A Preliminary Analysis of Large Loss-of-Coolant Induced by Emergency Core Coolant Pipe Break in CANDU-600 Nuclear Power Plant

Large Loss-of-Coolant Accidents analyzed in Final Safety Analysis Reports are usually covered by Reactor Inlet Header. Reactor Outlet Header and Primary Pump Suction breaks as representative cases. In this study we analyze the total (guillotine) break of an Emergency Core Cooling System (ECCS) pipe located at the ECCS injection point into the Primary Heat Transport System (PHTS). It was expected that thermal-hydraulic behaviors in the PHT and ECC systems are different from those of a Reactor Inlet Header break, having an equivalent break size. The main purpose of this study is to get insights on the differences occurred between the two cases and to assess these differences from the phenomenon behavior point of view. It was also investigated whether the ECCS line break analysis results could be covered by header break analysis results. The study reveals that as the intact loop has almost the same behavior in both analyzed cases. broken loop behavior is different mostly regarding sheath temperature in the critical core pass and pressure decrease in the broken Reactor Inlet Header. Differences are also met in the ECCS behavior and in event sequences timings.