Analysis of long-term station blackout at Peach Bottom using MELCOR
- Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (United States)
MELCOR is a fully integrated computer code that models all phases of the progression of severe accidents in nuclear power plants. It is being developed for the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) by Sandia National Laboratories and is designed to provide an improved severe-accident/source term analysis capability relative to the older source term code package (STCP). Brookhaven National Laboratory has a program with the NRC to verify and apply the MELCOR code to severe-accident analysis for several plants. This paper presents the results from a MELCOR calculation of a long-term station blackout accident sequence with failure to depressurize the reactor vessel. Peach Bottom, a boiling water reactor with Mark I containment, was used in the analysis. The paper also compared MELCOR predictions with STCP calculations for the same sequence. This sequence assumes that batteries are available for 6 h following loss of all power to the plant. Station blackout sequences have often been determined to be important contributors to the risk from severe accidents. Following battery failure, the reactor coolant system (RCS) inventory is boiled off through the relief valves by continued decay heat generation. This leads to core uncovery, heat-up, clad oxidation, core degradation, relocation, and, eventually, vessel failure at high pressure. The STCP has calculated the transient up to 13.5 h after core uncovery. MELCOR calculations have been carried out to 16.7 after core uncovery. The results include the release of source terms to the environment.
- OSTI ID:
- 7089057
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-901101-; CODEN: TANSAO
- Journal Information:
- Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (United States), Vol. 62; Conference: American Nuclear Society (ANS) winter meeting, Washington, DC (United States), 11-16 Nov 1990; ISSN 0003-018X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Analysis of Long-Term Station Blackout without automatic depressurization at Peach Bottom using MELCOR (Version 1.8)
Severe accident source term characteristics for selected Peach Bottom sequences predicted by the MELCOR Code
Related Subjects
21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
PEACH BOTTOM-2 REACTOR
BLACKOUTS
REACTOR CORE DISRUPTION
REACTOR SAFETY
PEACH BOTTOM-3 REACTOR
SOURCE TERMS
AFTER-HEAT REMOVAL
BARIUM
BNL
CERIUM
CESIUM
COMPUTER CODES
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
CONTAINMENT SYSTEMS
CORIUM
DEPOSITION
DEPRESSURIZATION
ELECTRIC BATTERIES
ERRORS
FISSION PRODUCT RELEASE
FUEL CANS
IODINE
LANTHANUM
LOSS OF COOLANT
M CODES
MELTDOWN
OXIDATION
PRESSURE VESSELS
RADIOACTIVITY TRANSPORT
REACTOR ACCIDENTS
REACTOR CORES
RELIEF VALVES
RUBIDIUM
S CODES
SANDIA LABORATORIES
STRONTIUM
TELLURIUM
TIME DEPENDENCE
US NRC
VERIFICATION
ZIRCALOY
ACCIDENTS
ALKALI METALS
ALKALINE EARTH METALS
ALLOYS
BWR TYPE REACTORS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CONTAINERS
CONTAINMENT
CONTROL EQUIPMENT
ELECTROCHEMICAL CELLS
ELEMENTS
ENGINEERED SAFETY SYSTEMS
ENRICHED URANIUM REACTORS
EQUIPMENT
FLOW REGULATORS
HALOGENS
METALS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NONMETALS
POWER REACTORS
RARE EARTHS
REACTOR COMPONENTS
REACTORS
REMOVAL
SAFETY
SEMIMETALS
SIMULATION
THERMAL REACTORS
US AEC
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
VALVES
WATER COOLED REACTORS
WATER MODERATED REACTORS
ZIRCONIUM ALLOYS
ZIRCONIUM BASE ALLOYS
220900* - Nuclear Reactor Technology- Reactor Safety
210100 - Power Reactors
Nonbreeding
Light-Water Moderated
Boiling Water Cooled