Design of integrated passive safety system (IPSS) for ultimate passive safety of nuclear power plants

Abstract

The design concept of integrated passive safety system (IPSS) which can perform various passive safety functions is proposed in this paper. It has the various functions of passive decay heat removal system, passive safety injection system, passive containment cooling system, passive in-vessel retention and cavity flooding system, and filtered venting system with containment pressure control. The objectives of this paper are to propose the conceptual design of an IPSS and to estimate the design characters of the IPSS with accident simulations using MARS code. Some functions of the IPSS are newly proposed and the other functions are reviewed with the integration of the functions. Consequently, all of the functions are modified and integrated for simplicity of the design in preparation for beyond design based accidents (BDBAs) focused on a station black out (SBO). The simulation results with the IPSS show that the decay heat can be sufficiently removed in accidents that occur with a SBO. Also, the molten core can be retained in a vessel via the passive in-vessel retention strategy of the IPSS. The actual application potential of the IPSS is high, as numerous strong design characters are evaluated. The installation of the IPSS into the original design of a nuclear power plant requires minimal design change using the current penetrations of the containment. The functions are integrated in one or two large tanks outside the containment. Furthermore, the operation time of the IPSS can be increased by refilling coolant from the containment outside into integrated passive safety tanks (IPSTs). The coolant in the IPSTs is used for various functions in accident scenarios. Also, potential problems for the realistic installation of the IPSS are proposed and the solutions to these problems are schematically described. IPSS is the design for the passive safety enhancement in preparation for a loss of AC power. Consequently, it is designed for the supplementation and enhancement of current nuclear power plants, not as a replacement. The specific optimization design for each current or future reactor will be studied as further works. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.