A Proposal of inelastic constitutive equations of lead alloys used for structural tests simulating severe accident conditions

Hashidate, Ryuta; Onizawa, Takashi; Wakai, Takashi; Kasahara, Naoto*

Proceedings of 2019 ASME Pressure Vessels and Piping Conference (PVP 2019) (Internet), 10 Pages, 2019/07

Under the severe accident conditions, structural materials of nuclear power plants are subjected to excessive high temperature. Although it is very essential to clarify how the structure collapses under the severe accident conditions, the failure mechanisms in such high temperatures are not clarified. However, it is very difficult and expensive to perform structural tests using actual structural materials. Therefore, we propose to use lead alloys instead of actual structural materials. Because the strength of lead alloys is much poorer than that of the actual structural materials, failure can be observed at low temperature and by small load. For demonstration of analogy between the failure mechanisms of lead alloys structure at low temperature and those of the actual structures at high temperature, numerical analyses are required. So, we confirm the material characteristics of lead alloys and develop inelastic constitutive equations of lead alloy required for finite element analyses.

Study on loss-of-cooling and loss-of-coolant accidents in spent fuel pool, 6; Analysis on oxidation behavior of fuel cladding tubes by the SAMPSON code

Morita, Yoshihiro*; Suzuki, Hiroaki*; Naito, Masanori*; Nemoto, Yoshiyuki; Kaji, Yoshiyuki

Proceedings of 27th International Conference on Nuclear Engineering (ICONE-27) (Internet), 9 Pages, 2019/05

In this study, the SAMPSON code was modified to evaluate severe accidents in a spent fuel pool (SFP). Not only the SFP but also upper spaces of the SFP, walls of the reactor building, and the blowout panel were included. Air oxidation models obtained by the Zircaroy-4 cladding (ANL model) and the Zircaroy-2 cladding (JAEA model) were included in the modified SAMPSON code. Experiments done by Sandia National Laboratory using simulated fuel assemblies equivalent to those of an actual BWR plant were analyzed by the modified SAMPSON code to confirm the functions for analysis of the severe SFP accidents.

Study on loss-of-cooling and loss-of-coolant accidents in spent fuel pool, 8; Safety margin of spent fuel in large LOCA event by the simple assessment method

Someya, Takayuki*; Chitose, Hiromasa*; Watanabe, Satoshi*; Nemoto, Yoshiyuki; Kaji, Yoshiyuki

Proceedings of 27th International Conference on Nuclear Engineering (ICONE-27) (Internet), 9 Pages, 2019/05

In this study, CFD analysis has been conducted for the assessment of spent fuel integrity in large LOCA event and the maximum temperature of spent fuel assemblies has been evaluated. Then, it has been compared with the result of the simple assessment method. As a case study, additional CFD analysis has been conducted, where water level in SFP decreases to the Bottom of Active Fuel (BAF) due to boil-off. Since this scenario might be more severe than large LOCA scenario, the number of spent fuel assemblies, their decay heat and loading pattern to maintain spent fuel integrity are investigated.

Prospects based on T-H roadmap through communication

Nakamura, Hideo

Nippon Genshiryoku Gakkai-Shi, 61(4), p.270 - 272, 2019/04

no abstracts in English

Development and validation of SAS4A code and its application to analyses on severe flow blockage accidents in a sodium-cooled fast reactor

Fukano, Yoshitaka

Journal of Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science, 5(1), p.011001_1 - 011001_13, 2019/01

https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4040649

Local subassembly faults (LFs) have been considered to be of greater importance in safety evaluation in sodium-cooled fast reactors (SFRs) because fuel elements were generally densely arranged in the subassemblies (SAs) in this type of reactors, and because power densities were higher compared with those in light water reactors. A hypothetical total instantaneous flow blockage at the coolant inlet of an SA (HTIB) gives most severe consequences among a variety of LFs. Although an evaluation on the consequences of HTIB using SAS4A code was performed in the past study, SAS4A code was further developed by implementing analytical model of power control system in this study. An evaluation on the consequences of HTIB in an SFR by this developed SAS4A code clarified that the conclusion in the past study was almost same as that in this study. Furthermore SAS4A code was newly validated using four in-pile experiments which simulated HTIB events. The validity of SAS4A application to safety evaluation on the consequence of HTIB was further enhanced in this study. Thus the methodology of HTIB evaluation was established in this study together with the past study and is applicable to HTIB evaluations in other SFRs.

