PAUL SCHE RRE R INSTIT UT — — ISSN 1423-7334 March 2003 ) PSI · Scientifi c Report 2002 / Volume IV Nuclear Energy and Safety PAUL SCHERRER INSTITUT ISSN 1423-7334 _H^ March 2003 Scientific Report 2002 Volume IV Nuclear Energy and Safety ed. by: Brian Smith and Beatrice Gschwend CH-5232 Villigen PSI Switzerland Phone: 056/310 21 11 Telefax: 056/310 21 99 http://nes.web.psi.ch Table of Contents Introduction 3 W. Kroger Overview of Main Activities 7 K. Foskolos, W. Kroger Risk Benefits of Climate-Friendly Energy Supply Options 15 S. Hirschberg, P. Burgherr Development of Dynamic Probabilistic Safety Assessment: The Accident Dynamic Simulator (ADS) Tool 21 Y.H. Chang, A. Mosleh, V.N. Dang Level-Swell Prediciton with RETRAN-3D and its Application to a BWR Steam-Line-Break Analysis... 29 Y. Aounallah, K. Hofer RETRAN-3D Analysis of the OECD/NRC Peach Bottom 2 Turbine Trip Benchmark 41 W. Barten, P. Coddington Reactivity Measurements on Burnt and Reference Fuel Samples in LWR-PROTEUS Phase II 55 M. Murphy, F. Jatuff, P. Grimm, R. Seiler, A. Luthi, R. van Geemert, R. Brogli, R. Chawla, G. Meier, H.-D. Berger Experimental Investigation in the PANDA Facility of the Impact of a Hydrogen Release on Passive Containment Cooling Systems 61 O. Auban, D. Paladino, P. Candreia, M. Huggenberger, H.J. Strassberger CFD Simulation of Steady-State Conditions in a 1/5th-Scale Model of a Typical 3-Loop PWR in the Context of Boron Dilution Events 69 T.V. Dury Assessment of the MELCOR Code against PHEBUS Experiment FPT-1 Performed in the Frame of ISP-46 75 J. Birchley The FUJI Project: Fuel Test for JNC and PSI — A JNC-PSI-NRG Collaboration 85 Ch. Hellwig, P. Heimgartner, F. Ingold Fracture Toughness of Zircaloy Claddings 91 J. Bertsch, W. Hoffelner Anisotropic Diffusion in Layered Argillaceous Rocks: A Case Study with Opalinus Clay 97 L. R. Van Loon, J. Soler, W. Muller, M.H. Bradbury Uptake of Trivalent Actinides (Cm(lll)) and Lanthanides (Eu(lll)) by Cement-Type Minerals: A Wet Chemistry and Time-Resolved Laser Fluorescence Spectroscopy (TRLFS) Study 105 J. Tits, T. Stumpf, E. Wieland, T. Fanghanel Publications List 111 3 INTRODUCTION 1/1/. Kroger PSI's Nuclear Energy and Safety Research In parallel, and to assure continuation of the Department (NES) looks back on 2002 in terms of an successful collaboration with the European research impressive record, in regard to both its research and programmes, NES has participated in 27 "Expressions its strategic decisions. Besides the excellent results of Interest" for Integrated Projects and Networks of produced in the various research areas, both federal Excellence within the 6th EU Framework Programme. and external funds have been consolidated. Cuts in personnel resources are finally stabilising and, Common position adopted by PSI and the FST with a current staffing quota of about 165 person- Board in regard to Swiss participation in GIF years per year, and roughly 7 MCHF for O&M costs, a position of equilibrium has now been reached. This • PSI considers that nuclear energy in has been confirmed both in PSI's mid-term planning, Switzerland cannot be abandoned, either for and in the joint position of PSI and the Board of the economic or ecological reasons. However, it Federal Institutes of Technology (FIT) regarding Swiss can only play a part in the future if it is further participation in the Generation IV International Forum developed (in an international framework). (GIF); see box. • PSI accepts the goals of GIF—more sustainable fuel cycle, increased safety, The strong collaboration between NES and its traditional partners—the Swiss utilities (UAK), Nagra, economics and resistance to proliferation—and and the regulatory authority (HSK)—has continued. focuses its contributions on the reduction of NES participation in the European Framework radioactive waste, and further increase in plant Programmes, and its collaboration with leading safety. nuclear supply industrial partners, also remains active. • PSI is committed to follow actively current As a result, both currently, and in the mid-term, a trends in nuclear energy production, its further substantial share (-45%) of the total costs for nuclear development at an international level, and the research at PSI have been assured. fostering of young specialists. • PSI does not intend to further reduce funding in Highlights in research and operation the field of nuclear energy. The NPP operators support PSI's involvement in research work Projects established in previous years have yielded within the GIF framework without, however, relevant and first-of-a-kind results, which have gained broad attention, both nationally and internationally, committing themselves in regard to the and which are presented in detail in this report. A few possibility