Recent advances in severe-accident technology: Direct containment heating in advanced LWRs

Conference · Mon Dec 31 23:00:00 EST 1990 · Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (United States)

OSTI ID:5763600

Fontana, M H ^[1]; Carter, J A ^[2]

---

1. Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc., Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
2. TENERA Corp., Knoxville, TN (United States)

High-pressure melt ejection (HPME) from the reactor vessel that occurs upon vessel failure during certain postulated accidents could cause rapid, energetic discharge and fragmentation of the debris and early containment failure due to direct containment heating (DCH) of the containment atmosphere. Conservative evaluations of the potential magnitude of DCH loads indicate that a significant containment challenge might occur from the aggregate loading effects when DCH is included. These effects were evaluated to assess the potential for early containment failure, and design requirements were developed for advanced light water reactors (ALWRs) to minimize this potential. The assessment was limited to advanced pressurized water reactors (APWRs). This paper presents an overview of the state of knowledge regarding DCH as it affects the issue for ALWRs.

• OSTI ID: 5763600
• Report Number(s): CONF-910603--
• Journal Information: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (United States), Journal Name: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (United States) Vol. 63; ISSN TANSA; ISSN 0003-018X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
210100 -- Power Reactors
Nonbreeding
Light-Water Moderated
Boiling Water Cooled
210200 -- Power Reactors
Nonbreeding
Light-Water Moderated
Nonboiling Water Cooled
22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
220900* -- Nuclear Reactor Technology-- Reactor Safety
ACCIDENTS
BWR TYPE REACTORS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
COMBUSTION
CONTAINERS
CONTAINMENT
CONTAINMENT SYSTEMS
CORIUM
DEPRESSURIZATION
DYNAMIC LOADS
ELEMENTS
ENERGY TRANSFER
ENGINEERED SAFETY SYSTEMS
ENRICHED URANIUM REACTORS
FAILURES
FLUID MECHANICS
HEAT TRANSFER
HEATING
HYDRAULICS
HYDROGEN
MECHANICS
MOLTEN METAL-WATER REACTIONS
NONMETALS
OXIDATION
POWER REACTORS
PRESSURE VESSELS
PRESSURIZATION
PROBABILITY
PWR TYPE REACTORS
RADIOACTIVITY TRANSPORT
REACTOR ACCIDENTS
REACTOR CORE DISRUPTION
REACTOR SAFETY
REACTORS
SAFETY
STEAM
THERMAL REACTORS
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
TIME DEPENDENCE
WATER COOLED REACTORS
WATER MODERATED REACTORS