CHEMKEq; Evaluation code for chemical composition based on partial mixed model with Chemical Equilibrium and Reaction Kinetics (Contract research)

Ito, Hiroto*; Shiotsu, Hiroyuki; Tanaka, Yoichi*; Nishihara, Satomichi*; Sugiyama, Tomoyuki; Maruyama, Yu

JAEA-Data/Code 2018-012, 42 Pages, 2018/10

JAEA-Data-Code-2018-012.pdf:4.93MB

Chemical composition of fission products transported in nuclear facilities in severe accidents is controlled by slower chemical reaction rates, therefore, it could be different from that evaluated on the chemical equilibrium assumption. Hence, it is necessary to evaluate the chemical composition with reaction kinetics. On the other hand, databases applicable to the analysis of nuclear facilities have not been constructed because knowledge of reaction rates of complex chemical reactions in severe accidents is currently limited. Accordingly, we have developed the CHEMKEq code based on a partial mixed model with chemical equilibrium and reaction kinetics to decrease uncertainties of the chemical composition caused by the reaction rate. The CHEMKEq code, under mass conservation law, firstly evaluates chemical species obeying the chemical equilibrium model, and then, relatively slow reactions are solved by the reaction kinetics model. Moreover, the CHEMKEq code has a multiplicity of use in evaluations of chemical composition because general chemical equilibrium and reaction kinetics models are also available and databases required to calculation are external file formats. This report is the user's guide of the CHEMKEq code, showing models, solution methods, structure of the code and calculation examples. And information to run the CHEMKEq code is summarized in appendixes.

Chemical form analysis of reaction products in Cs-adsorption on stainless steel by means of HAXPES and SEM/EDX

Kobata, Masaaki; Okane, Tetsuo; Nakajima, Kunihisa; Suzuki, Eriko; Owada, Kenji; Kobayashi, Keisuke*; Yamagami, Hiroshi; Osaka, Masahiko

Journal of Nuclear Materials, 498, p.387 - 394, 2018/01

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2017.10.035

In this study, for the understandings of Cesium (Cs) adsorption behavior on structure materials in severe accidents at a light water nuclear reactor, the chemical state of Cs and its distribution on the surface of SUS304 stainless steel (SS) with different Si concentration were investigated by hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HAXPES) and scanning electron microscope / energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDX). As a result, it was found that Cs is selectively adsorbed at the site where Si distributes with high concentration. CsFeSiO is a dominant Cs products in the case of low Si content, mainly formed, while CsSiO and CsSiO are formed in addition to CsFeSiO in the case of high Si content. The chemical forms of the Cs compounds produced in the adsorption process on the SS surface has a close correlation with the concentration and chemical states of Si originally included in SS.

Current status of research for the accident of evaporation to dryness caused by boiling of reprocessed high level radioactive liquid waste

Tamaki, Hitoshi; Yoshida, Kazuo; Abe, Hitoshi; Sugiyama, Tomoyuki; Maruyama, Yu

Proceedings of Asian Symposium on Risk Assessment and Management 2017 (ASRAM 2017) (USB Flash Drive), 9 Pages, 2017/11

An accident of evaporation to dryness caused by boiling of high level radioactive liquid waste (HLLW) is postulated as one of severe accidents caused by the loss of cooling function at the fuel reprocessing plant. This accident can be divided into early boiling stage, late boiling stage and dry-out stage by characteristics of accident evolution. It is important to estimate the amount of fission product (FP) transport between the liquid and gas phases, and the amount of FP deposition on the walls in each stage in order to estimate the release amount of FP to the environment. Various research activities have been carried out for this issue. This paper reviews these activities and presents the recent activities at JAEA for development of simulation code for this type of accident.

Development and validation of evaluation method on hypothetical total instantaneous flow blockage in sodium-cooled fast reactors and its application to a middle size SFR

Fukano, Yoshitaka

Proceedings of 25th International Conference on Nuclear Engineering (ICONE-25) (CD-ROM), 10 Pages, 2017/07

An evaluation on the consequences of a hypothetical total instantaneous flow blockage at the coolant inlet of an SA (HTIB) using SAS4A code was also performed in the past study. SAS4A code was further developed by implementing analytical model of power control system in this study. An evaluation on the consequences of HTIB in Monju by this developed SAS4A code was performed. It was clarified by the analyses considering power control system that the reactor would be safely shut down by the plant protection system triggered by either of 116 percent over power or delayed neutron detector trip signals. Therefore the conclusion in the past study that the consequences of HTIB event would be much less severe than that of unprotected loss-of-flow event was strongly supported by this study. Furthermore SAS4A code was newly validated using an in-pile experiment which simulated HTIB events. The validity of SAS4A application to safety evaluation on the consequence of HTIB was further enhanced in this study.

Analytical study on safety margins against significant core damage during loss-of-heat-removal-system events in a sodium-cooled fast reactor

Fukano, Yoshitaka

Proceedings of 2017 International Congress on Advances in Nuclear Power Plants (ICAPP 2017) (CD-ROM), 9 Pages, 2017/04

Loss-of-heat-removal-system (LOHRS) events are identified as some of most dominant severe accident sequences in a sodium-cooled fast reactor. Safety margins against significant core damage in LOHRS events were therefore studied in this paper assuming large fuel-cladding gap and fuel cladding failure. It was clarified through analyses by the developed code that neither fuel melting nor further mechanical pin failure occurs owing to large fuel-cladding gap and fuel cladding failure. It was therefore concluded that large safety margins against significant core damage are provided during LOHRS events. These results will be effectively used in formulating the safety criteria for severe accidents or beyond-design-basis-accidents as one of the supporting evidences to be seriously considered.