SAS4A: A computer model for the analysis of hypothetical core disruptive accidents in liquid metal reactors

Abstract

To ensure that the public health and safety are protected under any accident conditions in a Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactor (LMFBR), many accidents are analyzed for their potential consequences. The SAS4A code system, described in this paper, provides such an analysis capability, including the ability to analyze low probability events such as the Hypothetical Core Disruptive Accidents (HCDAs). The SAS4A code system has been designed to simulate all the events that occur in a LMFBR core during the initiating phase of a Hypothetical Core Disruptive Accident. During such postulated accident scenarios as the Loss-of-Flow and Transient Overpower events, a large number of interrelated physical phenomena occur during a relatively short time. These phenomena include transient heat transfer and hydrodynamic events, coolant boiling and fuel and cladding melting and relocation. During to the strong neutronic feedback present in a nuclear reactor, these events can significantly influence the reactor power. The SAS4A code system is used in the safety analysis of nuclear reactors, in order to estimate the energetic potential of very low probability accidents. The results of SAS4A simulations are also used by reactor designers in order to build safer reactors and eliminate the possibility of any accident which could endanger the public safety

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