Feasibility Analysis and Demonstration of In-Vessel-Injection in the Early Stage of Severe Accident

Abstract The core of the nuclear reactor will melt during severe accidents, which may damage the integrity of the reactor pressure vessel and containment, and release radioactive materials to the environment. The third-generation pressurized water reactor is equipped with severe accident mitigation systems to prevent the high temperature (3000K) corium from melting through the reactor pressure vessel. The severe accident mitigation system mainly includes: primary depressurization system, reactor pit flooding system, containment combustible system, containment heat removal system, etc.. Benefit from these systems, large release frequency (LRF) is restricted to a low level. However, these systems cannot stop the process of core degradation. If severe accident happens, the core will melt and the whole reactor cannot be reused again, causing irreversible economic losses. In order to improve the economy and safety of nuclear power plants, this paper proposes in-vessel-injection (IVI) in the early stage of severe accident, and proves the effectiveness of this measure. According to the analysis, in-vessel-injection in the early stage of severe accident can prevent the large-scale melting of the core during severe accident, and the risk of hydrogen and source items will be greatly reduced.