Fire simulation in the main control room of Bushehr nuclear power plant using CFAST software

Abstract

Fire protection is one of the most important issues to ensure safety and reduce risks of nuclear power plants. The main control room (MCR) is one of the parts of a nuclear power plant that is often identified with a high risk of fire in safety assessments. Although robust programs to shut down commercial reactors in any fires have been successfully maintained, the purpose of this paper is to simulate the fire in the MCR of Bushehr nuclear power plant unit‑1 (BNPP-1) using CFAST software. CFAST is a two-zone fire model used to calculate the evolving distribution of smoke, fire gases, and temperature throughout the compartments of a building during a fire. The data required for simulation have been extracted from final safety analysis reports and operating documents of BNPP‑1 and NUREG6850 reports. The results showed that the highest recorded temperature was related to the upper part of the standing cabinet about 1013 °C, which is the result of flames as well as heat transfer through smoke. Also, the other highest recorded temperature was in the lower part of the standing cabinet about 700 °C. Finally, the first ventilation system was closed for about 350 s and the second ventilation system was closed for about 860 s after the fire started.