Direct calculation of leak path factors for highly compartmentalized buildings
- ITS Corp., Albuquerque, NM (United States)
- Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)
The large, highly compartmentalized configurations of buildings at many Department of Energy (DOE) facilities call the validity of traditional, simplistic methods for estimating contaminant leak path factors (LPFs) into question. Conversely, rigorous calculation of LPFs using detailed flow-field analysis computer codes is impractical for routine analysis. This paper describes a recent application of a rigorous, yet practical, method of calculating LPFs for the Chemical and Metallurgical Research (CMR) Facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The approach involves computer simulation of airborne contaminant transport using the MELCOR computer code. MELCOR is a general-purpose, fluid flow and aerosol transport analysis code originally developed by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission to evaluate the release, transport, and deposition of radionuclides in nuclear reactor systems. However, the fundamental mathematical models in the code and the modular code architecture make it suitable to the CMR analysis.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-36
- OSTI ID:
- 291018
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-98-1880; CONF-980616-; ON: DE99000628; TRN: AHC29901%%224
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Conference on integrating safety analysis into safety management, Park City, UT (United States), 15-19 Jun 1998; Other Information: PBD: [1998]
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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