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U.S. Department of Energy
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Containment performance for the core melt accidents in BWRs with Mark I and Mark II containments

Conference ·
OSTI ID:6250306
Most previous risk assessment studies have assumed catastrophic failure of containments for severe accidents which are predicted to exceed the containment yield stress. This investigation analyzes the progression of a severe accident in order to develop realistic containment temperature and pressure loading, utilizes models for containment leakage estimates for the various loading histories, and assesses the expected failure modes and timing of releases for core melt accidents in Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs) with Mark I and Mark II containments. The results of the investigation indicate that leakage through the seal on the drywell head may be sufficient to prevent catastrophic failure of the containments for a wide range of hypothetical core melt scenarios. In addition, the investigation has indicated the potential for a previously inidentified failure mode (containment liner meltthrough) for Mark I containments in which a large fraction of the core is released from the vessel in a molten state. 14 refs.
Research Organization:
Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
AC02-76CH00016
OSTI ID:
6250306
Report Number(s):
BNL-NUREG-37676; CONF-850206-35; ON: TI86007127
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English