An iPWR MELCOR 2.2 Study on the Impact of the Modeling Parameters on Code Performance and Accident Progression

Mateusz Malicki (), Piotr Darnowski and Terttaliisa Lind
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Mateusz Malicki: Paul Scherrer Institut, Forschungsstrasse 111, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland
Piotr Darnowski: Institute of Heat Engineering, Warsaw University of Technology, Nowowiejska 21/25, 00-665 Warsaw, Poland
Terttaliisa Lind: Paul Scherrer Institut, Forschungsstrasse 111, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 13, 1-24

Abstract: This paper presents the results of a severe accident parametric sensitivity study performed on a model of a generic integral pressurized water reactor (iPWR). The analyzed sequence is a loss of coolant accident (LOCA)-type scenario, postulating that safety systems are not available. In this work, a MELCOR 2.2 input deck of a generic iPWR was developed based on publicly available data. The iPWR used in this work is a generic iPWR with a thermal power of about 160 MWth, characterized by a compact steam generator and a submerged containment configuration. A hypothetical scenario considered in this work was an unmitigated small break LOCA leading to a severe accident with partial core degradation, due to the postulated assumptions. In the presented paper, 16 sensitivity cases were calculated and analyzed, focusing mainly on heat transfer, decay heat, and core degradation parameters. The selected parameters and their combination caused partial core degradation and showed significant differences in investigated variables such as core degradation and hydrogen generation, as well as examined CPU time consumption. This a preparatory work performed in the framework of the Horizon Euratom SASPAM-SA project, which aims to investigate the applicability and transfer of the operating large light-water reactor knowledge and know-how to the iPWR, taking into account European licensing analysis needs for the severe accident and emergency planning zone.

Keywords: integral PWR; SMR; severe accident; sensitivity analysis; MELCOR (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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