Analysis of Tube Failure Propagation due to Overheating in a Prototype LMFBR Steam-Generator Geometry by Using QUARK-LP Ver.4
- Incorporated Administrative Agency Japan Nuclear Energy Safety Organization (JNES), 4-3-20 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-0001 (Japan)
A computer code QUARK-LP had been developed to analyze a leak propagation due to overheating in steam generator (SG) heat-transfer tubes of a liquid-metal cooled fast breeder reactor (LMFBR). In Version 4, the reaction zone was divided into three parts; (1) the steam rich zone, (2) the mixing zone and (3) the sodium rich zone, depending on the location from the failed tub. This version includes RELAP5/MOD3 to analyze thermal hydraulics of water/steam in detail. In the analysis using this computer code it was confirmed that leak propagation due to overheating does not happen in the Japanese prototype LMFBRs' SG as was revealed in the analysis of another organization. From the viewpoint of probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) for RIR (risk informed regulation), the applicability of QUARK-LP Version 4 to the analysis of leak propagation due to overheating was examined on a hypothetically severe situation. In order to simulate hypothetical leak propagation due to overheating under the rated power operation, the cover gas pressure detectors were assumed to lose their function in the analysis thereby causing a secondary tube failure intentionally. A series of leak propagation from the initial leak to the secondary leak were simulated, and the possibility of a new tube failure was examined. Based on the analyses, it has been confirmed that this code is able to be applied to the analysis of the tube failure propagation phenomena in a real plant system, and a tertiary leak does not happen even when a secondary leak was introduced intentionally as an application example. (authors)
- Research Organization:
- American Nuclear Society, 555 North Kensington Avenue, La Grange Park, IL 60526 (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 21160579
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: ICAPP'04: 2004 international congress on advances in nuclear power plants, Pittsburgh, PA (United States), 13-17 Jun 2004; Other Information: Country of input: France; 6 refs; Related Information: In: Proceedings of the 2004 international congress on advances in nuclear power plants - ICAPP'04, 2338 pages.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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