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The residual decay heat causes rapid increase in temperature and internal pressure of the fuel cladding which leads to plastic deformation and subsequent bursting. During a loss-of-coolant accident, zirconium-based fuel claddings undergo high temperature oxidation, phase transformation, and creep deformation simultaneously. [3]
A loss-of-pressure-control accident (LOPA) is a mode of failure for a nuclear reactor that involves the pressure of the confined coolant falling below specification. [1] Most commercial types of nuclear reactor use a pressure vessel to maintain pressure in the reactor plant.
In the case of a loss of coolant accident (LOCA), the water-loss of the primary cooling system can be compensated with normal water pumped into the cooling circuit. On the other hand, the standby liquid control (SLC) system (SLCS) consists of a solution containing boric acid , which acts as a neutron poison and rapidly floods the core in case ...
The Loss of Fluid Tests (LOFT) were an early attempt to scope the response of real nuclear fuel to conditions under a loss-of-coolant accident, funded by USNRC. The facility was built at Idaho National Laboratory, and was essentially a scale-model of a commercial PWR. ('Power/volume scaling' was used between the LOFT model, with a 50MWth core ...
During an accident where radioactive material may be released, these valves must shut to prevent the release of radioactive material or the loss of reactor coolant. The containment isolation system is responsible for automatically closing these valves to prevent the release of radioactive material and is an important part of a plant's safety ...
A core damage accident is caused by the loss of sufficient cooling for the nuclear fuel within the reactor core. The reason may be one of several factors, including a loss-of-pressure-control accident, a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA), an uncontrolled power excursion. Failures in control systems may cause a series of events resulting in loss ...
The removal of the decay heat is a significant reactor safety concern, especially shortly after normal shutdown or following a loss-of-coolant accident. Failure to remove decay heat may cause the reactor core temperature to rise to dangerous levels and has caused nuclear accidents, including the nuclear accidents at Three Mile Island and ...
If the coolant is a liquid, it may boil if the temperature inside the reactor rises. This boiling leads to voids inside the reactor. Voids may also form if coolant is lost from the reactor in some sort of accident (called a loss of coolant accident, which has other dangers). Some reactors operate with the coolant in a constant state of boiling ...