An evaluation of a direct cooling method for the ex-vessel corium stabilization

An evaluation of the ex-vessel core catcher system of a sample advanced light water reactor was presented. The core catcher was designed to cool down the molten corium through a combined injection of water and gas from the bottom of the molten corium, which could be effective in the reduction of rapid steam generation. By using the MELCOR code, a scenario analysis was performed for a representative severe accident scenario of the ALWR, that is, the 6-in. large break loss of coolant accident without safe injection. The spreading characteristics of ejected corium at vessel breach were asymptotically evaluated on the core catcher horizontal surface. The composition of the molten corium, the decay power level, and the sacrificial concrete ablation depth with time were obtained by a sacrificial concrete ablation analysis. The corium cooling history in the core catcher during the coolant injection was evaluated to calculate the temporal steam generation rate by considering an energy conservation equation. These were used as the major inputs for the temporal calculations of containment pressure which was performed by using the GASFLOW code. Several cases with change of water and gas injection rates were calculated. It was confirmed that the bottom water/gas injection system was an effective corium cooling method in the ex-vessel core catcher to suppress the quick release of steam.     

Corium viscosity modelling above liquidus temperature

In the event of a highly unlikely core melt-down accident in Pressurized Water Reactors (PWR), scenarios in which the reactor pressure vessel fails and the core melt mixture (called corium) relocates into the reactor cavity, cannot be excluded. The Nuclear Reactor Division (CEA/DRN) has undertaken investigations in order to model rheological corium behaviour. In this paper, a bibliographic study and a comparison with available data lead to the conclusion that the viscosity of corium containing UO₂, ZrO₂ and Zr can be calculated, at the melting point, with a good accuracy using the Andrade formula. Above the liquidus temperature, the correlations, proposed for pure metals and metal alloys, between the activation energy and the melting temperature are not available in the case of urania and thus cannot be used to calculate liquid corium activation energy. To overcome this problem, in this paper we propose to use a mole fraction averaged activation energy. Nevertheless, this last point needs to be validated.     

MCNP程序在反应堆临界计算中的应用

用三维的蒙特卡罗程序（MCNP）进行临界计算，着重介绍堆芯和反射层的建模，利用MCNP程序的重复结构功能简化对堆芯的描述，以JRR3为例计算了几个不同棒位于Keff值，计算结果与参值吻合较好，表明MCNP程序能够用于反应堆的临界计算。     

铀加工与燃料制造设施核临界事故所致瞬发剂量计算研究

建立了基于蒙特卡罗（MCNP）程序建模的铀加工与燃料制造设施核临界事故工况下瞬发剂量的计算方法，并将该计算方法与EJ/T 988—96规定的计算方法进行了比较分析。以我国某核燃料元件研发厂址为例，采用MCNP程序建模计算了该厂址核临界事故对厂界公众所致的瞬发剂量。结果表明，EJ/T 988—96的计算方法过于保守的估计了核临界事故工况下的瞬发剂量；基于MCNP程序建模的计算方法，因其求解算法的科学性和模型对屏蔽介质的准确描述，以及结果误差的可控性，使得计算结果更准确。因此，建议采用基于MCNP程序建模的方法计算铀加工与燃料制造设施核临界事故下的瞬发剂量。      

CEFR-MOX新燃料组件运输货包临界安全计算

易裂变材料运输过程中重要的安全问题之一是临界安全。在对运输货包进行临界安全分析中必须要同时考虑多货包阵列形式、事故后货包损伤对临界安全影响、最佳水慢化条件等因素。本文采用MCNP 程序针对CEFR-MOX新燃料组件运输货包进行了临界安全计算。计算结果表明:MCNP程序(采用核截面库为ENDF/B-V库)对本问题的次临界限值为0.924 6;正常运输条件下无限个运输货包的最大k_eff值为0.574 4,运输事故条件下无限个运输货包的最大k_eff值为0.659 7。根据临界安全指数的定义,确定CEFR-MOX新燃料组件运输货包的临界安全指数为0。     

