How safe are reactor emergency cooling systems?

AUG 01, 1973

Computer simulations, verified by tests on a variety of experimental arrangements, provide assurance that a reactor’s emergency provisions would respond adequately to a loss‐of‐coolant accident.

DOI: 10.1063/1.3128181

Charles K. Leeper

The need to increase the nation’s electrical energy resources during the coming decades will place heavy demands upon the nuclear power industry. Nuclear power plants, both old and new, must meet Atomic Energy Commission regulations, which include the requirement for an emergency‐core‐cooling system to control the damage that might result from a loss‐of‐coolant accident (a “LOCA”). In this article, we will discuss emergency provisions for such accidents, the development and verification of appropriate mathematical models for the processes involved, related experimental programs, and we will assess the progress of the AEC’s program in these areas.

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References

1. “The Safety of Nuclear Power Reactors (Light Water Cooled) and Related Facilities,” prepared by the staff of AEC in response to a request by the chairman of the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, WASH‐1250 (December 1972).

More about the authors

Charles K. Leeper, Aerojet Nuclear Company, Idaho Falls, Idaho.