[en] The Phebus and VERCORS data have played an important role in contemporary understanding and modeling of fission product release and transport from damaged LWR fuel. The data from these test programs have allowed improvement of MELCOR modeling of release and transport processes for both low enrichment uranium fuel as well as high burnup and MOX fuels. The following paper describes the derivation, testing and incorporation of improved radionuclide release models into the MELCOR severe accident code.

[en] The Phebus and VERCORS data have played an important role in contemporary understanding and modeling of fission product release and transport from damaged light water reactor fuel. The data from these test programs have allowed improvement of MELCOR modeling of release and transport processes for both low enrichment uranium fuel as well as high burnup and mixed oxide (MOX) fuels. This paper discusses the synthesis of these findings in the MELCOR severe accident code. Based on recent assessments of MELCOR 1.8.5 fission product release modeling against the Phebus FPT-1 test and on observations from the ISP-46 exercise, modifications to the default MELCOR 1.8.5 release models are recommended. The assessments identified an alternative set of Booth diffusion parameters recommended by ORNL (ORNL-Booth), which produced significantly improved release predictions for cesium and other fission product groups. Some adjustments to the scaling factors in the ORNL-Booth model were made for selected fission product groups, including UO₂, Mo and Ru in order to obtain better comparisons with the FPT-1 data. The adjusted model, referred to as 'Modified ORNL-Booth,' was subsequently compared to original ORNL VI fission product release experiments and to more recently performed French VERCORS tests, and the comparisons was as favorable or better than the original CORSOR-M MELCOR default release model. These modified ORNL-Booth parameters, input to MELCOR 1.8.5 as 'sensitivity coefficients' (i.e. user input that over-rides the code defaults) are recommended for the interim period until improved release models can be implemented into MELCOR. For the case of ruthenium release in air-oxidizing conditions, some additional modifications to the Ru class vapor pressure are recommended based on estimates of the RuO₂ vapor pressure over mildly hyperstoichiometric UO₂. The increased vapor pressure for this class significantly increases the net transport of Ru from the fuel to the gas stream. A formal model is needed. Deposition patterns in the Phebus FPT-1 circuit were also significantly improved by using the modified ORNL-Booth parameters, where retention of lower volatile Cs₂MoO₄ is now predicted in the heated exit regions of the FPT-1 test, bringing down depositions in the FPT-1 steam generator tube to be in closer alignment with the experimental data. This improvement in 'RCS' deposition behavior preserves the overall correct release of cesium to the containment that was observed even with the default CORSOR-M model. Not correctly treated however is the release and transport of Ag to the FPT-1 containment. A model for Ag release from control rods is presently not available in MELCOR. Lack of this model is thought to be responsible for the underprediction by a factor of two of the total aerosol mass to the FPT-1 containment. It is suggested that this underprediction of airborne mass led to an underprediction of the aerosol agglomeration rate. Underprediction of the agglomeration rate leads to low predictions of the aerosol particle size in comparison to experimentally measured ones. Small particle size leads low predictions of the gravitational settling rate relative to the experimental data. This error, however, is a conservative one in that too-low settling rate would result in a larger source term to the environment. Implementation of an interim Ag release model is currently under study. In the course of this assessment, a review of MELCOR release models was performed and led to the identification of several areas for future improvements to MELCOR. These include upgrading the Booth release model to account for changes in local oxidizing/reducing conditions and including a fuel oxidation model to accommodate effects of fuel stoichiometry. Models such as implemented in the French ELSA code and described by Lewis are considered appropriate for MELCOR. A model for ruthenium release under air oxidizing conditions is also needed and should be included as part of a fuel oxidation model since fuel stoichiometry is a fundamental parameter in determining the vapor pressure of ruthenium oxides over the fuel. There is also a need to expand the MELCOR architecture for tracking fission product classes to allow for more speciation of fission products. An example is the formation of CsI and Cs₂MoO₄ and potentially CsOH if all Mo is combined with Cs such that excess Cs exists in the fuel. Presently, MELCOR can track only one class combination (CsI) accurately, where excess Cs is assumed to be CsOH. Our recommended interim modifications map the CsOH (MELCOR Radionuclide Class 2) and Mo (Class 7) vapor pressure properties to Cs₂MoO₄, which approximates the desired formal class combination of Cs and Mo. Other extensions to handle properly iodine speciation from pool/gas chemistry are also needed.

[en] Severe accidents in nuclear power plants encompass a very wide range of interacting phenomena: • Thermal hydraulic behaviour in the vessel and primary circuit; • Degradation of the reactor core, including oxidation of fuel rod cladding, melt formation, relocation of material to the lower head, melt pool behaviour, lower head failure, ex- vessel corium recovery, molten core-concrete interactions; • Release of fission products from the fuel, structural material release, transport and deposition in the primary circuit, their behaviour in the containment (especially now with special emphasis on iodine and ruthenium), aerosol behaviour; Thermal behaviour, hydraulics in the containment, hydrogen molten fuel-coolant interactions, direct containment heating. This presentation summarises the main in-vessel phenomena involved.

