Ann. NucLEneryy, Vol.21. No. 3, pp.

17%187,1994
~ ) Pergamon Copyright© 1994ElsevierScienceLtd
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0306-4549/94$6.00+ 0.00

LARGE-BREAK LOSS-OF-COOLANT ACCIDENT

ANALYSIS OF A DIRECT-CYCLE SUPERCRITICAL-
PRESSURE LIGHT WATER REACTOR

S. KOSHIZUKA, K. SHIMAMURA a n d Y. OKA

Nuclear Engineering Research Laboratory, Faculty of Engineering, University of Tokyo,
2-22 Shirane, Shirakata, Tokai-mura, Naka-gun, Ibaraki 319-11, Japan

(Received 8 June 1993)

Abstract--Large-break loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) was analyzed in the course of the design study
concerning direct-cycle supercritical-pressure light water reactor (SCLWR). The advantages of SCLWR
are a higher thermal efficiency and simpler reactor system than the current light water reactors (LWRs).
A computer code was prepared for the analysis of the blowdown phase from the supercritical pressure.
The calculation was connected to the REFLA-TRAC code when the system pressure decreased to around
atmospheric pressure. The analyzed accidents are 100, 75, 50 and 25% cold-leg and 100% hot-leg breaks.
First, blowdown and heatup phases without an emergency core cooling system (ECCS) were evaluated. A
low-pressure coolant injection system (LPCI) was designed to fill the core with water before the cladding
(stainless-steel) temperature reached a limit of 1260°C. The LPCI consists of four units, each of which has
the capacity 805 kg/s. An automatic depressurization system (ADS) was designed to release the steam
generated in the core in the case of cold-leg breaks and to permit operation of LPCI in the case of LOCAs
of less than 100% break. For all cases analyzed, the peak cladding temperatures were lower than the limit
when the designed ECCS is implemented.

l. INTRODUCTION core, the d o w n c o m e r a n d the cold p l e n u m were filled

