequences. The method is an accurate, economical means of determining thermal-hydraulic plant responses for groups of sequences that share common controlling thermal-hydraulic phenomena. The methods described here are therefore valuable in assisting probabilistic risk assessments that typically require deterministic evaluation of large numbers of sequences grouped in this manner.     

低功率及停堆工况PSA中的电厂运行状态分析

电厂运行状态(POS)分析的目的是将核电厂低功率停堆运行这一连续的动态过程离散化,这是用事件树表示发展事故序列的必要条件。以某300 MW参考核电厂的设计、运行经验、操作规程等基础做为参考,采用相关准则进行详细的POS分析,得到合理的POS,并根据该参考电厂实际运行情况计算得到每个POS的持续时间。这项工作为开展低功率及停堆工况PSA奠定了重要的基础,其分析方法和內容为国內开展此项工作提供了参考。     

小型动力堆自然散热分析与研究

研制了反应堆维修期间堆芯自然散热的计算分析程序,并对程序计算结果和跟踪试验结果进行了比较,表明了本程序的计算结果是正确可靠的,为掌握堆芯无冷却时冷却剂压力和温度等参数的变化规律提供了有力的计算工具,对确保维修期间的核安全提供了科学可靠的技术依据。     

A coupled analysis of system thermal-hydraulics and three-dimensional reactor kinetics for a 12-finger control element assembly drop event in a PWR plant

A coupled system thermal-hydraulics (T-H) and three-dimensional reactor kinetics code, MARS/MASTER, was developed to attain more accurate predictions for nuclear system transients that involve strong interactions between neutronic and T-H phenomena. In this paper, a 12-finger control element assembly (CEA) drop event in a two-loop pressurized water reactor (PWR) plant under a full power condition was analyzed, where the 12-finger CEA that is nearest to the hot leg of Loop 2 is assumed to incidentally drop. This instantaneously results in an asymmetric radial power distribution and, in turn, asymmetric loop behavior, which may lead to a reactor trip due to a low departure from nucleate boiling (DNB) ratio at the intact side of the core or an excessive difference between the cold leg coolant temperatures. This event clearly requires a coupled calculation of system T-H and three-dimensional reactor kinetics to realistically investigate the thermal-hydraulic behavior of the reactor core. A simple theoretical modeling is also devised to evaluate the cold leg temperature difference under a quasi-steady state.     

Probabilistic risk assessment in nuclear power plant regulation

A specific program is recommended to utilize more effectively probabilistic risk assessment in nuclear power plant regulation. It is based upon the engineering insights from the Reactor Safety Study (WASH-1400) and some follow-on risk assessment research by USNRC. The Three Mile Island accident is briefly discussed from a risk viewpoint to illustrate a weakness in current practice. The development of a probabilistic safety goal is recommended with some suggestions on underlying principles. Some ongoing work on risk perception and the draft probabilistic safety goal being reviewed in Canada is described. Some suggestions are offered on further risk assessment research. Finally, some recent U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission actions are described.