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U.S. Department of Energy
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Effect of containment failure pressure on risk

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:5329433

The exact failure pressures of containment designs are unknown. Probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) analyses of risk from nuclear power plants use estimates of the failure pressure to calculate the relative probabilities of release of radioactive material by various containment failure scenarios (or modes). The containment failure mode determines the consequences of the accident. This paper presents a sensitivity study of the effect of the containment failure pressure on PRA calculations of risk (from the Reactor Safety Study Methodology Applications Program) for two typical plants - Oconee (a PWR) and Grand Gulf (a BWR). In both cases, varying the mean failure pressure between one and three times the containment design pressure changes the calculated risk by a factor of three.

Research Organization:
Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
AC04-76DP00789
OSTI ID:
5329433
Report Number(s):
SAND-82-0822; ON: DE82017780
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English