Chemistry aspects of the source term formation for a severe accident in a CANDU type reactor

Abstract

Abstract The progression of a severe accident in a CANDU type reactor is slow because the core is surrounded by a large quantity of heavy and light water which acts as a heat sink to remove the decay heat. Therefore, the source term formation is a complex and long process involving fission products transport and releasing in the fuel matrix, thermal hydraulics of the transport fluid in the primary heat system and containment, deposition and transport of fission products, chemistry including the interaction with the dousing system, structural materials and paints, etc. The source term is strongly dependent on initial conditions and accident type. The paper presents chemistry aspects for a severe accident in a CANDU type reactor, in terms of the retention in the primary heat system. After releasing from the fuel elements, the fission products suffer a multitude of phenomena before they are partly transferred into the containment region. The most important species involved in the deposition were identified. At the same time, the influence of the break position in the transfer fractions from the primary heat system to the containment was investigated.