Kwang Won Seul

Plant Behavior Following a Loss-of-Residual-Heat-Removal Event Under a Shutdown Condition

The potential of the RELAP5/MOD3.2 code was assessed for a loss-of-residual-heat-removal (RHR) event during midloop operation, and the predictability of major thermal-hydraulic phenomena was evaluated for the long-term transient. The calculations were compared for two cases of experiments conducted at the Rig of Safety Assessment-IV (ROSA-IV)/Large-Scale Test Facility (LSTF) in Japan: the cold-leg-opening and the pressurizer-manway-opening cases. In addition, the real plant responses to the event were evaluated for Yong Gwang nuclear power plant Units 3 and 4 (YGN 3/4) in Korea, especially concerning the mitigation capability to remove the decay heat through the steam generators (SGs). From the LSTF simulation, it was found that the RELAP5 code was capable of simulating the plant behavior following the loss-of-RHR event under a shutdown condition. As a result, the thermal-hydraulic transport process including noncondensable gas behavior was reasonably predicted with an appropriate time step and CPU time, and the major thermal-hydraulic phenomena agreed well with the experiment. However, there were some code deficiencies such as an estimation of large system mass errors for the long transient and severe flow oscillations in the core region. These should be improved for more accurate and reliable calculation. In the YGN 3/4 simulation, the water-filled SG case delayed the coolant discharge to containment by ∼2 h and the core heatup by ∼1.3 h, as compared to the emptied-SG case, because of reduction of the pressurization rate that resulted from condensation on the SG U-tube wall. For the water-filled SGs, the amount ofheat transfer into the secondary side was estimated at more than 60% of the total core power throughout the transient.

Mitigation Measures Following a Loss-of-Residual-Heat-Removal Event During Shutdown

The transient following a loss-of-residual-heat-removal event during shutdown was analyzed to determine the containment closure time (CCT) to prevent uncontrolled release of fission products and the gravity-injection path and rate (GIPR) for effective core cooling using the RELAP5/MOD3.2 code. The plant conditions of Yonggwang Units 3 and 4, a pressurized water reactor (PWR) of 2815-MW(thermal) power in Korea, were reviewed, and possible event sequences were identified. From the CCT analysis for the five cases of typical plant configurations, it was estimated for the earliest CCT to be 40 min after the event in a case with a large cold-leg opening and emptied steam generators (SGs). However, the case with water-filled SGs significantly delayed the CCT through the heat removal to the secondary side. From the GIPR analysis for the six possible gravity-injection paths from the refueling water storage tank (RWST), the case with the injection point and opening on the other leg side was estimated to be the most suitable path to avoid core boiling. In addition, from the sensitivity study, it was evaluated for the plant to be capable of providing the core cooling for the long-term transient if nominal RWST water is available. As a result, these analysis methods and results will provide useful information in understanding the plant behavior and preparing the mitigation measures after the event, especially for Combustion Engineering-type PWR plants. However, to directly apply the analysis results to the emergency procedure for such an event, additional case studies are needed for a wide range of operating conditions such as reactor coolant inventory, RWST water temperature, and core decay heat rate.

Stress Classification and Fatigue Life Assessment of Modular Component with Asymmetric Perforated Parts

In the ASME Code Section III ‘design by analysis’ approach, stresses are determined by numerical method and compared with corresponding stress limits. This approach provides several stress criteria for fatigue life assessment and procedures for categorizing the representative stress components. Since the stress criteria were derived from two-dimensional basis, however, it may inappropriate to delineate structural components with complex geometry. In this paper, detailed transient analyses are performed for modular pressurizer with an asymmetric geometry, which includes perforated parts to mount various piping and equipments. Also, the applicability of an effective elastic modulus to consider the perforation and the appropriateness of stress linearization method using stress classification line are assessed. Then, the cumulative usage factor as well as stress intensities at critical locations of the pressurizer are calculated and compared with corresponding allowable design stress limits. The key findings of this work can be used to make regulatory guides for evaluation and confirmation of structural intensity of components with asymmetric perforated parts.