with high-density water, while the u p p e r core a n d
W e have been studying the direct-cycle supercritical-
the u p p e r p l e n u m were filled with low-density water,
pressure light w a t e r reactor ( S C L W R ) (Oka et al.,
superheated steam. T h e r e were n o recirculation lines
199:2; O k a a n d K o s h i z u k a , 1992). T h e t h e r m a l
like the B W R . T h e pressure was supercritical. F r o m
efficiency was higher a n d the reactor system was sim-
these characteristics, L O C A , particularly the blow-
pler t h a n the c u r r e n t light water reactors ( L W R s ) .
d o w n phase, was different f r o m L W R s .
Principal characteristics o f S C L W R are listed in Table
W a t e r is a single phase fluid at supercritical
1. The system pressure was 250 bar. The inlet a n d
pressure, b u t steam a n d water are separated below
outlet c o o l a n t t e m p e r a t u r e s were 310 a n d 416°C,
the critical point, 221 bar. N o c o n v e n t i o n a l L O C A
respectively. The c o o l a n t t e m p e r a t u r e increased con-
analysis code c a n h a n d l e it. A c o m p u t e r code was
tinuously in the core. T h e s u p e r h e a t e d steam was
developed to analyse the b l o w d o w n from the super-
directly fed to the t u r b i n e a n d recirculation lines,
critical pressure. W h e n the system pressure falls
steam separators a n d dryers were n o t necessary. Stain-
less-steel was e m p l o y e d as the cladding material to
w i t h s t a n d the high pressure a n d temperature. Since Table 1. Principal characteristics of SCLWR
the e n t h a l p y difference was large between the core Core dia/height 226/570 cm
inlet a n d outlet, the core mass flowrate was very small. Coolant inlet/outlet temperature 310/416°C
Coolant inlet/outlet density 0.725/0.137 g/cm3
Therefore the pipe d i a m e t e r o f the m a i n steam lines Fuel rod/pellet diameter 0.8/0.694 cm
was m u c h smaller t h a n the P W R s as well as the n u m - Cladding/thickness SS/0.046 cm
ber o f lines being reduced to 2. In order to avoid the Maximum power density 363.6 MW/m 3
Pressure 250 bar
heat t r a n s f e r deterioration o f supercritical water, the Flowrate 2,032 kg/s
high core was a d o p t e d . T h e reactor vessel is illustrated Coolant average velocity, core inlet/outlet 1.27/6.77 m
in Fig. 1. Pressure vessel height/inner dia 15.7/3.26 m
Coolant loop number 2
T h e p u r p o s e o f the present study was to analyze Inlet/outlet pipe dia 34/53 cm
large-break loss-of-coolant accidents ( L O C A s ) o f the Thermal power 2.780 MW
Efficiency 0.412
S C L W R . T h e axial c o o l a n t density c h a n g e was larger Electrical power 1,145 MW
t h a n t h a t o f boiling water reactors (BWRs). T h e lower
177
178 S. KOSH1ZUKAet al.
Cold-leg Hot-leg
NIII .~Upper plenum
I ~ ~ ~ ' ' ~ - D°wnc°mer
~ Lower plenum
Fig. 1. Cross-sectional view of the SCLWR pressure vessel.
around atmospheric pressure, the calculation is con-
nected to the R E F L A - T R A C code (Akimoto and
Murao, 1992; Akimoto et al., 1992), which was
developed in the Japan Atomic Energy Research Insti-
tute based on T R A C - P F I . The heatup and reflooding
phases are also analyzed using REFLA-TRAC.
First, the blowdown and heatup phases were cal-
culated without an emergency core cooling system
(ECCS). Next, a low-pressure coolant injection sys-
tem and an automatic depressurization system were
designed from the heatup analysis. Then the blow-
down, heatup and reflooding phases were analyzed
including the designed ECCS.
2. MODELING
2.1. Supercritical pressure blowdown model
Above the critical pressure, the boundary between
liquid and gas disappears. The water density con-
tinuously changes with temperature, but the specific
heat shows a maximum at a pseudo-critical tem-
perature Tin. The density change is large around the
Tin. For analyzing the blowdown phase, the following
assumptions were made :
(1) The reactor vessel was filled with two types of
fluid corresponding to the inlet and outlet den-
sities: high-density fluid, "water" (310°C) and
low-density fluid, "steam" (416°C). The "water"
existed in the downcomer, the lower plenum and
the lower core. The upper core and the upper
plenum were occupied by the "steam". The fluid
possessing intermediate properties in the core was
neglected. The results of calculation would have
been little affected by this assumption because of
a relatively small inventory of water in the core.
(2) Since the initial critical flowrate at the break was
much larger than the core flowrate at normal
operation, zero velocity of the core flow was
assumed as the initial condition. This implied
that the isolation valves closed instantaneously.
(3) The fluid inertia was neglected. The outlet flow at
the break attained critical velocity at the same
time as the break occured. Practically it needs
several seconds for the accelerating fluid to attain
critical velocity. This simplification made the
blowdown time shorter, which led to an earlier
heatup of the cladding.
(4) The stored heat at steady-state operation was
redistributed in the fuel at time zero. The initial
cladding surface temperature became slightly high
with this assumption.
(5) The temperature distribution in the fuel was sim-
plified to be uniform during the blowdown phase.
The core was uncovered just after the break and
a large negative reactivity was inserted. Therefore
the core power decreased to the decay heat level
and the temperature difference in the fuel was
small.
(6) The critical mass flowrate was calculated using
Moody's model when the quality was larger than
2% and lower than 100% at the break. Otherwise,
the acoustic speed was used. The choke pressure at
the break remained subcritical though the system
pressure was supercritical. Thus Moody's model
was applicable to the analysis.
(7) Dittus-Boelter's correlation was employed for
estimating the heat transfer coefficient from the
clad to supercritical water. This correlation pro-
vides conservative values around Tin.
(8) The core power was evaluated from point kinetic
equations including six groups of delalyed neu-
trons and a decay heat of A N S + 2 0 % . The
inserted reactivity was calculated from the core
characteristics and the average coolant density at
each time step.
(9) Heat capacity of the rector vessel and other struc-
tures was neglected.
The node diagram used for the cold-leg break analy-
sis is depicted in Fig. 2. Whole reactor vessel was
represented by three nodes. The downcomer, the
 Large-break loss-of-coolant accident analysis 179

