A Chinese 300MWe Two-Loop PWR NPP LBLOCA Analysis Based on the Deterministic Realistic Hybrid Methodology

Abstract

Loss of coolant accident (LOCA) is among the important limiting design basis accidents for a PWR nuclear power plant (NPP). In China, a 300MWe two-loop PWR NPP, although facing the challenge of life extension, still adopted rather conservative tools and methods for safety analysis. This is supposed to have guaranteed sufficient margin for safe operation of the plant during the past years, yet, at the expense of plant economy and operation flexibility. To evaluate the safety margin more reasonably and realistically, the mixed methodology of DRHM (deterministic realistic hybrid methodology) is introduced for LBLOCA analysis of the Chinese 300MWe two-loop PWR NPP in the paper, with which conservative evaluation model plus best estimation analysis tool is applied, and effects of uncertainty of important plant state parameters are quantified. In the DRHM analysis of postulated LBLOCA caused by double ended-guillotine-cold-leg break for the 300MWe two-loop PWR NPP in this paper, the evaluation model RELAP5-APK (the conservative Appendix K physical models plus best-estimate system analysis code RELAP5/MOD3) is developed and verified. And during the transient analysis of the LBLOCA scenario, uncertainty of the effects of important plant state parameters are quantified through statistical sampling and corresponding calculation. Taking the cladding peak temperature (PCT) index for demonstration to measure the safety margin, the single-sided confidence upper limit including 95% PCT of the sampling population with 95% confidence level is acquired. The resultant shows that a greater PCT margin is achieved compared with that in the original FSAR. This provide a further confidence for life extension or power uprate of the plant.