小型移动式铅铋堆运输过程堆芯进水事故工况下临界安全问题研究

小型移动式铅铋堆由于在海岛、偏远地区等场景的应用需要,整堆运输的安全可行性成为必要设计目标之一。基于小型移动式铅铋堆自身特点,采用谱移吸收材料的反应性控制手段进行反应性控制方案研究,以确保整堆运输的临界安全。利用MCNP软件计算在运输过程、堆芯进水事故工况下表面涂覆不同厚度Gd2O3涂层的燃料芯块的有效增殖系数（keff）,其中涂层厚度为50μm时满足临界安全要求;分析加入谱移吸收材料后堆芯的燃耗特性、功率分布和传热,验证表明其不影响堆芯正常运行,确定了此种反应性控制方案的可行性。     

球床式高温气冷堆初次临界物理计算的蒙特卡罗方法模型分析

对HTR-10初次临界的几何模型进行了对比和分析,运用基于蒙特卡罗方法的MCNP4B和TRIPOLI-4．3程序描述了高温气冷堆的包缀燃料颗粒在燃料球内的随机分布以及燃料球和石墨球在堆芯的随机混合分布应用TRIPOLI-4．3对HTR-10进行了初次临界物理计算,并且与已有的MCNP4B的计算结果进行了比较结果表明：基于蒙特卡罗方法的MCNP4B和TRIPOLI-4．3程序,采用适当的几何描述方式可以用手球床式高温气冷堆的初次临界堆芯物理计算．     

铀水系统核临界安全的蒙特卡罗计算

本工作涉及应用蒙特卡罗程序MCNP4B对铀水系统核临界实验数据进行验证计算和对740L容器取料时漏入CaCl₂盐水后形成的UO₂F₂-CaCl₂水溶液系统的有效增值系数k_eff的模拟计算。计算结果表明，MCNP4B程序对铀水系统核临界安全计算是有效的，漏入盐水后形成的均匀UO₂F₂-CaCl₂水溶液系统是核临界安全的。计算结果为实际生产中的核临界安全性提供了理论依据。      

Analyses for VVER-1000/320 reactor for spectrum of break sizes along with SBO

Severe accident analysis of a reactor is an important aspect for evaluation of source term. This in turn helps in emergency planning and severe accident management (SAM). Analyses have been carried out for VVER-1000 (V320) reactor following LOCA along with station blackout (SBO) to generate information on these aspects. Availability and unavailability of hydro-accumulators (HAs) are also considered for this study. Integral code ASTEC V1.3 (jointly developed by IRSN, France, and GRS, Germany) is used for analysing the transients. The predictions of different severe accident parameters like vessel rupture time, hydrogen and corium production and radioactivity release to containment have been compared for a spectrum of break sizes to provide information for probabilistic safety analysis (PSA) level-2 and severe accident management (SAM) guidelines.     

Benchmark Analysis of Criticality Experiments in the TRIGA Mark II Using a Continuous Energy Monte Carlo Code MCNP

The criticality analysis of the TRIGA-II benchmark experiment at the Musashi Institute of Technology Research Reactor (MuITR, 100kW) was performed by the three-dimensional continuous-energy Monte Carlo code (MCNP4A). To minimize errors due to an inexact geometry model, all fresh fuels and control rods as well as vicinity of the core were precisely modeled. Effective multiplication factors (k_eff) in the initial core critical experiment and in the excess reactivity adjustment for the several fuel-loading patterns as well as the fuel element reactivity worth distributions were used in the validation process of the physical model and neutron cross section data from the ENDF/B-V evaluation. The calculated k_eff overestimated the experimental data by about 1.0Δk/k for both the initial core and the several fuel-loading arrangements (fuels or graphite elements were added only to the outer-ring), but the discrepancy increased to 1.8Δk/k for the some fuel-loading patterns (graphite elements were inserted into the inner-ring). The comparison result of the fuel element worth distribution showed above tendency. All in all, the agreement between the MCNP predictions and the experimentally determined values is good, which indicates that the Monte Carlo model is enough to simulate criticality of the TRIGA-II reactor.     

