Assessment of Fuel and Fuel Channel Behaviour at High Temperature During a Postulated LOCA/LOECC Event

Abstract

To demonstrate defence in depth, an assessment of fuel and fuel channel behaviour at high temperature during a postulated large loss-of-coolant accident coincident with loss of the emergency core cooling system has been performed. The assessment of this beyond design basis accident in a CANDU® core is based on recent regulatory requirements for safety analysis and industry guidance for limit of the operating envelope/realistic operating envelope analysis methodologies. Utilising the best understanding and knowledge of high temperature fuel behaviour, the assessment has demonstrated that the moderator water surrounding the fuel channels acts as an effective heat sink, together with other CANDU safety features and measures, to successfully mitigate the consequences of this postulated event. Acknowledgement: The authors wish to acknowledge the numerous contributions of numerous staff at Candu Energy Inc. and the Point Lepreau Generating Station for their solid and sound support of this work.