Study of Cost Effective Large Advanced Pressurized Water Reactors that Employ Passive Safety Features

Abstract

A report of DOE sponsored portions of AP1000 Design Certification effort. On December 16, 1999, The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued Design Certification of the AP600 standard nuclear reactor design. This culminated an 8-year review of the AP600 design, safety analysis and probabilistic risk assessment. The AP600 is a 600 MWe reactor that utilizes passive safety features that, once actuated, depend only on natural forces such as gravity and natural circulation to perform all required safety functions. These passive safety systems result in increased plant safety and have also significantly simplified plant systems and equipment, resulting in simplified plant operation and maintenance. The AP600 meets NRC deterministic safety criteria and probabilistic risk criteria with large margins. A summary comparison of key passive safety system design features is provided in Table 1. These key features are discussed due to their importance in affecting the key thermal-hydraulic phenomenon exhibited by the passive safety systems in critical areas. The scope of some of the design changes to the AP600 is described. These changes are the ones that are important in evaluating the passive plant design features embodied in the certified AP600 standard plant design. These design changes are incorporated into the AP1000 standard plant design that Westinghouse is certifying under 10 CFR Part 52. In conclusion, this report describes the results of the representative design certification activities that were partially supported by the Nuclear Energy Research Initiative. These activities are unique to AP1000, but are representative of research activities that must be driven to conclusion to realize successful licensing of the next generation of nuclear power plants in the United States.