Global rupture of a nuclear reactor lower head with elevated temperature due to severe accidents

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the global rupture of a reactor pressure vessel (RPV) with elevated temperature due to severe accidents in order to check if the RPV wall can retain the high-elevated pressure. The global rupture of an RPV is simulated by finite element limit analysis for the collapse load and mode to secure the safety criteria of a nuclear reactor under severe accident conditions. Finite element limit analysis is a systematic tool dealing with upper bounding and minimization technique to calculate the collapse load and mode. The finite element code (CALF, computer analysis of lower head failure) developed provides the temperature elevation in the lower head of a nuclear reactor under severe accident conditions as well as the collapse load and mode. The thermal analysis has to deal with heat transfer from the debris pool to the RPV wall and the top of the pool. The temperature distribution in such a system depends sensitively on the initial temperature of the debris pool and the thermal properties of a gap between the debris crust and the RPV wall. For accurate calculation, the thermal properties of a gap have to be determined in consideration of the gap size and conditions. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.