Evaluation of the confinement option for LMRs

Conference · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1986 · Trans. Am. Nucl. Soc.; (United States)

OSTI ID:6883019

Himes, D A; Stepnewski, D D; Franz, G R

The primary coolant in liquid-metal-cooled reactors (LMRs) operates at low pressures, typically 175 psig at the pump discharge and near atmospheric at the pump suction for a loop system. Thus, the coolant in contact with the core contains relatively little stored energy compared with light water reactor systems. This condition presents the opportunity for application of confinement systems surrounding the primary system wherein the reactor building overpressure resulting from a postulated whole-core accident would be vented through a filter/scrubber system. The confinement approach has the potential for replacing a high-pressure, hermetically sealed containment vessel with a more conventional reactor building. In this paper, the application of the confinement principle to a 400-MW LMR is evaluated. The source term for the study was a hypothetical core disruptive accident (HCDA) releasing 1% of the core inventory of solid fission products and fuel along with 100% of the noble gases to the reactor confinement building (RCB) at time zero. In addition 136 kg (300 lb) of sodium is assumed to burn to form Na/sub 2/O. This analysis indicates, while off-site consequences from a whole-core hypothetical accident can be mitigated to acceptable levels by a filter/scrubber system, special design measures would be required to maintain control room habitability.

• Research Organization: Westinghouse Hanford Co., Richland, WA
• OSTI ID: 6883019
• Report Number(s): CONF-860610-
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Trans. Am. Nucl. Soc.; (United States) Journal Volume: 52
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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