[en] Summary of Emerging Issues: • ST predictive technology on reasonably sound footing; • Important to account for natural attenuation processes and engineered safety features; • Fallout and deposition; • Water pool scrubbing; • Spray scrubbing; • Managing releases; • Containments generally not designed to withstand severe accidents; • Judicious use of containment sprays and venting to optimize management; • Real-world response of safety related components under severe accident conditions; • RCIC operation; • Safety relief valves; • Spent Fuel Pools; • Zr-fire has high consequence but low frequency; • Water sprays to prevent or terminate fire and mitigate release; • Multi-unit disasters are not over in 24 hours.

[en] A summary of the accident consequences and analysis has been presented, in particular: • Results of a severe reactor accident: • On-site consequences; • Off-site consequence analysis; • General considerations for source term calculations; • Severe accident consequences codes; • Emergency preparedness; • Accident analysis: • Safety assessment and analysis; • Types of accident analysis; • Accident analysis methods; • Computer codes for accident analysis; • Quality of accident analysis.

[en] A summary of the basic concepts of nuclear safety has been presented, covering PWR, BWR and PHWR systems, in particular: • Basic facts; • Fundamental safety principles; • Defence-in-depth; • Safety functions; • Initiating events. Plant features and behaviour have also been considered: • Basic elements; • Structures, symbols and components; • Accident scenario classifications; • Acceptance criteria; • Plant operation and configuration; • Instrumentation and control.

[en] Appendix A-5 of Draft Regulatory Guide DG-1199 'Alternative Radiological Source Term for Evaluating Design Basis Accidents at Nuclear Power Reactors' provides guidance - applicable to RADTRAD MSIV leakage models - for scaling containment aerosol concentration to the expected steam dome concentration in order to preserve the simplified use of the Accident Source Term (AST) in assessing containment performance under assumed design basis accident (DBA) conditions. In this study Economic and Safe Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR) and Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR) RADTRAD models are developed using the DG-1199, Appendix A-5 guidance. The models were run using RADTRAD v3.03. Low Population Zone (LPZ), control room (CR), and worst-case 2-hr Exclusion Area Boundary (EAB) doses were calculated and compared to the relevant accident dose criteria in 10 CFR 50.67. For the ESBWR, the dose results were all lower than the MSIV leakage doses calculated by General Electric/Hitachi (GEH) in their licensing technical report. There are no comparable ABWR MSIV leakage doses, however, it should be noted that the ABWR doses are lower than the ESBWR doses. In addition, sensitivity cases were evaluated to ascertain the influence/importance of key input parameters/features of the models.

[en] Summary; • Fission product release models updated to reflect current knowledge; • Volatility of Cs, Mo, Ru adjusted: FPT-1 basis; • Good comparison to small scale tests; • Changes to release models improved deposition characteristics in FPT-1; • New data emerging from French VERDON tests provide additional source of new information; • Source term predictive technology on fairly sound footing; • Chemistry and speciation effects for Ba-class more difficult to capture; • Source Term Estimation Technology on pretty good footing overall.

[en] The accidents at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station in March of 2011 renewed interest globally in the nature, causes, and health and economic consequences of severe accidents involving core damage and containment impairment. As a result of these accidents, research has been conducted into the modeling and phenomenological understanding of the accidents at Fukushima and the response and effectiveness of mitigating measures such as emergency water injection, primary system depressurization and containment venting actions. An important example of this is the jointly conducted OECD-NEA organized Benchmark of the Fukushima Accidents (BSAF project) where accident reconstruction analyses using computer codes such as MELCOR and MAAP are ongoing. Even prior to the Fukushima accidents, the Sandia/NRC sponsored State of Art Reactor Consequence Analyses (SOARCA) foreshadowed the accidents in Japan where long-term and short-term station blackout accidents in boiling water reactors with Mark-1 containment were analyzed showing striking similarities to the accidents at Fukushima. These analyses also highlighted important differences in our prior understanding, in particular the importance of suppression pool thermal stratification and the extraordinary operation of the Fukushima Unit-2 reactor core isolation cooling (RCIC) system, prompting addition research into both of these areas. Additionally, the focus of the world's major computer codes on modeling the Fukushima accidents in the BSAF effort, led to several 'Crosswalk' comparisons between code predictions, highlighting subtle but important modeling differences between the codes and identifying areas where modeling improvements can be made. Collectively, these research areas are aimed at improving our understanding of severe accident progression and real-world response of safety related systems and components, and should lead to improved accident response and mitigation capabilities in the future. (authors)

[en] The primary objective of this report is to provide the technical basis for development of recommendations for updates to the NUREG-1465 Source Term for BWRs that will extend its applicability to accidents involving high burnup (HBU) cores. However, a secondary objective is to re-examine the fundamental characteristics of the prescription for fission product release to containment described by NUREG-1465. This secondary objective is motivated by an interest to understand the extent to which research into the release and behaviors of radionuclides under accident conditions has altered best-estimate calculations of the integral response of BWRs to severe core damage sequences and the resulting radiological source terms to containment. This report, therefore, documents specific results of fission product source term analyses that will form the basis for the HBU supplement to NUREG-1465. However, commentary is also provided on observed differences between the composite results of the source term calculations performed here and those reflected NUREG-1465 itself.