Oyster Creek fuel thermal margin during core thermal-hydraulic oscillations

Conference · Mon Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1990 · Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (United States)

OSTI ID:7089069

Dougher, J D

The Oyster Creek nuclear facility, a boiling water reactor (BWR)-2 plant type, has never experienced core thermal-hydraulic instability. Power oscillations, however, have been observed in other BWR cores both domestically and internationally. Two modes of oscillations have been observed, core wide and regional half-core. During core wide oscillations, the neutron flux in the core oscillates in the radial fundamental mode. During regional half-core oscillations, higher order harmonics in the radial plane result in out-of-phase oscillations with the neutron flux in one half of the core oscillating 180 deg out-of-phase with the neutron flux in the other half of the core. General Design Criteria 12 requires either prevention or detection and suppression of power oscillations which could result in violations of fuel design limits. Analyses performed by General Electric have demonstrated that for large-magnitude oscillations the potential exists for violation of the safety limit minimum critical power ratio (MCPR). However, for plants with a flow-biased neutron flux scram automatic mitigation of oscillations may be provided at an oscillation magnitude below that at which the safety limit is challenged. Plant-specific analysis for Oyster Creek demonstrates that the existing average power range monitor (APRM) system will sense and suppress power oscillations prior to violation of any safety limits.

• OSTI ID: 7089069
• Report Number(s): CONF-901101--
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (United States) Journal Volume: 62
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
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220900* -- Nuclear Reactor Technology-- Reactor Safety
BWR TYPE REACTORS
COMPUTER CODES
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
ENERGY TRANSFER
ENGINEERED SAFETY SYSTEMS
ENRICHED URANIUM REACTORS
FLUID MECHANICS
FUEL CHANNELS
HEAT TRANSFER
HYDRAULICS
KINETICS
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MITIGATION
NEUTRON FLUX
OYSTER CREEK-1 REACTOR
POWER DENSITY
POWER REACTORS
RADIATION FLUX
REACTOR CHANNELS
REACTOR COMPONENTS
REACTOR CORES
REACTOR KINETICS
REACTOR MONITORING SYSTEMS
REACTOR PROTECTION SYSTEMS
REACTOR SHUTDOWN
REACTOR STABILITY
REACTORS
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SIMULATION
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THREE-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
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