Comparison of SCDAP/RELAP5/MOD3 to TRAC-PF1/MOD1 for timing analysis of PWR fuel pin failures

Abstract

A comparison has been made of SCDAP/RELAP5/MOD3- and TRAC-PF1/MOD1- based calculations of the fuel pin failure timing (time from containment isolation signal to first fuel pin failure) in a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA). The two codes were used to calculate the thermal-hydraulic boundary conditions for a complete, double-ended, offset-shear break of a cold leg in a Westinghouse 4-loop pressurized water reactor. Both calculations used the FRAPCON-2 code to calculate the steady-state fuel rod behavior and the FRAP-T6 code to calculate the transient fuel rod behavior. The analysis was performed for 16 combinations of fuel burnups and power peaking factors extending up to the Technical Specifications limits. While all calculations were made on a best-estimate basis, the SCDAP/RELAP5/MOD3 code has not yet been fully assessed for large-break LOCA analysis. The results indicate that SCDAP/RELAP5/MOD3 yields conservative fuel pin failure timing results in comparison to those generated using TRAC-PF1/MOD1. 7 refs., 5 figs

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