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TOWARDS AN ENHANCED ACCIDENT MANAGEMENT OF THE HYDROGEN/CO COMBUSTION RISK

Project description

Updating safety guidelines for nuclear power plants

Nuclear power plants are designed to minimise the risk of radiological releases. In addition, severe accident management guidelines (SAMGs) have been developed and implemented to provide operators with a systematic guidance on mitigatory actions. Building on these guidelines, the EU-funded AMHYCO project will consider practical issues to further reduce (as much as possible) the threat posed by combustion of gases generated during accidents on containment integrity. Specifically, it will improve the SAMGs for both in-vessel and ex-vessel phases using numerical and experimental results. It will also experimentally study the phenomena that are difficult to predict numerically (such as H2/CO/H20 distribution and combustion). A third goal will be to improve the predictability of the numerical tools used for explosion hazard evaluation.

Objective

Combustible gases are one of the few elements that can really challenge the containment integrity. An appropriate management of the associated risk is paramount to avoid the potential release of large amounts of radioactive material to the environment. Surprisingly, the Severe Accident Management Guidelines (SAMGs) have not been updated according to the knowledge gained in the last decade and the database extension resulting from recent and ongoing projects. The AMHYCO project intends to respond to practical questions, such as the right timing and mode for actuation of containment safety systems (i.e. FCVS, sprays, fan coolers) to reduce as much as feasible the threat posed to containment integrity. To do so, all the available tools to enhance the present status (i.e. LP, 3D and CFD codes, together with experimentation and the best use of engineering judgement) are to be applied. Three specific objectives are set:
• To improve the Severe Accident Management Guidelines (SAMGs) for both in-vessel and ex-vessel phases with respect to combustible gases risk management, using both numerical and experimental results.
• To investigate experimentally phenomena that are difficult to predict numerically: H2/CO/H2O distribution and combustion and PARs behavior under realistic accidental conditions, taking into account the safety systems interaction.
• To improve the predictability of the numerical tools - Lumped Parameter (LP), 3D containment and Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) codes - used for explosion hazard evaluation inside the reactor containment to gain relevance in supporting SAMGs design and development.
The scope of this project is outlined by the most common reactor technology in the EU: PWRs. The whole project is structured in 7 WPs (coordination included) in which an entire WP is to be devoted to the enhancement of SAMGs. Finally, AMHYCO has received the NUGENIA label and 9 organizations have shown their interest with support letters .

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Keywords

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

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RIA - Research and Innovation action

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) NFRP-2019-2020

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Coordinator

UNIVERSIDAD POLITECNICA DE MADRID
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 429 375,00
Address
CALLE RAMIRO DE MAEZTU 7 EDIFICIO RECTORADO
28040 MADRID
Spain

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Region
Comunidad de Madrid Comunidad de Madrid Madrid
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 429 375,00

Participants (13)

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