the existence of liquid is judged. When liquid remains,

Steam node #I
I[ the critical flow is evaluated using the liquid proper-
I ties. Mass conservation equations are :

-I Steam 1
w~'~+l = w~'~--Aw'~,~t-dt

w~g+ ' = w~g~--Aw~g,~,2"dt,

(1)

node #2 1 w~g+ ' = W~gz+ Aw~g,~g2" dt,
I I [Core
Liquid node
L Critical flow
F mass flowrate at the break and Awgj ~g2 represents the
Fig. 2. Reactor model for blowdown analysis of the cold-leg
break.
lower plenum and the lower core were simulated by
one liquid node occupied by uniform "water". The
upper plenum and the upper core were represented by
steam nodes 1 and 2, respectively. Initially the fluid
properties in both steam nodes were the same. Mass
and enthalpy balances were calculated in each node
by considering the interaction with other nodes. Node
volumes were variables.
The calculation procedure is shown in Fig. 3. First,
(2)
(3)
where w denotes the total mass in the node. Subscripts
1, gl and g2 represent the liquid, steam 1 and steam 2
nodes, respectively. The superscripts represent the
time steps. The quantity Awe,, denotes the critical
mass transfer from steam node 1 to 2. The steam
pressure was calculated from the enthalpy, the total
mass and volume of the node. The mass transfer
Awgl ~g2 was iteratively evaluated to balance the pres-
sures of the two steam nodes.
After the liquid mass was entirely lost at the break,
steam in node 2 flowed out. At this phase the mass
conservation equations are :
w~g~-' = w~gt--Aw~g,.~'dt , (4)
w~g+' = w~2+(Aw~g,.g2--Aw'~,t)'dt. (5)
The enthalpy conservation equations are :

~ s~ .~

not exists

[ Critical flow of liquid ] [ Critical flow of steam [

+
[Steam node #2 expands [ ] Steam node #2 inventory decreases ]

[ Steam node #2 pressure decreases ] [ Steam node #2 pressure decreases ]

Mass transfer from

steam node #l to #2
F-- I Mass transfer from I.~......_
steam node #1 to #2

i Heat transfer from core

to steam node #2 [ Heat transfer from core
to steam node #2

Fig. 3. Calculation flowchart for blowdown analysis of the cold-leg break.

