• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제54권12호
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• pp.4534-4550
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• 2022

Integrated severe accident codes should be capable of simulating not only specific physical phenomena but also entire plant behaviors, and in a sufficiently fast time. However, significant uncertainty may exist owing to the numerous parametric models and interactions among the various phenomena. The primary objectives of this study are to present best-practice uncertainty and sensitivity analysis results regarding the evolutions of severe accidents (SAs) and fission product source terms and to determine the effects of mitigation measures on them, as expected during a short-term station blackout (STSBO) of a reference pressurized water reactor (optimized power reactor (OPR)1000). Three reference scenarios related to the STSBO accident are considered: one base and two mitigation scenarios, and the impacts of dedicated severe accident mitigation (SAM) actions on the results of interest are analyzed (such as flammable gas generation). The uncertainties are quantified based on a random set of Monte Carlo samples per case scenario. The relative importance values of the uncertain input parameters to the results of interest are quantitatively evaluated through a relevant sensitivity/importance analysis.

• 대한기계학회논문집 C: 기술과 교육
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• 제3권3호
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• pp.209-215
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• 2015

노내계측계통의 설치 위치 및 케이블의 관통위치가 중대사고 대처계통에 미치는 영향을 노내 노심용융물 억류 및 원자로용기 외벽냉각 전략과 노외 노심용융물 냉각계통을 중심으로 조사하였다. 기존에 국내원전에서 주로 사용되었던 노내계측계통의 원자로 용기 하부탑재 및 ICI케이블의 원자로 용기하부 관통이 중대사고에 미치는 영향을 정리하고, 이러한 단점을 개선하기 위해 노내계측계통의 ICI 케이블이 원자로 용기 상부를 관통하는 상부탑재 노내계측계통의 장점을 기술하였다.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제47권1호
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• pp.26-32
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• 2015

During the course of a severe accident in a light water nuclear reactor, large amounts of hydrogen can be generated and released into the containment during reactor core degradation. Additional burnable gases [hydrogen ($H_2$) and carbon monoxide (CO)] may be released into the containment in the corium/concrete interaction. This could subsequently raise a combustion hazard. As the Fukushima accidents revealed, hydrogen combustion can cause high pressure spikes that could challenge the reactor buildings and lead to failure of the surrounding buildings. To prevent the gas explosion hazard, most mitigation strategies adopted by European countries are based on the implementation of passive autocatalytic recombiners (PARs). Studies of representative accident sequences indicate that, despite the installation of PARs, it is difficult to prevent at all times and locations, the formation of a combustible mixture that potentially leads to local flame acceleration. Complementary research and development (R&D) projects were recently launched to understand better the phenomena associated with the combustion hazard and to address the issues highlighted after the Fukushima Daiichi events such as explosion hazard in the venting system and the potential flammable mixture migration into spaces beyond the primary containment. The expected results will be used to improve the modeling tools and methodology for hydrogen risk assessment and severe accident management guidelines. The present paper aims to present the methodology adopted by Institut de Radioprotection et de $S{\hat{u}}ret{\acute{e}}$ $Nucl{\acute{e}}aire$ to assess hydrogen risk in nuclear power plants, in particular French nuclear power plants, the open issues, and the ongoing R&D programs related to hydrogen distribution, mitigation, and combustion.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제46권2호
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• pp.207-216
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• 2014

This paper revisits the Fukushima accident to draw lessons in the aspect of nuclear safety considering the fact that the Fukushima accident resulted in core damage for three nuclear power plants simultaneously and that there is a high possibility of a failure of the integrity of reactor vessel and primary containment vessel. A brief review on the accident progression at Fukushima nuclear power plants is discussed to highlight the nature and characteristic of the event. As the severe accident management measures at the Fukushima Daiich nuclear power plants seem to be not fully effective, limitations of current severe accident management strategy are discussed to identify the areas for the potential improvements including core cooling strategy, containment venting, hydrogen control, depressurization of primary system, and proper indication of event progression. The gap between the Fukushima accident event progression and current understanding of severe accident phenomenology including the core damage, reactor vessel failure, containment failure, and hydrogen explosion are discussed. Adequacy of current safety goals are also discussed in view of the socio-economic impact of the Fukushima accident. As a conclusion, it is suggested that an investigation on a coherent integrated safety principle for the severe accident and development of innovative mitigation features is necessary for robust and resilient nuclear power system.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제42권2호
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• pp.151-162
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• 2010

A severe accident training simulator that can simulate important severe accident phenomena and nuclear plant behaviors is developed. The simulator also provides several interactive control devices, which are helpful to assess results of a particular accident management behavior. A simple and direct dynamic linked library (DLL) data communication method is used for the development of the simulator. Using the DLL method, various control devices were implemented to provide an interactive control function during simulation. Finally, a training model is suggested for accident mitigation training and its performance is verified through application runs.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제45권5호
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• pp.597-604
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• 2013

