Experimental Investigations into Consequences of Pressure Tube Rupture

Abstract

The pressure tubes, which form the pressure boundary within the reacior core, generally show leak- before-break behaviour. However, in the safety assessment of CANDU reactors, a hypothetical channel failure (a sudden failure of both pressure and calandria tubes) is considered as a design basis event for evaluation of integrity of in-core structures. In order to provide support to the safety analysis, an experimental program has been on going which is aimed at providing test data to support the safety/licensing assessments. This paper summarises the main results from these experimental programs and the implications for safety assessment. The paper also discusses the significance of the results on some of the unresolved generic safety issues concerned with consequences of a pressure tube rupture.