Margin for In-Vessel Retention in the APR1400 - VESTA and SCDAP/RELAP5-3D Analyses
If cooling is inadequate during a reactor accident, a significant amount of core material could become molten and relocate to the lower head of the reactor vessel, as happened in the Three Mile Island Unit 2 (TMI-2) accident. If it is possible to ensure that the lower head remains intact so that relocated core materials are retained within the vessel, the enhanced safety associated with such plants can reduce concerns about containment failure and associated risk. For example, the enhanced safety of the Westinghouse Advanced 600 MWe pressurized water reactor (PWR) (AP600), which relied upon external reactor vessel cooling (ERVC) for in-vessel retention (IVR), resulted in the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) approving the design without requiring certain conventional features common to existing light water reactors (LWRs). IVR of core melt is therefore a key severe accident management strategy adopted by some operating nuclear power plants and proposed for some advanced LWRs. However, it is not clear that currently proposed ERVC without additional enhancements could provide sufficient heat removal for higher-power reactors (up to 1500 MWe). Hence, a three-year, United States (U.S.) -Korean International Nuclear Energy Research Initiative (INERI) project was initiated in which the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL), Seoul National University (SNU), Pennsylvania State University (PSU), and the Korean Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) explored options, such as enhanced ERVC performance and an enhanced in-vessel core catcher (IVCC), that have the potential to ensure that IVR is feasible for higher power reactors.
- Research Organization:
- Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- DOE - NE
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC07-99ID-13727
- OSTI ID:
- 911037
- Report Number(s):
- INEEL/EXT-04-02549; TRN: US0704354
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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