SIMULATION AND COMPARISON OF DIFFERENT MALFUNCTIONS OF A PRESSURIZED WATER REACTOR USING PCTRAN

Abstract

Nuclear power has the characteristics of large unit capacity and high security requirements, therefore they are prone to have an impact, and even threaten the safe operation of the power grid since the nuclear power plants are connected to the grid. The nuclear power industry relies more heavily on theoretical analysis of design and safety features than does any other high-technology industry. Before the Three Mile Island accident, much of the safety analysis of commercial reactors focused on a hypothetical accident involving the rupture of a large pipe supplying cooling water to the reactor core. The design basis loss of coolant accident was thought to be worse than any event that would ever happen. Water and steam would be expelled rapidly at the break and the core would be left temporarily uncovered and poorly cooled. Transient analysis of a pressurized water reactor (PWR) using the Personal Computer Transient Analyzer (PCTRAN) simulator was carried out. PCTRAN analyses consists a synergistic integration of a numerical model i.e. a full scope high fidelity simulation system which uses point reactor neutron kinetics model and movable boundary two phase fluid models to simplify the calculation of the program, so it could achieve real-time simulation on a personal computer. Here various types of malfunctions such as Inadvertent Rod Insertion, Loss of coolant Accident with Turbine Trip, Fuel Handling accident in Auxiliary Building, Loss of Coolant Accident with Locked Rotor, and Turbine Trip were simulated. Furthermore, all these malfunctions were carried out at 100% power at the end of cycle and at 75% power at the end of cycle. Again, each malfunction has been compared in different power levels which are very useful for concluding, so that we could know that at which power level the power plant should be operated and is least affected by the above malfunctions. By performing these simulations, the upcoming fault analysis has already been done so that these can be prevented during the practical conditions and can ensure the safe and continuous working of the plant.