Station Black-Out Analysis with MELCOR 1.8.6 Code for Atucha 2 Nuclear Power Plant

Abstract

A description of the results for a Station Black-Out analysis for Atucha 2 Nuclear Power Plant is presented here. Calculations were performed with MELCOR 1.8.6 YV3165 Code. Atucha 2 is a pressurized heavy water reactor, cooled and moderated with heavy water, by two separate systems, presently under final construction in Argentina. The initiating event is loss of power, accompanied by the failure of four out of four diesel generators. All remaining plant safety systems are supposed to be available. It is assumed that during the Station Black-Out sequence the first pressurizer safety valve fails stuck open after 3 cycles of water release, respectively, 17 cycles in total. During the transient, the water in the fuel channels evaporates first while the moderator tank is still partially full. The moderator tank inventory acts as a temporary heat sink for the decay heat, which is evacuated through conduction and radiation heat transfer, delaying core degradation. This feature, together with the large volume of the steel filler pieces in the lower plenum and a high primary system volume to thermal power ratio, derives in a very slow transient in which RPV failure time is four to five times larger than that of other German PWRs.