1995Unpublished venueOpen access

Updated TRAC analysis of an 80% double-ended cold-leg break for the AP600 design

NM (United States) Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), J Lime, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC (United States), B Boyack

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Abstract

An updated TRAC 80% large-break loss-of-coolant accident (LBLOCA) has been calculated for the Westinghouse AP600 advanced reactor design, The updated calculation incorporates major code error corrections, model corrections, and plant design changes. The 80% break size was calculated by Westinghouse to be the most severe large-break size for the AP600 design. The LBLOCA transient was calculated to 144 s. Peak cladding temperatures (PCTS) were well below the Appendix K limit of 1,478 K (2,200 F), but very near the cladding oxidation temperature of 1,200 K (1,700 F). Transient event times and PCT for the TRAC calculation were in reasonable agreement with those calculated by Westinghouse using their {und W}COBRA/TRAC code. However, there were significant differences in the detailed phenomena calculated by the two codes, particularly during the blowdown phase. The reasons for these differences are still being investigated. Additional break sizes and break locations need to be analyzed to confirm the most severe break postulated by Westinghouse.

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What this paper is about

An updated TRAC 80% large-break loss-of-coolant accident (LBLOCA) has been calculated for the Westinghouse AP600 advanced reactor design, The updated calculation incorporates major code error corrections, model corrections, and plant design changes. The 80% break size was calculated by Westinghouse to be the most severe large-break size for the AP600 design. The LBLOCA transient was calculated to 144 s. Peak cladding temperatures (PCTS) were well below the Appendix K limit of 1,478 K (2,200 F), but very near the cladding oxidation temperature of 1,200 K (1,700 F). Transient event times and PCT for the TRAC calculation were in reasonable agreement with those calculated by Westinghouse using their {und W}COBRA/TRAC code. However, there were significant differences in the detailed phenomena calculated by the two codes, particularly during the blowdown phase. The reasons for these differences are still being investigated. Additional break sizes and break locations need to be analyzed to confirm the most severe break postulated by Westinghouse.

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Available abstract

An updated TRAC 80% large-break loss-of-coolant accident (LBLOCA) has been calculated for the Westinghouse AP600 advanced reactor design, The updated calculation incorporates major code error corrections, model corrections, and plant design changes. The 80% break size was calculated by Westinghouse to be the most severe large-break size for the AP600 design. The LBLOCA transient was calculated to 144 s. Peak cladding temperatures (PCTS) were well below the Appendix K limit of 1,478 K (2,200 F), but very near the cladding oxidation temperature of 1,200 K (1,700 F). Transient event times and PCT for the TRAC calculation were in reasonable agreement with those calculated by Westinghouse using their {und W}COBRA/TRAC code. However, there were significant differences in the detailed phenomena calculated by the two codes, particularly during the blowdown phase. The reasons for these differences are still being investigated. Additional break sizes and break locations need to be analyzed to confirm the most severe break postulated by Westinghouse.

Key concepts: TRAC, Boiler blowdown, Nuclear engineering, Cladding (metalworking), Loss-of-coolant accident, Engineering, Mechanics, Environmental science

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