Internal Control Rod Drive Mechanisms, Design Options for IRIS
- Westinghouse Electric Company, Science and Technology Department, 1344 Beulah Rd, Pittsburgh, PA 15235 (United States)
IRIS (International Reactor Innovative and Secure) is a medium-power (335 MWe) PWR with an integral, primary circuit configuration, where all the reactor coolant system components are contained within the reactor vessel. This integral configuration is a key reason for the success of IRIS' 'safety-by-design' approach, whereby accident initiators are eliminated or the accident consequences and/or frequency are reduced. The most obvious example of the IRIS safety by design approach is the elimination of large LOCA's, since the integral reactor coolant system has no large loop piping. Another serious accident scenario that is being addressed in IRIS is the postulated ejection of a reactor control cluster assembly (RCCA). This accident initiator can be eliminated by locating the RCCA drive mechanisms (CRDMs) inside the reactor vessel. This eliminates the mechanical drive rod penetration between the RCCA and the external CRDM, eliminating the potential for differential pressure across the pressure boundary, and thus eliminating 'by design' the possibility for rod ejection accident. Moreover, the elimination of the 'large' drive-rod penetrations and the external CRDM pressure housings decreases the likelihood of boric acid leakage and subsequent corrosion of the reactor pressure boundary (like the Davis-Besse incident). This paper will discuss the IRIS top level design requirements and objectives for internal CRDMs, and provide examples candidate designs and their specific performance characteristics. (authors)
- Research Organization:
- American Nuclear Society, 555 North Kensington Avenue, La Grange Park, IL 60526 (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 21160774
- 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; 16 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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