180 S. KOSHIZUKAet al.
h~+' = h~,
h kgl
+ I k mass was incorporated into the calculation as :
= hgl,
h~+1 = h~2 + [O+ (h~ -h~2)Awgk, ~g2] "dt/w~g + 1,
where h denotes the enthalpy per unit mass. The quan-
tity Q represents the heat transfer from the core to
steam node 2. This is calculated using Dittus-Boelter's
heat transfer coefficient. The flow velocity used in the
correlation is evaluated from Awg I -g2. The density of
liquid is kept constant, so that the volume of the liquid
nodes is uniquely determined from the total mass. The
volume of steam node 2 increases with a decreasing
volume of liquid node, while the volume of the steam
node 1 is constant. The density of steam was evaluated
from the total mass and volume of the node. The other
properties of fluid were obtained from the density and
enthalpy using a steam table.
The node diagram used for the hot-leg break is
depicted in Fig. 4. The whole pressure vessel is rep-
resented by liquid and steam nodes. The calculation
procedure is shown in Fig. 5. Steam flows out at the
break. When the pressure decreased to the saturated
pressure of the liquid, flashing occurred. The heat
transfer from the core to the coolant was calculated
using the steam velocitiy derived from this flashing.
However the heat was transferred only to the liquid.
This assumption implies that the liquid level increased
up to the upper part of the core due to the flashing,
and the heat was mainly consumed in the boiling of
two-phase mixture.
The mass conservation equations are represented
by :
w* = w~,
W~ : W~g--ml~crit °dt.
When the pressure was higher than the saturated one
of the liquid, the masses corresponding to k + 1 time
I L
Steam node [---- • Critical flow
1 ponent is divided into I0 nodes. Valve component 2
i
Fig. 4. Reactor model for blowdown analysis of the hot-leg
break.
(6) step were equal to those asterisked. If not, the flashing
(7)
W~I"1-1 = w~l --~), (11)
(8)
w~+ ' = w*+ w * ' z , (12)
where Z denotes the fraction of the flashed steam and
is evaluated from the mixture of saturated liquid and
steam enthalpies :
hg~at(P*)'z+h,sat(P*)'(1-Z) = hk, (13)
where the subscripts lsat and gsat denote saturated
liquid and steam, respectively. The saturated enthal-
pies are the functions of pressure p*, which is evaluated
explicitly from the steam node properties. The
enthalpy per unit mass is kept constant as equations
(6) and (7) when the flashing does not occur. With the
flashing, the liquid and steam enthalpies are calculated
from :
h~ +I = h~,t(p*)+O'dt/w~j +~, (14)
hi+,.~+, = hgk. Wg-[-hgsa
, t • w I*. ~. (15)
The steam volume increases with a decreasing liquid
volume due to the flashing.
2.2. Heatup and reflooding model
REFLA-TRAC is a best-estimate code for pre-
dicting LWR plant transients. The results of the blow-
down calculation are converted to the input data of
the REFLA-TRAC code and successive heatup and
reflooding phases are analyzed. Though the REFLA-
TRAC code is available at a pressure lower than 170
bar, the calculation is proceeded to this code when the
(9) system pressure is low enough and the blowdown is
almost finished.
(10) The component diagram is depicted in Fig. 6. Com-
ponent 7 represents the core. The core component is
divided into 14 nodes, eight of which are connected
to heat conductors representing the fuel rods. Only
the hottest channel is modeled and cosine power dis-
tribution is assumed in the axial direction. Component
5 represents the lower plenum. It is connected to pipe
component 8 representing the downcomer. This com-
was attached to the downcomer. The upper plenum
represented by component 6 was connected to valve
component 4. The ECCS was connected directly to
the lower plenum using one valve and one fill com-
ponent in the present model.
In the case of cold-leg break, valve 9 was opened
and valves 2 and 4 were closed. Valve 2 was opened
when LPCI was actuated, and valve 4 was opened
when ADS was actuated. On the other hand, valve 4
was opened and the others are closed when simulating
 Large-break loss-of-coolant accident analysis 181

~...__START

[ Critical flow at break [

[ Steam inventor~ decreases[

+At [ [ Steam pressure decreases [

Core mass flow rate I

= Flashing mass [ [ Core flow = 0 [

*
Cladding temperature [ I
Fig. 5. Calculation flowchart for blowdown analysis of the hot-leg break.

6.Plenum

7.Core

5.Plenum

Fig. 6. Nodalization for the REFLA-TRAC code.

the hot-leg break. LPCI is simulated in the same way
as the cold-leg break, while the effect of ADS was
neglected.
3. B L O W D O W N AND HEATUP ANALYSES
3.1. 100% cold-leg break
The initial blowdown phase was analyzed with the
assumptions explained in the previous sections. The
calculation was connected to the R E F L A - T R A C code
at 20 s. Figure 7a shows the pressure transient at the
core. A point of inflection appears at 6 s when whole
"water" was lost at the break and "steam" release
starts. The depressurization speed was relatively small
during the "water" release. This inflection point
would not be so clear if the continuous distribution
of coolant properties in the core is considered. The
pressure decreased around atmospheric pressure at
182 S. KOSHIZUKA et al.