of constructing new plant, even less outstanding examples are cited below: to a particular reactor type. • Successful first measurements with highly active • Along with its proven skills in nuclear samples in LWR-PROTEUS Phase II (high burn-up technology, and its first-class nuclear facilities fuel) have shown significant dependency of reacti• (i.e. the Hot Lab and PROTEUS), NES can vity on burn-up, and increasing discrepancies contribute to other related projects (e.g. between calculated and measured reactivity values MEGAPIE), and PSI's large facilities (SLS, with burn-up. As a consequence of these findings, SINQ). the Swiss utilities wish to extend this phase. • PSI's participation in GIF takes into account its • On-call calculations in the framework of the (financial) possibilities, the use of existing STARS project have been used to modify the facilities, the compatibility of running research feedwater system of the Leibstadt NPP. The programmes alongside its obligations, and the modification has been subsequently confirmed scientific challenges within its research during a turbine trip. priorities. • An international consortium has been established for the ARTIST project (aerosol behaviour in the case of steam generator tube rupture). First tests showed higher aerosol retention than expected. On the operational level, the year 2002 was marked by a series of significant events: • The MEGAPIE project remains ongoing, and plans for post-irradiation examination (PIE) have now • The Federal Institutes of Technology, to which PSI been established. Investigation of the leak which belongs, have drawn up strategic plans for the occurred in the LISOR loop in the Hot Lab has years 2004-2007. The proposed PSI contributions positively identified the cause of failure. have been accepted by the FIT Board. The planning document is currently in circulation for • PSI's contribution to the China Energy Technology comment. Programme has been completed and documented. • PSI has updated its "Guiding Principles" to include Among other results, the programme provided its own research capabilities, in particular in regard evidence for lower total costs (including to sustainable energy technologies. externalities) by using "clean coal" technologies. • At the end of an intensive "bottom-up approach", dealing with generic research issues, strengthening an R&D planning document for the year 2003 has the networking within PSI, and implementing a new, been issued for the first time by NES; this exercise major activity in the framework of an international should be formalised in a more compact form in collaboration. The former featured in PSI's general the future. discussions concerning the future use of its large • Backfitting of the Hot Lab has been completed in 4 facilities for its own research purposes, the conditions years, at a cost of 14 MCHF (compared with the for the latter being established through the admission initial estimates of 3 years and 9.8 MCHF); the of Switzerland in the Generation IV International NPP operators have agreed to contribute to the Forum (GIF) Hot Lab infrastructure costs to the extent of 3 Basic assumptions MCHF per annum. It is assumed that the Hot Lab is itself one of PSI's With regard to education and training, in view of the large facilities, and thereby warrants what may be necessity to maintain a continuous education called "adequate care". Though NES increasingly programme in nuclear technology at university level, uses the spallation source SINQ and the synchrotron the Swiss utilities have conditionally agreed, following light source SLS, its research and its raison d'etre are the retirement of Prof. Yadigaroglu, to fund an ETHZ not exclusively defined in terms of these facilities. Chair in Nuclear (Systems) Engineering. The Rather, NES continues to follow its guiding principles, appointee will become a central part of the new which include contributions to the safe operation of Master of Nuclear Engineering programme, to be the Swiss NPPs, the safe disposal of radioactive offered by ETHZ and EPFL, and will be given the waste, and keeping the nuclear option open for the opportunity by NES to perform large-scale research at future. Essential elements in this line are maintaining PSI. The new Masters programme will become an its own assessment capabilities, and fostering the integral part of the emerging European Network on next generation of nuclear specialists, both through Nuclear Energy (ENEN). participation in future-oriented research, and At the technical teaching level, PSI's own Technical appropriate use of its own "large" facilities. In doing School for reactor operators has, after some years of so, the success and quality criteria adopted at PSI reduced participation, again registered an