Thermal and creep analysis of VVER-1000 reactor pressure vessel at high temperatures caused by fuel melting during severe accident

Abstract

: Thermal and creep analysis of the VVER-1000 reactor pressure vessel (RPV) was performed at high temperatures caused by fuel melting during severe accident. First, the integral code ASTEC was applied simulating severe accident evolution since an initiating event up to a hypothetical radioactive release into the environment. The ASTEC outputs including the remaining RPV wall thickness, the heat flux achieved and the temperature profile in the ablated vessel wall served as boundary conditions for the consequent assessment of RPV integrity carried out with the aid of finite element method (FEM). The FEM analysis was performed including the creep behaviour of RPV material using a complex creep probabilistic exponential model with damage. The objective of the analysis was to computationally assess emergency condition and, on this basis, to propose a general methodology for evaluating the integrity of RPV at high temperatures due to fuel melting during severe accident.