(a) 250 (a) 250

200 200

"C P,.
¢g ¢u
.a 150 150
,=
-,1
100 100
2 P
Q. Q.

50 50

0 0
0 2O 40 60 80 100 120 0 50 100 150 200
Time [s] Time [s]

(b) 2000
(b) lOOO
/I
,/ /
core inlet /
O
o 1500 d f /
1 I core middle /
,= ~" 8OO
.o core outlet /
t" /
/
/

E
¢D
1000 pf
,,./I i ff
¢,~
600 I /
i
/

E /
._=
m 400
// .,...I
"O // j'-
"O c
_m 500 I ~5
t,3 core inlet _m
core middle 0 200
core outlet
~ ,,
0 I =
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
T i m e [s] 0 50 100 150 200

Fig. 7. 1 0 0 % cold-leg break without ECCS: (a) core pres- Time [s]

sure; and (b) cladding surface temperature. Fig. 8. 1 0 0 % hot-leg break without ECCS : ( a ) core pressure ;
and (b) cladding surface temperature.

20 s. Since the blowdown mass flowrate is almost zero

and the reactor vessel was filled with almost uniform
steam, the calculation is smoothly proceeded to the
R E F L A - T R A C code.
The cladding surface temperatures are shown in
Fig. 7b. Since the redistribution of the stored heat in
the fuel is assumed to be completed at time zero, the
initial cladding surface temperature in the core middle
was very high. This high temperature was soon
decreased by the reversed core flow due to the blow-
down. The temperatures were kept below 700°C for 10
s and began to increase linearly. The cladding surface
temperature in the core middle reached 1500°C for
100 s after the break.
3.2. 100% hot-leg break
The pressure transient at the 100% hot-leg break is
depicted in Fig. 8a. A point of inflection is also
observed at 0.7 s. In the initial stage, "steam" was
released from the hot-leg and rapid depressurization
occurred. When the pressure decreased to the satu-
rated one at 0.7 s, "water" began to flash and the
depressurization speed became slow. The calculation
is proceeded to the R E F L A - T R A C code at 30 s.
Figure 8b shows the cladding surface temperatures.
Since the core mass flow was maintained, dis-
continuities of temperature are observed at 30 s, the
time of code switching. This is attributed to the differ-
ences of heat transfer coefficient, nodalization, two-
phase flow model, etc. between the two codes. The
REFLA-TRAC code gave lower temperatures than
the initial blowdown code. Actually the temperature
discontinuities were small and not so much important
because the cladding surfaces were sufficiently cooled
by saturated steam during the blowdown phase up
 Large-break loss-of-coolant accident analysis 183

(a) 250 surface temperature began to increase again as the

I I "
pressure and the core flow decreased. The cladding
25%
temperature is higher for smaller break size when the
200 . . . . 50%
pressure decreased around the atmospheric pressure.
75%
Therefore a depressurization system or a high-pres-
150 I sure coolant injection system to cope with LOCAs less
than 100% break is necessary.
.=
== In the 25% break LOCA analysis, the initial outlet
100
in
,= flowrate at the break is almost similar to the steady
n state main flowrate. One intact loop of two can feed
50
water until the isolation valves are closed. The
assumption that the initial core flow is set to zero may
not be appropriate. In order to analyze a smaller break
0 LOCA, more refined calculation is necessary.
0 20 40 60 80 100