船用堆严重事故下熔融物堆内滞留能力分析

堆芯熔化的严重事故,可能导致船用堆下封头失效、熔融物进入堆坑,危害人员及船体安全。本文采用严重事故一体化程序MAAP4,以船用堆全船断电事故为研究对象,针对低压安全注射系统投入时机、低压安全注射水流量,研究下腔室熔池形成后,投入低压安全注射系统对熔融物堆内滞留的作用。结果表明:在下腔室熔池形成后1576?s时,投入两台安全注射泵仍能有效阻止压力容器失效,实现熔融物堆内滞留;在下腔室熔池形成2646?s后,投入低压安全注射系统不能阻止压力容器失效。      

Finite element spherical harmonics (PN) solutions of the three-dimensional Takeda benchmark problems

A set of multi-group eigenvalue (K_eff) benchmark problems in three-dimensional homogenised reactor core configurations have been solved using the deterministic finite element transport theory code EVENT and the Monte Carlo code MCNP4C. The principal aim of this work is to qualify numerical methods and algorithms implemented in EVENT. The benchmark problems were compiled and published by the Nuclear Data Agency (OECD/NEACRP) and represent three-dimensional realistic reactor cores which provide a framework in which computer codes employing different numerical methods can be tested. This is an important step that ought to be taken (in our view) before any code system can be confidently applied to sensitive problems in nuclear criticality and reactor core calculations. This paper presents EVENT diffusion theory (P₁) approximation to the neutron transport equation and spherical harmonics transport theory solutions (P₃–P₉) to three benchmark problems with comparison against the widely used and accepted Monte Carlo code MCNP4C. In most cases, discrete ordinates transport theory (S_N) solutions which are already available and published have also been presented. The effective multiplication factors (K_eff) obtained from transport theory EVENT calculations using an adequate spatial mesh and spherical harmonics approximation to represent the angular flux for all benchmark problems have been estimated within 0.1% (100 pcm) of the MCNP4C predictions. All EVENT predictions were within the three standard deviation uncertainty of the MCNP4C predictions. Regionwise and pointwise multi-group neutron scalar fluxes have also been calculated using the EVENT code and compared against MCNP4C predictions with satisfactory agreements. As a result of this study, it is shown that multi-group reactor core/criticality problems can be accurately solved using the three-dimensional deterministic finite element spherical harmonics code EVENT.     

基于MCNP程序的入堆样品价值计算

本工作采用MCNP程序对样品在西安脉冲堆跑兔辐照系统内辐照进行了物理描述和临界计算,并采用MCNP 4C程序自带的微扰卡对样品引入的反应性进行了计算.计算结果体现出微扰卡计算微小扰动的特点,避免了常规算法中系统k计算偏差对计算结果的影响,计算结果更可信.     

Corium crust strength measurements

Corium strength is of interest in the context of a severe reactor accident in which molten core material melts through the reactor vessel and collects on the containment basemat. Some accident management strategies involve pouring water over the melt to solidify it and halt corium/concrete interactions. The effectiveness of this method could be influenced by the strength of the corium crust at the interface between the melt and coolant. A strong, coherent crust anchored to the containment walls could allow the yet-molten corium to fall away from the crust as it erodes the basemat, thereby thermally decoupling the melt from the coolant and sharply reducing the cooling rate. This paper presents a diverse collection of measurements of the mechanical strength of corium. The data is based on load tests of corium samples in three different contexts: (1) small blocks cut from the debris of the large-scale MACE experiments, (2) 30 cm-diameter, 75 kg ingots produced by SSWICS quench tests, and (3) high temperature crusts loaded during large-scale corium/concrete interaction (CCI) tests. In every case the corium consisted of varying proportions of UO₂, ZrO₂, and the constituents of concrete to represent a LWR melt at different stages of a molten core/concrete interaction. The collection of data was used to assess the strength and stability of an anchored, plant-scale crust. The results indicate that such a crust is likely to be too weak to support itself above the melt. It is therefore improbable that an anchored crust configuration could persist and the melt become thermally decoupled from the water layer to restrict cooling and prolong an attack of the reactor cavity concrete.     

