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Title: Qualification of data obtained during a severe accident. Illustrative examples from TMI-2 evaluations

Conference ·
OSTI ID:1178063
 [1];  [2]
  1. Rempe and Associates, Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
  2. Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

The accidents at the Three Mile Island Unit 2 (TMI-2) Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) and the Daiichi Units 1, 2, and 3 Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs) provide unique opportunities to evaluate instrumentation exposed to severe accident conditions. Conditions associated with the release of coolant and the hydrogen burn that occurred during the TMI-2 accident exposed instrumentation to harsh conditions, including direct radiation, radioactive contamination, and high humidity with elevated temperatures and pressures. Post-TMI-2 instrumentation evaluation programs focused on data required by TMI-2 operators to assess the condition of the reactor and containment and the effect of mitigating actions taken by these operators. Prior efforts also focused on sensors providing data required for subsequent forensic evaluations and accident simulations. This paper provides additional details related to the formal process used to develop a qualified TMI-2 data base and presents data qualification details for three parameters: reactor coolant system (RCS) pressure; containment building temperature; and containment pressure. These selected examples illustrate the types of activities completed in the TMI-2 data qualification process and the importance of such a qualification effort. These details are described to facilitate implementation of a similar process using data and examinations at the Daiichi Units 1, 2, and 3 reactors so that BWR-specific benefits can be obtained.

Research Organization:
Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)
DOE Contract Number:
AC07-05ID14517
OSTI ID:
1178063
Report Number(s):
INL/CON-14-33682; TRN: US1500157
Resource Relation:
Conference: 9. International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Plant Instrumentation, Control, and Human Machine Interface Technologies, Charlotte, NC (United States), 23-26 Feb 2015
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English