Time [s]
4. ECCS DESIGN

(b) 1200 Stainless-steel (SS) was employed as the cladding

material of SCLWR to withstand the high coolant
1100 temperature. The peak temperature of SS cladding
o should be lower than 1260°C at LOCA (Coffman,
== lOOO 1976). In the present study, LPCI was designed to
reflood the whole core, the lower plenum and the
a. 900 ,,
lower downcomer until the cladding surface tem-
l~rature reaches 1260°C. The 100% cold-leg break
was used for this evaluation. Time delay of ECCS
c 800
i
initiation was assumed to be 30 s for starting up the
, 'Y emergency diesel generators.
- - 25%
700 . . . . 50% -- The number of LPCI systems was four; two of
----- ~%
them were connected to the cold-legs and the other
600 I two were connected directly to the downcomer. Two
0 20 40 60 80 100
of four systems were assumed to be unavailable : one
Time Is] is the break line and the other is failed. The required
mass flowrate of one system was 805 kg/s/unit, which
Fig. 9.75, 50 and 25% cold-leg breaks without ECCS: (a)
core pressure; and (b) cladding surface temperature at was 1.7 times larger capacity compared with BWR-
hottest point. 5's, when assuming the downcomer width of 50 cm.
The capacity can be reduced when a smaller down-
comer width is used.
to 100 s. The heatup of the cladding was prolonged ADS is also designed for the two purposes. One is
compared with the cold-leg break. to accelerate the depressurization speed of LOCAs
less than 100% break. Without ADS, LPCI had to
3.3. 75, 50 and25% cold-leg breaks wait until the system pressure decreased to the LPCI
In general 100% break LOCA is not always the pump head. The blowdown calculation results of 75,
severest case, thus the smaller size breaks have to be 50 and 25% break LOCAs without ECCS showed
analyzed. As shown in the previous analyses, the cold- that the cladding surface temperature increased sig-
leg break provided a severer result than the hot-leg nificantly before the system pressure decreased
break. Therefore 75, 50 and 25% cold-leg breaks were enough. The other function is to release the steam
analyzed. The pressure and the cladding surface tem- generated in the core in the case of cold-leg break.
peratures in the initial blowdown phase are shown in Without the steam outlet at the hot-leg side, the core
Figs 9a and b, respectively. The blowdown period pressure increases and the ECC water cannot enter
was extended due to the smaller critical flowrate. The the core but spill out from the cold-leg break. This
temperature reached the first peak when "water" was phenomenon is similar to the steam binding in PWRs.
completely lost. This is attributed to the enhanced The characteristics of the LPCI and ADS design
core flow when "steam" release starts. The cladding are summarized in Table 2. ADS should consist of
184 S. KOSHIZUKA el al.

Table 2. ECCS for large break L O C A of S C L W R

Low pressure coolant injection system (LPCI) 4~2 : Cold-leg

N u m b e r of units : [2 : Downcomer
Capacity : 805 kg/s unit
Time delay : 30 s

Automatic depressurization system (ADS) Location : Hot-leg

Total cross section : 2.2 × 10 ~ (m 2)
Time delay : 30 s

multiple valves for enhancing safety and reliability, LPCI and ADS, respectively, are opened at 30 s. Two
but such detailed design is left for future study• of four LPCI systems are assumed to be available.
Condensation is neglected in the R E F L A - T R A C cal-
culation to avoid numerical instability.
5. R E F L O O D I N G A N A L Y S E S The pressure, cladding surface temperature, mass
flowrate and void fraction transients are depicted in
5.1. 100% cold-leg break Fig. 10. When ECCS is activated, the void fraction of
The ECCS designed is added to the model. In Fig. the lower plenum decreases immediately. The lower
6, the valve components 2 and 4, which represent plenum is filled with the ECC water within 10 s and

(a) 250 (c) 4000

• _1 core I
3000 - -
200
line

150

100
~'
,¢
2000

1000
IIAIL
'_/
o

-v /
a.
~ o
50 ~,~.
-1000 1

0
0 50 100 150 200
-2000
T i m e [s]
0 50 100 150 200

Time [s]

(b) 1200 (d) 1.0

• i "

1000
- - core inlet
core middle
ll,, ! lower plenum
core
0.8 Ill rl l"
o
core outlet I I i~ t. upper plenum
I I ',