Containment Filtered Vent Systems (CFVSs) have been mainly equipped in nuclear power plants in Europe and Canada for the controlled depressurization of the containment atmosphere under severe accident conditions. This is to keep the containment integrity against overpressure during the course of a severe accident, in which the radioactive gas-steam mixture from the containment is discharged into a system designed to remove the radionuclides. In Korea, a CFVS was first introduced in the Wolsong unit-1 nuclear power plant as a mitigation measure to deal with the threat of over pressurization, following post-Fukushima action items. In this paper, the overall features of a CFVS installation such as risk assessments, an evaluation of the performance requirements, and a determination of the optimal operating strategies are analyzed for the Wolsong unit 1 nuclear power plant using a severe accident analysis computer code, ISAAC.

• 한국원자력학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국원자력학회 2001년도 춘계학술발표회요약집
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• pp.209.2-209
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• 2001

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제36권1호
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• pp.24-35
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• 2004

In order to analyze the hydrogen distribution during a severe accident in the APR1400 containment, GASFLOW II was used. For the APR1400 NPP, a hydrogen mitigation system is considered from the design stage, but a fully time-dependent, three-dimensional analysis has not been performed yet. In this study GASFLOW code II is used for the three-dimensional analysis. The first step to analysis involving hydrogen behavior in a full containment with the GASLOW code is to generate a realistic geometry model, which includes nodalization and modeling of the internal structures such as walls, ceilings and equipment. Geometry modeling of the APR1400 is conducted using GUI program by overlapping the containment cut drawings in a graphical file format on the mesh view. The total number of mesh cells generated is 49,476. And the calculated free volume of the APR1400 containment by GASFLOW is almost the same as the value from the GOTHIC modeling. A hypothetical SB-LOCA scenario beyond design base accident was selected to analyze the hydrogen behavior with the hydrogen mitigation system. The source of hydrogen and steam for the GASFLOW II analysis is obtained from a MAAP calculation. Combustion pressure and temperature load possibilities within the compartments used in the GOTHIC analysis are studied based on the Sigma-Lambda criteria. Finally the effectiveness of HMS installed in the APR1400 containment is evaluated from the point of severe accident management

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제47권1호
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• pp.11-25
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• 2015

The accident at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in March 2011, caused by an earthquake and a subsequent tsunami, resulted in a failure of the power systems that are needed to cool the reactors at the plant. The accident progression in the absence of heat removal systems caused Units 1-3 to undergo fuel melting. Containment pressurization and hydrogen explosions ultimately resulted in the escape of radioactivity from reactor containments into the atmosphere and ocean. Problems in containment venting operation, leakage from primary containment boundary to the reactor building, improper functioning of standby gas treatment system (SGTS), unmitigated hydrogen accumulation in the reactor building were identified as some of the reasons those added-up in the severity of the accident. The Fukushima accident not only initiated worldwide demand for installation of adequate control and mitigation measures to minimize the potential source term to the environment but also advocated assessment of the existing mitigation systems performance behavior under a wide range of postulated accident scenarios. The uncertainty in estimating the released fraction of the radionuclides due to the Fukushima accident also underlined the need for comprehensive understanding of fission product behavior as a function of the thermal hydraulic conditions and the type of gaseous, aqueous, and solid materials available for interaction, e.g., gas components, decontamination paint, aerosols, and water pools. In the light of the Fukushima accident, additional experimental needs identified for hydrogen and fission product issues need to be investigated in an integrated and optimized way. Additionally, as more and more passive safety systems, such as passive autocatalytic recombiners and filtered containment venting systems are being retrofitted in current reactors and also planned for future reactors, identified hydrogen and fission product issues will need to be coupled with the operation of passive safety systems in phenomena oriented and coupled effects experiments. In the present paper, potential hydrogen and fission product issues raised by the Fukushima accident are discussed. The discussion focuses on hydrogen and fission product behavior inside nuclear power plant containments under severe accident conditions. The relevant experimental investigations conducted in the technical scale containment THAI (thermal hydraulics, hydrogen, aerosols, and iodine) test facility (9.2 m high, 3.2 m in diameter, and $60m^3$ volume) are discussed in the light of the Fukushima accident.

• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
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• 제40권2호
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• pp.112-119
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• 2016

Many studies have been conducted on the performance of a passive autocatalytic recombiner (PAR), but not many have focused on the locations where the PAR is installed. During a severe accident in a nuclear reactor containment, a large amount of hydrogen gas can be produced and released into the containment, leading to hydrogen deflagration or a detonation. A PAR is a hydrogen mitigation method that is widely implemented in current and advanced light water reactors. Therefore, for this study, a PAR was installed at different locations in order to investigate the difference in hydrogen reduction rate. The results indicate that the hydrogen reduction rate of a PAR is proportional to the distance between the hydrogen induction location and the bottom wall.