Development and Verification of Severe Accident Simulation Capability for a NPP Simulator

It is reflected in the severe accident in Fukushima Daiichi that the emergency capacity of nuclear power plant needs to be enhanced. A nuclear plant simulator that can model the severe accident is the most effective means to promote this capacity. Until now, there is not a simulator which can model the severe accident in China. In order to enhance the emergency capacity in China, we focus on developing a full scope simulator that can model the severe accident and verify it in this study.The development of severe accident simulation system mainly includes three steps. Firstly, the integral severe accident code MELCOR is transplanted to the simulation platform. Secondly, the interface program must be developed to switch calculating code from RELAP5 code to MELCOR code automatically when meeting the severe accident conditions because the RELAP5 code can only simulate the nuclear power plant normal operation state and design basis accident but the severe accident. So RELAP5 code will be stopped when severe accident conditions happen and the current nuclear power plant state parameters of it should be transported to MELCOR code, and MELCOR code will run. Finally, the CPR1000 nuclear power plant MELCOR model is developed to analyze the nuclear power plant behavior in severe accident.After the three steps, the severe accident simulation system is tested by a scenario that is initiated by the station black out with reactor cooling pump seal leakage, HHSI, LHSI and auxiliary feed water system do not work. The simulation result is verified by qualitative analysis and comparison with the results in severe accident analysis report of the same NPP. More severe accident scenarios initiated by LBLOCA, MBLOCA, SBLOCA, SBO, ATWS, SGTR, MSLB will be tested in the future. The results show that the severe accident simulation system can model the severe accident correctly; it meets the demand of emergency capacity promotion.Copyright © 2013 by ASME