Safety related investigations of the VVER-1000 reactor type by the coupled code system TRACE/PARCS

This study was performed at the Institute of Reactor Safety at the Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe. It is embedded in the ongoing investigations of the international code assessment and maintenance program (CAMP) for qualification and validation of system codes like TRACE and PARCS. The chosen reactor type used to validate these two codes was the Russian designed VVER-1000 because the OECD/NEA VVER-1000 Coolant Transient Benchmark Phase 2 includes detailed information of the Bulgarian nuclear power plant (NPP) Kozloduy unit 6. The post-test investigations of a coolant mixing experiment have shown that the predicted parameters (coolant temperature, pressure drop, etc.) are in good agreement with the measured data. The coolant mixing pattern, especially in the downcomer, has been also reproduced quiet well by TRACE. The coupled code system TRACE/PARCS which was applied on a postulated main steam line break (MSLB) provided good results compared to reference values and the ones of other participants of the benchmark. The results show that the developed three-dimensional nodalization of the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) is appropriate to describe the coolant mixing phenomena in the downcomer and the lower plenum of a VVER-1000 reactor. This phenomenon is a key issue for investigations of MSLB transient where the thermal hydraulics and the core neutronics are strongly linked. The simulation of the RPV and core behavior for postulated transients using the validated 3D TRACE RPV model, taking into account boundary conditions at vessel in- and outlet, indicates that the results are physically sound and in good agreement to other participant's results. (author)