Development of failure evaluation method for BWR lower head in severe accident, 3; Creep damage evaluation based on thermal-hydraulics and structural analyses

Katsuyama, Jinya  ; Yamaguchi, Yoshihito ; Kaji, Yoshiyuki  ; Yoshida, Hiroyuki  

In existing severe accident codes, rupture of reactor pressure vessel (RPV) by relocated molten core is judged using simple models. However, it is difficult to assess rupture behavior of the lower head of RPV in boiling-water-type nuclear power plants due to severe accident like Fukushima Daiichi since boiling water reactors (BWRs) have geometrically complicated structure with a lot of penetrations. Therefore, we have been developing an analysis method to predict time and location of RPV lower head rupture of BWRs. The detailed three-dimensional model of RPV lower head is constructed. Using temperature distribution in relocated debris obtained from thermal-hydraulics analysis, structural analysis is carried out to evaluate creep damage distributions using damage criterions of "considere", strain, Kachanov, and Larson-Miller-parameter criteria. It is shown that failure regions of BWR lower head are only penetrations, although there is a large difference in damaged time.