Pressure-Tube Super-Critical Water Reactor Design Features Affecting Station Blackout

Abstract

The primary focus of generation IV nuclear reactor designs in Canada is a pressure-tube super- critical water reactor (PT-SCWR), a design that maintains the key aspects of the Canadian Deuterium (CANDU) reactors. However, the higher temperature, higher pressure and lower density of the super-critical water coolant during normal operations imply new initial conditions for the accident analysis, and impose new design requirements on the pressure tubes. This paper examines the potential effect these design changes have on the response to hypothetical situations that could lead to severe core damage.