TSO Perspectives to Review a Reactor Concept based on In-Vessel melt Retention (IVR) Strategy for Severe Accident Management

Gerard Cenerino (1) , Sophie Pignet (2) , Thibaut van Rompuy (3) , Guido Mazzini (4) , Fulvio Mascari (5) , Martin Sonnenkalb (6) , Marin Constantin (7) , Ivo Kljenak (8) , Egidijus Urbonavicius (9) , Terttaliisa Lind (10) , Juraj Jancovic (11) , Ilona Lindholm (12)

1 IRSN/PSN-RES/SAM/BAAM - Bureau d'Analyse des Accidents Majeurs
2 IRSN/PSN-RES/SAG - Service des Accidents Graves
3 BELV - BELV
4 CVR - Research Centre Rez
5 ENEA - National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development
6 GRS - GESELLSCHAFT FUR ANLAGEN UND REAKTORSICHERHEIT
7 ICN - Institute for Nuclear Research Pitesti
8 IJS - Jozef Stefan Institute [Ljubljana]
9 LEI - Lithuanian Energy Institute
10 PSI - Paul Scherrer Institut
11 VUJE - VUJE, a.s. power engineering company
12 VTT - ​VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND LTD

In-Vessel melt Retention (IVR) is a Severe Accident (SA) mitigation measure applied in some Pressurized Water Reactors (PWRs) in order to cool down molten fuel (corium) inside the Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV) by flooding the reactor cavity and cooling the RPV external surface with water. The safety demonstration provided to a national safety authority to support a reactor concept crediting the IVR strategy to enhance safety of an existing plant or to license a new generation design can be based on both deterministic and Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA). Experimental data can be used to support analyses or to validate models implemented in computer codes. This paper provides Technical Safety Organisations (TSOs) perspectives to review IVR as SA mitigation measure applied in NPP. The paper is structured as it is advised in the European Technical Safety Organisations Network (ETSON) Technical Safety Assessment Guide ETSON/2013-003.

Domaines: Sciences de l'environnement

Gerard Cenerino, Sophie Pignet, Thibaut van Rompuy, Guido Mazzini, Fulvio Mascari, et al.. TSO Perspectives to Review a Reactor Concept based on In-Vessel melt Retention (IVR) Strategy for Severe Accident Management. International Seminar “In-vessel retention: outcomes of IVMR project”, IVMR, Jan 2020, JUAN LES PINS, France. ⟨hal-03150524⟩