Analysis of hydrogen control in a Small Modular Reactor during TLOFW severe accident

Maritza Rodríguez Gual; Marcos Coelho Maturana; Nathalia Nunes Araújo; Marcelo Ramos Martins

doi:10.15392/2319-0612.2024.2359

Authors

Maritza Rodríguez Gual Analysis, Evaluation and Risk Management Laboratory (LabRisco), Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3585-8264
Marcos Coelho Maturana Analysis, Evaluation and Risk Management Laboratory (LabRisco), Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4485-4107
Nathalia N. Araújo Analysis, Evaluation and Risk Management Laboratory (LabRisco), Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo
Marcelo R. Martins Analysis, Evaluation and Risk Management Laboratory (LabRisco), Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4466-4437

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15392/2319-0612.2024.2359

Keywords:

Hydrogen control, TLOFW, PAR, Small Modular Reactor, MELCOR

Abstract

During the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident in 2011, hydrogen explosions occurred in all units from Unit 1 to Unit 3. Consequently, one of the lessons learned from the Fukushima Daiichi accident is the necessity of implementing hydrogen control and mitigation strategies for most Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs). This paper focuses on the incorporation of Passive Autocatalytic Recombiners (PARs) during the design phase of a small modular Pressurized Water Reactor (SMR-PWR) project. The numerical analyses are conducted using the MELCOR v. 2.2 code. Two scenarios are compared: the Total Loss of Feed Water (TLOFW) severe accident with and without PARs. Saphiro’s diagram is utilized to investigate whether the mixture's composition (hydrogen, air, steam) is flammable for both scenarios. It has been observed that the inclusion of PARs leads to a reduction in hydrogen risk (detonative or deflagrative) as the final hydrogen concentration values fall below the flammability limit. This study is preliminary, and further research is required.

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