Analysis of criticality of melt during severe accidents in reactor vessel

Abstract

The article investigates the possibility of a self-sustaining chain nuclear fission reaction during the development of a severe accident in the core at nuclear power plants with reactors WWER-1000 of Ukraine. Some models for calculating a criticality at different stages of the severe accident in the reactor VVER-1000 vessel were developed and calculations of multiplication properties of fuel containing masses were performed.
 The severe accident in the VVER-1000 core approximately divided into seven major stages: the intact reactor core, beginning of cladding damage (swelling), cladding melting and flowing down to the support grid, melting of constructional materials, homogenization of the materials at the bottom of the reactor vessel, stratification of corium at the bottom of the reactor vessel, the exit of the corium from the reactor shaft. It was shown that at the beginning of an accident, if fuel rods geometry is maintained, criticality might appear even if the emergency protection rods is triggered. With further development of the accident, the melt of fuel and structural materials will be deeply subcritical if water cannot penetrate into the pores or voids of the melt. In the case of the formation of pores or voids in the melt and the ingress of water into them, a recriticality may arise. A compensating measure is the addition of a boric acid solution to a cooling water with a certain concentration.
 According to the results of the computation analysis, a reactor core loaded with TVSA fuel (Russian production) requires a higher concentration of boric acid in water to compensate the multiplication properties of the fuel system in emergency situations compared to the core loaded with TVS-WR fuel (manufactured by Westinghouse), i.e. TVS-WR fuel is safer from the criticality point of view.