I ! l I,I I !J
•-, 800 / \
¢::
0
0.6 I
ta. \
E 600 r~_ \
•c= X '~" 0.4 I ,I I
400 X \- O ! i l i,
> I I I I

"i I I I I

2
iI I I t
0.2 I. , I l
200 \

0 0.0 '-'~
0 50 100 150 200 0 50 100 150 200

T i m e [s] T i m e Is]
Fig. 10. 100% cold-leg break with ECCS: (a) core pressure; (b) cladding surface temperature; (c) mass
flowrate ; and (d) void fraction.
 Large-break loss-of-coolant accident analysis 185

(a) 250 (c) 10000

I
- - core
200 break line
5000
L..
¢u
"~ 150

_o
-i
.~ 0
u~ 100
a. o

50
m -5000

0
0 5O 100 150 200
Time [s] - 10000

0 50 100 150 200

Time [s]

(b) looo (d) 1.0

• I " I "
lower plenum

~" 800
- - core inlet
core middle 0.8 -~
I .... core
o?._, ----- upper plenum
.= core outlet
I

Q.
E
600 c
0
o
o.5 /!1 I'
I I
t--
4O0
0
~5

200 0.2 Ii

I:
0 o.o ! \
0 50 100 150 200 0 50 100 150 200

Time [s] Time [s]

Fig. 11. 100% hot-leg break with ECCS: (a) core pressure; (b) cladding surface temperature; (c) mass
flowrate ; and (d) void fraction.

reflooding of the core takes place. As illustrated in
Fig. 10b, the cladding surface temperature at the core
inlet begins to decrease at 35 s and quenching occurs
at 60 s. Both cladding surface temperatures at the core
middle and outlet reach a m a x i m u m at 50 s. The
cladding at the core outlet is quenched at 110 s.
Quenching at the core middle is not observed until
200 s but it will soon be achieved. The highest
cladding temperature of 1000°C is observed at the
core middle at 50 s. This is satisfactorily lower than
the limit, 1260°C.
A large oscillation of the core mass flow is observed
during the quenching phase in Fig. 10c. This cor-
responds to void fraction oscillations in the lower
plenum and the core as shown in Fig. 10d. This
phenomenon is considered instantaneous void gen-
eration in the core. The core is only divided into 10
nodes, each of which stores large a m o u n t of heat
accumulated in the heatup phase. A large amount of
steam is generated when one node representing 1/10
core is quenched. Therefore reverse core flow occurs
and the core void fraction increases. Since the steam
generated in the core is released through ADS, the
core pressure soon decreases and the ECC water
enters the core again.
When the upper plenum is completely filled with
the E C C water at around 130 s, the mass flow balance
becomes stable. One third of the E C C water flows out
186 S. KOSHIZUKAet al.

of the break line, and the remainder flows up through (a) 30o
• I "
the core and goes out of ADS.
250 • 25%
5.2. 100% hot-leg break . . . . 50%
" 75%
The 100% hot-leg break is analyzed with the 200 I
designed ECCS. ADS is neglected in the present case. ~"
The calculation results are shown in Fig. I 1. The -~-
temperature at any location in the core shows almost
the same behavior due to the core flow maintained by

!\\1
100
flashing. When LPCI is initiated at 30 s, the cladding a.
temperatures decrease rapidly. This is attributed to
switching from the blowdown calculation to the
REFLA-TRAC as explained before. The temperature
decrease continues until about l0 s after LPCI o .~
initiation because the cold water injected into the 0 50 100 150 200

lower plenum is carried to the core. This is verified by Time [s]

