Abstract
This paper presents a TRACE model of a postulated large-break loss-of-coolant accident (LBLOCA) event in a four-loop pressurized water reactor (PWR). The input files have been made publicly available and serve as a starting point for researchers to improve upon or apply to their purposes. The model, based on a legacy PWR model, contains numerous improvements and modifications consistent with US Nuclear Regulatory Commission LBLOCA analysis guidelines. The model is applied to analyze high-burnup (>62 GWD/MTU) fuel behavior during LBLOCA, improving on previous work to provide realistic thermal hydraulic predictions for future fuel performance analyses and experiments related to fission fragment, relocation, and dispersal (FFRD). Sensitivity studies are presented to quantify the impact of the vessel-modeling approach, core radial discretization, and other phenomena. The model is intended for research purposes and contains sufficient plant geometric, operational, and safety system details to represent the main physical phenomena pertaining to LBLOCA.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 111014 |
| Journal | Annals of Nuclear Energy |
| Volume | 211 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Feb 2025 |
Funding
This work was supported by the Advanced Fuels Campaign (AFC) of the US Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy . This research made use of the High-Performance Computing Center at Idaho National Laboratory , which is supported by the Office of Nuclear Energy of the US Department of Energy and the Nuclear Science User Facilities under contract No. DE-AC07-05ID14517 . The authors would like to thank Dr. Andrew Bielen, Dr. Steve Bajorek, and Dr. Joseph Staudenmeier of the US NRC Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research for providing useful guidelines on best practices for TRACE PWR LOCA modeling and recommendations to improve the authors’ TRACE model during the course of this project. Their advice contributed greatly to the development of a realistic and robust LBLOCA model for PWRs. This work was supported by the Advanced Fuels Campaign (AFC) of the Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy, United States. This research made use of the High-Performance Computing Center at Idaho National Laboratory, United States, which is supported by the Office of Nuclear Energy of the US Department of Energy, United States and the Nuclear Science User Facilities under contract No. DE-AC07-05ID14517.
Keywords
- Computational thermal hydraulics
- High-burnup fuel
- Loss-of-coolant accident
- Nuclear systems code
- Reactor safety analysis