Safety Analyses for a SCWR In-Pile Fuel Assembly Test

Abstract

A Supercritical-Water Cooled Reactor (SCWR) test fuel element is intended to be inserted into a research reactor. The test section will be operated at temperatures and pressures above the thermodynamic critical point of water. It contains four fuel rods with a total heating power of 53 kW and it is connected with a 300 °C closed coolant loop, which is equipped with two active safety systems and a depressurization system to cool the fuel rods in case of an accident. The paper explains the physical models for numerical simulations of the safety system. Some accident sequences are analyzed exemplarily to illustrate the system performance.