large positive mass flowrate in the core as shown in
Fig. 1lc. The positive core flow continues for l0 s and (b) 1200
reverse flow occurs for several seconds. This reversed I
flow is derived from rapid void generation in the core. 25%
1000 Z 50%
This corresponds to the spike of the void fraction in ~'
o 75%
the lower plenum as shown in Fig. 11d. After the short
reverse flow, the core flow stagnates for about l0 s.
During this period, the cladding surface temperatures ®
,oo I
eL
gradually increase and the void fractions in the E
core and the upper plenum are kept high. Here the en 8o0
r-
void fraction in the upper plenum is maintained h5
"o
between 0.3 and 0.7, while that of the core reches more
than 0.9. This implies that the initial ECC water flows ~ 4oo
up to the upper plenum and it is sustained by the
steam in the core. At 55 s, positive core flow occurs 20c
again. The cladding surface temperatures and the void 50 100 150 200

fractions in the core and the upper plenum decrease
again. The core flow reaches steady state at 90 s.
Consequently the cladding surface temperatures are
kept low enough during the whole period of the 100°,4
hot-leg break.
Time Is]
Fig. 12. 75, 50 and 25% cold-leg breaks with ECCS : (a) core
pressure ; and (b) cladding surface temperature at the hottest
point.

5.3. 75, 50 a n d 2 5 % cold-leg breaks

In the LOCA analyses of less than 100% break,
ADS and LPCI were activated at 30 and 35 s, respec-
tively. The pressure transients are shown in Fig. 12a.
The pressure drops to atmospheric pressure a very
short time after ADS is activated. This behavior is
equivalent to the initial blowdown of the 100% hot-
leg break. The transients of hottest cladding surface
temperatures are shown in Fig. 12b. The temperature
transients during the heatup phase are almost the
same among three cases of break size, though
initiation of heatup is earlier in the larger break size.
The temperature peak emerges at 55 s in any case. The
highest cladding surface temperature is 1070°C in the
case of a 25% break, though the differences between
the break sizes are small. A 5 s delay of LPCI acti-
vation leads to the same delay time of the peak clad-
ding temperature compared with the 100% break
LOCA. The cladding temperature decreases smoothly
after the peak and will soon be quenched after 200 s.
Smaller breaks show almost the same behavior as
the 100% break with the combination of ADS and
LPCI.
6. C O N C L U S I O N
Large-break LOCAs, 100% hot-leg and 100, 75, 50
and 25% cold-leg breaks of SCLWR are analyzed.
 Large-break loss-of-coolant accident analysis
First, the blowdown and heatup phases without
ECCS are calculated. The results show that the cold-
leg break is severer than the hot-leg break. LPCI is
designed to reflood the core before the cladding sur-
face temperature reaches the limit. The required
capacity of LPCI is 805 kg/s/unit. ADS is also
designed to avoid the steam binding and to cope with
LOCAs of less than 100% break. The analyses with
the ECCS show that the peak cladding temperatures
are 1000°C for the 100% cold-leg break and 1070°C
for the 25% cold-leg break. In all cases of cold-leg
breaks, the behavior is almost the same due to ADS.
The cladding surface temperature is kept low and
no significant heatup occurs at the 100% hot-leg
break. The core flow is maintained by the steam flash-
ing in the lower plenum for a long time after the
break. The designed ECCS provides capability for
187
emergency heat removal from the SCLWR core in the
event of large-break LOCAs.
Acknowledgement--The authors would like to appreciate
guidance on the use of the REFLA-TRAC code by Dr H.
Akimoto of the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute.
REFERENCES
Akimoto H. and Murao Y. (1992) J. Nucl. Sci. Technol. 29,
642.
Akimoto H., Ohnuki A., Abe Y. and Murao Y. (1992) Proc.
5th Int. Conf. Topical Mtg on Nuclear Reactor Thermal
Hydraulics (NURETH-5), p. 1797.
Coffman F. D. Jr (1976) NUREG-0065.
Oka Y. and Koshizuka S. (1992) Proc. Int. Conf. Design and
Safety of Advanced Nuclear Power Plants ( ANP'92), pp.
4.1-1.
Oka Y., Koshizuka S. and Yamasaki Y. (1992) J. Nucl. Sci.
Technol. 29, 585.