New approach to evaluate lattice expansion of light water reactor fuel elements on criticality safety of transport packages under impact accidents

Abstract

In order to safely transport packages containing light water reactor fuel assemblies, it is essential to maintain the fuel assemblies in a subcritical state in accidents during transport. To evaluate nuclear criticality safety, an estimator is required to determine an absolutely safe level based not only on hypothetical accidents but also on practical accident levels which, to some extent, are based on actual accidents. The purpose of the present study is to suggest the arrangement of the deformation range of the fuel assembly after an actual accident, and to obtain the maximum value of the neutron effective multiplication factor based on the criticality safety assessment for the transport cask. In the present study, two kinds of criticality calculations for the package were considered: large scale pin pitch shift and small scale pin pitch shift. For the large scale pin pitch shift, a parameter which determines the location of each fuel pin which constitutes the fuel assembly was introduced so that the criticality calculation for the fuel assembly with non-uniform lattice pitch can be performed parametrically. The result of the criticality calculation using the parameter made it clear that the fuel pin pitch is sensitive to the neutron reactivity because each of the fuel pin pitches is related to a ratio of the fissile to the moderator, and that the relationship of the ratio to the neutron reactivity depends on the type of the fuel assembly involved, i.e. the type of a nuclear reactor in which a fuel assembly is used. For the small scale pin pitch shift, the study focused on the small displacement of each fuel pin. The small displacement of each fuel pin pitch can be described probabilistically using the stochastic geometry routine in MCNP code. Using the scheme in combination with the scheme for the large scale pin pitch shift, the maximum value of the neutron effective multiplication factor of the package after an accident can be obtained. This scheme is useful to determine the maximum neutron effective multiplication factor for the criticality safety evaluation.     

临界事故报警系统仪表剂量计算方法研究

本文对临界安全基准实验国际评价中的迷宫实验进行了详细建模和验证计算,使用三维蒙特卡洛程序,采用两步法对中子探测器的读数进行了预测,并与实验结果进行了比较分析,统计了所有448个实验测点的计算偏差分布。通过总结临界事故报警系统在实际应用时位置选择和阈值设定的步骤,评价了本文所验证内容在上述过程中的作用。本文所开展的临界事故报警系统仪表剂量计算方法研究是临界事故报警系统设置中一项基础工作,可以为实际应用提供计算精度的参考数据,也可以应用于中子屏蔽设施的评价工作。     

EPR堆芯严重事故下安全壳内的辐射屏蔽计算

MCNP程序可以从粒子输运、扩散方程的角度来模拟计算堆芯在严重事故下安全壳内的辐射剂量水平。文章以EPR堆芯为例,采用MCNP 5程序及其核数据库CCC-710建立了精确的三维蒙特卡罗模型,在此基础上对EPR严重事故下安全壳内的辐射剂量率进行了计算分析,为判断堆芯情况和制定应急防护行动提供了数据参考。     

Simulation of MCCI with the TOLBIAC-ICB code based on the phase segregation model

In the event of a severe accident in a pressurized water reactor, corium, a mixture of molten materials issued from the fuel, cladding and structural elements, appears in the reactor core. In some circumstances, corium is likely to melt through the reactor pressure vessel and spread over the concrete basemat of the reactor pit. Molten core concrete interaction (MCCI) then occurs. The main question that has to be addressed in this scenario is whether and when the corium will make its way through the basemat. For some years, CEA is developing a numerical code named TOLBIAC-ICB in order to simulate molten core concrete interaction in reactor case. The general approach used in this code is based on the phase segregation model developed by CEA. The solid phase is supposed to be located at the corium pool boundaries as a solid crust composed of refractory oxides, whereas the corium pool contains no solid. The interfacial temperature between the crust and the pool is the liquidus temperature calculated with the composition of the pool. The interaction between thermalhydraulics (mass and energy balances) and physico-chemistry (liquidus temperature, crust composition, chemical reaction) is modelled through a coupling between TOLBIAC-ICB and the GEMINI code for the determination of the physico-chemistry variables. The main purpose of this paper is to present the modelling used in TOLBIAC-ICB and some validation calculations using the data of experiments available in the literature.     

An evolution of molten core cooling strategies

Fundamental mechanisms behind the molten core cooling strategies are revisited to provide an insight for a proper implementation of severe accident management guideline (SAMG) and a development of an engineered safety feature. From the results of a qualitative evaluation and a quantitative plant analysis, weak points of the current severe accident management guideline for an operating plant are identified and a revision of the molten core cooling strategies is proposed. In addition, technical issues for various kinds of core catcher concepts are discussed.