MODELING LOFW IN A PWR USING MELCOR

The Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) is part of a Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) licensing process. It considers the elaboration and updating of probabilistic models that estimate the risk associated to the operation, allowing the risk monitoring from the design to the plant decommissioning, for bot...

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Main Authors: Maritza Rodríguez Gual, Marcos C. Maturana, Nathália N. Araújo, Marcelo R. Martins
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Brazilian Radiation Protection Society (Sociedade Brasileira de Proteção Radiológica, SBPR) 2021-02-01
Series:Brazilian Journal of Radiation Sciences
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Online Access:https://bjrs.org.br/revista/index.php/REVISTA/article/view/1355
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author Maritza Rodríguez Gual
Marcos C. Maturana
Nathália N. Araújo
Marcelo R. Martins
author_facet Maritza Rodríguez Gual
Marcos C. Maturana
Nathália N. Araújo
Marcelo R. Martins
author_sort Maritza Rodríguez Gual
collection DOAJ
description The Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) is part of a Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) licensing process. It considers the elaboration and updating of probabilistic models that estimate the risk associated to the operation, allowing the risk monitoring from the design to the plant decommissioning, for both operational as regulatory activities. The PSA identifies those components or plant systems whose unavailability contributes significantly to the Core Damage Frequency (CDF) and to the Large Early Release Frequency (LERF) of radioactive material. Based on the PSA Level 1 results for a reference plant under design, the Analysis, Evaluating and Risk Management Laboratory (LabRisco), located in the University of São Paulo (USP), Brazil, started the analytical investigation of severe accident phenomena using the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) MELCOR2.2 code – focusing on the qualification of a group of specialists who will subsidize a PSA Level 2 for the same plant. This PSA Level 1 shows that the accident with large CDF contribution is the Loss of Feed Water Accident (LOFW). Therefore, the initial objective of the investigation was to model the progression of severe accidents during a LOFW for the reference Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) and to analyze the response of the plant under these accident scenarios. During the course of the hypothetical LOFW in the reference plant, hydrogen was generated – by a reaction between the high temperature steam water and the fuel-cladding inside the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) but not representing a serious threat to the RPV integrity.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2319-0612
language English
publishDate 2021-02-01
publisher Brazilian Radiation Protection Society (Sociedade Brasileira de Proteção Radiológica, SBPR)
record_format Article
series Brazilian Journal of Radiation Sciences
spelling doaj-art-6398d79875154a6fa596f21ffe2d21392025-08-20T03:50:53ZengBrazilian Radiation Protection Society (Sociedade Brasileira de Proteção Radiológica, SBPR)Brazilian Journal of Radiation Sciences2319-06122021-02-0183A (Suppl.)10.15392/bjrs.v8i3A.13551057MODELING LOFW IN A PWR USING MELCORMaritza Rodríguez Gual0Marcos C. Maturana1Nathália N. Araújo2Marcelo R. Martins3University of São Paulo (USP)University of São Paulo (USP)University of São Paulo (USP)University of São Paulo (USP)The Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) is part of a Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) licensing process. It considers the elaboration and updating of probabilistic models that estimate the risk associated to the operation, allowing the risk monitoring from the design to the plant decommissioning, for both operational as regulatory activities. The PSA identifies those components or plant systems whose unavailability contributes significantly to the Core Damage Frequency (CDF) and to the Large Early Release Frequency (LERF) of radioactive material. Based on the PSA Level 1 results for a reference plant under design, the Analysis, Evaluating and Risk Management Laboratory (LabRisco), located in the University of São Paulo (USP), Brazil, started the analytical investigation of severe accident phenomena using the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) MELCOR2.2 code – focusing on the qualification of a group of specialists who will subsidize a PSA Level 2 for the same plant. This PSA Level 1 shows that the accident with large CDF contribution is the Loss of Feed Water Accident (LOFW). Therefore, the initial objective of the investigation was to model the progression of severe accidents during a LOFW for the reference Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) and to analyze the response of the plant under these accident scenarios. During the course of the hypothetical LOFW in the reference plant, hydrogen was generated – by a reaction between the high temperature steam water and the fuel-cladding inside the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) but not representing a serious threat to the RPV integrity.https://bjrs.org.br/revista/index.php/REVISTA/article/view/1355severe accidentmelcorpsa.
spellingShingle Maritza Rodríguez Gual
Marcos C. Maturana
Nathália N. Araújo
Marcelo R. Martins
MODELING LOFW IN A PWR USING MELCOR
Brazilian Journal of Radiation Sciences
severe accident
melcor
psa.
title MODELING LOFW IN A PWR USING MELCOR
title_full MODELING LOFW IN A PWR USING MELCOR
title_fullStr MODELING LOFW IN A PWR USING MELCOR
title_full_unstemmed MODELING LOFW IN A PWR USING MELCOR
title_short MODELING LOFW IN A PWR USING MELCOR
title_sort modeling lofw in a pwr using melcor
topic severe accident
melcor
psa.
url https://bjrs.org.br/revista/index.php/REVISTA/article/view/1355
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AT nathalianaraujo modelinglofwinapwrusingmelcor
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