A mechanistic model of a PWR-based nuclear power plant in response to external hazard-induced station blackout accidents
Natural hazard-induced nuclear accidents, such as the Fukushima Daiichi Accident that occurred in Japan in 2011, have significantly increased reactor safety studies in understanding nuclear power plant (NPP) responses to external hazard events such as earthquakes and floods. Natural hazards could ca...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Energy Research |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenrg.2023.1191467/full |
| _version_ | 1797809802412294144 |
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| author | Tao Liu Zeyun Wu Michelle Bensi Zhegang Ma |
| author_facet | Tao Liu Zeyun Wu Michelle Bensi Zhegang Ma |
| author_sort | Tao Liu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Natural hazard-induced nuclear accidents, such as the Fukushima Daiichi Accident that occurred in Japan in 2011, have significantly increased reactor safety studies in understanding nuclear power plant (NPP) responses to external hazard events such as earthquakes and floods. Natural hazards could cause the loss of offsite power in nuclear power plants, potentially leading to a Station Blackout (SBO) accident that significantly contributes to the overall risk of nuclear power plant accidents. Despite the fact that extensive research has been conducted on the station blackout accident for nuclear power plant, further understanding of these events is needed, particularly in the context of the dynamic nature of external hazards such as external flooding. This paper estimates the progression of station blackout events for a generic pressurized water reactor (PWR) in response to external flooding events. The original RELAP5-3D model of the Westinghouse four-loop design pressurized water reactor was adopted and modified to simulate the external flood-induced station blackout accident, including the short-term and long-term station blackout scenarios. A sensitivity analysis of long-term station blackout, examining reactor operation times and analyzing key parameters over time, was also conducted in this work. The results of the analyses, especially the critical timing parameters of key event sequences, provide useful insights about the time during the external flooding event, which is important for plant operators to make timely decisions to prevent potential core damage. This paper represents significant progress toward developing an integrated risk assessment framework for further identifying and assessing the effects of the critical sources of uncertainties of nuclear power plant under external hazard-induced events. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T06:58:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bf0505f8e47a4da8812ce2465f79fc10 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-598X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T06:58:16Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
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| series | Frontiers in Energy Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-bf0505f8e47a4da8812ce2465f79fc102023-06-07T05:25:51ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Energy Research2296-598X2023-06-011110.3389/fenrg.2023.11914671191467A mechanistic model of a PWR-based nuclear power plant in response to external hazard-induced station blackout accidentsTao Liu0Zeyun Wu1Michelle Bensi2Zhegang Ma3Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, United StatesDepartment of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, United StatesDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, United StatesIdaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, ID, United StatesNatural hazard-induced nuclear accidents, such as the Fukushima Daiichi Accident that occurred in Japan in 2011, have significantly increased reactor safety studies in understanding nuclear power plant (NPP) responses to external hazard events such as earthquakes and floods. Natural hazards could cause the loss of offsite power in nuclear power plants, potentially leading to a Station Blackout (SBO) accident that significantly contributes to the overall risk of nuclear power plant accidents. Despite the fact that extensive research has been conducted on the station blackout accident for nuclear power plant, further understanding of these events is needed, particularly in the context of the dynamic nature of external hazards such as external flooding. This paper estimates the progression of station blackout events for a generic pressurized water reactor (PWR) in response to external flooding events. The original RELAP5-3D model of the Westinghouse four-loop design pressurized water reactor was adopted and modified to simulate the external flood-induced station blackout accident, including the short-term and long-term station blackout scenarios. A sensitivity analysis of long-term station blackout, examining reactor operation times and analyzing key parameters over time, was also conducted in this work. The results of the analyses, especially the critical timing parameters of key event sequences, provide useful insights about the time during the external flooding event, which is important for plant operators to make timely decisions to prevent potential core damage. This paper represents significant progress toward developing an integrated risk assessment framework for further identifying and assessing the effects of the critical sources of uncertainties of nuclear power plant under external hazard-induced events.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenrg.2023.1191467/fullpressurized water reactorsafety analysisexternal hazardstation blackoutRELAP5-3D |
| spellingShingle | Tao Liu Zeyun Wu Michelle Bensi Zhegang Ma A mechanistic model of a PWR-based nuclear power plant in response to external hazard-induced station blackout accidents Frontiers in Energy Research pressurized water reactor safety analysis external hazard station blackout RELAP5-3D |
| title | A mechanistic model of a PWR-based nuclear power plant in response to external hazard-induced station blackout accidents |
| title_full | A mechanistic model of a PWR-based nuclear power plant in response to external hazard-induced station blackout accidents |
| title_fullStr | A mechanistic model of a PWR-based nuclear power plant in response to external hazard-induced station blackout accidents |
| title_full_unstemmed | A mechanistic model of a PWR-based nuclear power plant in response to external hazard-induced station blackout accidents |
| title_short | A mechanistic model of a PWR-based nuclear power plant in response to external hazard-induced station blackout accidents |
| title_sort | mechanistic model of a pwr based nuclear power plant in response to external hazard induced station blackout accidents |
| topic | pressurized water reactor safety analysis external hazard station blackout RELAP5-3D |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenrg.2023.1191467/full |
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