Main outcomes of the Phebus FPT1 uncertainty and sensitivity analysis in the EU-MUSA project

The Management and Uncertainties of Severe Accidents (MUSA) project was funded in HORIZON 2020 and is coordinated by CIEMAT (Spain). The project aims at consolidating a harmonized approach for the analysis of uncertainties and sensitivities associated with Severe Accidents (SAs) analysis, focusing on source term figures of merit. The Application of Uncertainty Quantification (UQ) Methods against Integral Experiments (AUQMIE – Work Package 4 (WP4)), led by ENEA (Italy), was devoted to apply and test UQ methodologies adopting the internationally recognized PHEBUS FPT1 test. FPT1 was chosen to test UQ methodologies because, even though it is a simplified SA scenario, it was representative of the in-vessel phase of a severe accident initiated by a break in the cold leg of a PWR primary circuit. WP4 served as a platform to identify and discuss the issues encountered in the application of UQ methodol ogies to SA analyses (e.g. discuss the UQ methodology, perform the coupling between the SA codes and the UQ tools, define the results post-processing methods, etc.). The purpose of this paper is to describe the MUSA PHEBUS FPT1 uncertainty application exercise with the related specifications and the methodologies used by the partners to perform the UQ exercise. The main outcomes and lessons learned of the analysis are: scripting was in general needed for the SA code and uncertainty tool coupling and to have more flexibility; particular attention should be devoted to the proper choice of the input uncertain parameters; outlier values of figures of merit should be carefully analyzed; the computational time is a key element to perform UQ in SA; the large number of uncertain input parameters may complicate the interpretation of correlation or sensitivity analysis; there is the need for a statistically solid handling of failed calculations

First outcomes from the PHEBUS FPT1 uncertainty application done in the EU MUSA project

The Management and Uncertainties of Severe Accidents (MUSA) project, founded in HORIZON 2020 and coordinated by CIEMAT (Spain), aims to consolidate a harmonized approach for the analysis of uncertainties and sensitivities associated with Severe Accidents (SAs) by focusing on Source Term (ST) Figure of Merits (FOM). In this framework, among the 7 MUSA WPs the Application of Uncertainty Quantification (UQ) Methods against Integral Experiments (AUQMIE – Work Package 4 (WP4)), led by ENEA (Italy), looked at applying and testing UQ methodologies, against the internationally recognized PHEBUS FPT1 test. Considering that FPT1 is a simplified but representative SA scenario, the main target of the WP4 is to train project partners to perform UQ for SA analyses. WP4 is also a collaborative platform for highlighting and discussing results and issues arising from the application of UQ methodologies, already used for design basis accidents, and in MUSA for SA analyses. As a consequence, WP4 application creates the technical background useful for the full plant and spent fuel pool applications planned along the MUSA project, and it also gives a first contribution for MUSA best practices and lessons learned. 16 partners from different world regions are involved in the WP4 activities. The purpose of this paper is to describe the MUSA PHEBUS FPT1 uncertainty application exercise, the methodologies used by the partners to perform the UQ exercise, and the first insights coming out from the calculation phase

Nuclear fuel rod fragmentation under accidental conditions

This paper deals with fuel rod fragmentation during a core meltdown accident in a Nuclear Power Plant. If water is injected on the degraded core to stop the degradation, embrittled fuel rods may crumble to form a reactor debris bed. The size and the morphology of the debris are two key parameters which determine in particular heat transfer and flow friction in the debris bed and as a consequence its coolability. To address this question, a bibliographic survey is performed with the aim of evaluating the size and the surface area of the fragments resulting from fuel rod fragmentation. On this basis, a model to estimate the mean particle diameter obtained in a reflooded degraded core is proposed. Modelling results show that the particle size distribution is very narrow if we only take into account fuel cracking resulting from normal operating conditions. It leads to minimum mean diameters of 2.5 mm (for fuel particles), 1.35 mm (for cladding particles) and 2 mm (for the mixing of cladding and fuel fragments). These results are obtained with fuel rods of 9.5 mm outer diameter and cladding thickness of 570 μm. The particle size distribution is larger if fine fragmentation of the highly irradiated fuel rods during temperature rise is accounted for. This is illustrated with the computation by the severe accident code ASTEC, codeveloped by IRSN abd GRS, of the size of the debris expected to form in case of reflooding of a French 900 MW reactor core during a core meltdown accident. © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

High temperature Zircaloy-4 oxidation in water vapour-containing environments examined with Raman imaging and labelled oxygen

International audienceHigh Temperature oxidation of Zircaloy-4 was studied in N2-O2-H2O gas mixtures using labelled 18 O2, thermogravimetry, Raman imaging and mass spectrometry. Samples were either exposed to N2-18 O2-H2O gas mixtures, or two-stage oxidised first in 18 O2, then in H2 16 O-N2 or 16 O2-N2 atmospheres. In the pre-transition, diffusion-controlled regime, mostly steam contributes to the zirconia formation, while in the nitrogen-catalysed post transition regime both oxygen and steam contribute to the oxidation. These results were tentatively explained by competitive adsorption of oxygen and steam at the gas/solid interfaces, and the formation of porosity in the oxide layers

Air oxidation of Zircaloy-4 in the 600-1000 °c temperature range: Modeling for ASTEC code application

cited By 35Progress in the treatment of air oxidation of zirconium in severe accident (SA) codes are required for a reliable analysis of severe accidents involving air ingress. Air oxidation of zirconium can actually lead to accelerated core degradation and increased fission product release, especially for the highly-radiotoxic ruthenium. This paper presents a model to simulate air oxidation kinetics of Zircaloy-4 in the 600-1000 °C temperature range. It is based on available experimental data, including separate-effect experiments performed at IRSN and at Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe. The kinetic transition, named "breakaway", from a diffusion-controlled regime to an accelerated oxidation is taken into account in the modeling via a critical mass gain parameter. The progressive propagation of the locally initiated breakaway is modeled by a linear increase in oxidation rate with time. Finally, when breakaway propagation is completed, the oxidation rate stabilizes and the kinetics is modeled by a linear law. This new modeling is integrated in the severe accident code ASTEC, jointly developed by IRSN and GRS. Model predictions and experimental data from thermogravimetric results show good agreement for different air flow rates and for slow temperature transient conditions. © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

MUSA WP4: Application of Uncertainty Quantification Methods against Integral Experiments (AUQMIE)

Application of Uncertainty Quantification (UQ) Methods against Integral Experiments (AUQMIE) WP is aimed at applying and testing UQ methodologies, investigated in WP3, against the internationally recognized PHEBUS FPT1 test. Along the WP4 UQ application will train the project Partners gaining experience in the Uncertainty and Sensitivity Analyses (UaSA) and will be provided a platform of discussion for proposing solutions if some issues arise during the UaSA applications. The experience gained along the WP4 will be used as a technical background for the full plant (WP5) and SFP (WP6) UaSA application