Containment behaviour in Phébus FP

Laurie, M.; March, P.; Simondi-Teisseire, B.; Payot, F.

doi:10.1016/j.anucene.2013.03.032

Cited by 18 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…This experimental campaign was carried out in the integral Phébus facility at the "Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire" (IRSN) laboratories in Cadarache (F). Five integral tests were performed, investigating the main processes affecting the severe degradation of the nuclear fuel and control rods, the release of FPs and control materials, their transport through the reactor coolant circuit, and their deposition as aerosols in the containment vessel [4][5][6]. Different fuel burn-up levels, control rod materials, and thermal-hydraulic conditions were investigated [7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stand-Alone Containment Analysis of the Phébus FPT Tests with the ASTEC and the MELCOR Codes: The FPT-0 Test

Bruno

Paci

2017

Science and Technology of Nuclear Installations

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The integral Phébus tests were probably one of the most important experimental campaigns performed to investigate the progression of severe accidents in light water reactors. In these tests, the degradation of a PWR fuel bundle was investigated employing different control rod materials and burn-up levels in strongly or weakly oxidizing conditions. From the results of such tests, numerical codes such as ASTEC and MELCOR have been developed to describe the evolution of a severe accident. After the termination of the experimental Phébus campaign, these two codes were furthermore expanded. Therefore, the aim of the present work is to reanalyze the first Phébus test (FPT-0) employing the updated ASTEC and MELCOR versions to ensure that the new improvements introduced in such codes allow also a better prediction of these Phébus tests. The analysis focuses on the stand-alone containment aspects of this test, and the paper summarizes the main thermal-hydraulic results and presents different sensitivity analyses carried out on the aerosols and fission products behavior. This paper is part of a series of publications covering the four executed Phébus tests employing a solid PWR fuel bundle: FPT-0, FPT-1, FPT-2, and FPT-3.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stand-Alone Containment Analysis of the Phébus FPT Tests with the ASTEC and the MELCOR Codes: The FPT-0 Test

Bruno

Paci

2017

Science and Technology of Nuclear Installations

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“…In addition, tellurium was used as an analogue for nonsoluble elements when analyzing their behavior in the sump. 15 The PHÉBUS experiments indicate that the majority of tellurium enters the containment as part of an FP aerosol. After entering the containment, the tellurium species will be washed from the condensing surfaces and walls into the sump.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although, the experiments were performed in both acidic and alkaline media, 16 no significant differences were observed concerning the tellurium behavior. 15 However, the chemistry phase in the PHÉBUS experiments was focused mainly on iodine, not tellurium. 16 In addition to the PHÉBUS experiments, some observations of tellurium behavior, mainly solubility, were also made from Three Mile Island aqueous samples, 17 but these cannot be used to estimate the overall tellurium behavior.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tellurium Behavior in the Containment Sump: Dissolution, Redox, and Radiolysis Effects

et al. 2020

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In the event of a severe nuclear accident, one major concern is the release of radioactive material into the environment causing potential exposure of the general public to radiation. Among the volatile radionuclides are a range of tellurium isotopes. Due to the radioactivity and the volatility of tellurium, it has to be taken into account when assessing the overall effects of an accident. The interest in tellurium is not limited only to its release but also to the fact that some tellurium isotopes decay to iodine, and thus affect the iodine release behavior. The release and transport behavior of tellurium has been investigated over the past decades, however, the aqueous chemistry of tellurium in the complex containment sump system is still unclear. This study presents the behavior of tellurium dioxide in simplified containment sump conditions in relation to dissolution, redox reactions, and interactions with water radiolysis products. The results indicate that radiolysis products have a significant effect on tellurium chemistry in both a reducing and oxidizing manner depending on the solution composition. The redox reactions also affect the solubility of tellurium. The results show that the current information used to assess tellurium source term needs to be reevaluated for both severe accident management and for code validation purposes.

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“…The experimental campaign consisted of five integral tests differing in the fuel burn-ups, control rod materials, and thermal-hydraulic conditions investigated [3]. These tests investigated the key processes occurring in a SA: the degradation of the fuel rods, the release of Fission Products (FP) and Structural Materials (SM), and their subsequent transport through the primary circuit and into the containment [4][5][6]. The Phébus research program provided a comprehensive improvement of the understanding of the key SA phenomena.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Standalone Containment Analysis of Four Phébus Tests with the ASTEC and the MELCOR Codes

Bruno

Paci

2019

Science and Technology of Nuclear Installations

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After the severe accident (SA) occurred at the Three-Miles Island Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), important efforts on the investigation of the different phenomena during this kind of accidents have been started. Several experimental campaigns investigating one phenomenon at time or the combination of two or more phenomena have been performed. Today, the Phébus experimental campaign is probably the most important activity on the evaluation of the coupling among different phenomena. Four out of five tests investigated the degradation of an intact Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) fuel bundle and the subsequent transport of Fission Products (FP) and Structural Materials (SM) through the primary circuit and into the containment, while the fifth test was only the degradation of a bed of PWR fuel bundle debris. These tests were performed between 1990 and 2010 at the CEA Cadarache laboratories (France) in a 5000:1 scaled facility. The main four tests varied the employed control rod materials, the fuel burn-up, and the oxidizing conditions of the atmosphere (strongly or weakly). The outcomes of this experimental campaign created a solid base for the understanding of the involved phenomena and allowed the development of models and software codes capable of simulating the evolution of a SA in a real NPP. ASTEC and MELCOR were two of the main SA codes profiting from the results of this Phébus campaign. These two codes were further improved in the latest years to account for the findings obtained in more recent experimental campaigns. A continuous verification and validation work is then necessary to check how the newer code’s versions reproduce the tests performed in these older experimental campaigns such as Phébus one. The present work is intended to be the final step of a series of publications covering the activities carried out at University of Pisa with the ASTEC and the MELCOR SA codes on the four Phébus tests employing an intact PWR fuel bundle. Because of the complexity and the extent of these tests, only the containment aspects were considered in the precedent works, i.e., only the thermal-hydraulics transient and its coupling with the FP and SM behavior. Then, general conclusions based on the outcomes of these precedent works are summarized in this work.

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Containment behaviour in Phébus FP

Cited by 18 publications

References 10 publications

Stand-Alone Containment Analysis of the Phébus FPT Tests with the ASTEC and the MELCOR Codes: The FPT-0 Test

Stand-Alone Containment Analysis of the Phébus FPT Tests with the ASTEC and the MELCOR Codes: The FPT-0 Test

Tellurium Behavior in the Containment Sump: Dissolution, Redox, and Radiolysis Effects

Standalone Containment Analysis of Four Phébus Tests with the ASTEC and the MELCOR Codes

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