Specialists at Russia’s AA Bochvar Research Institute of Inorganic Materials (VNIINM, part of Rosatom’s TVEL fuel company) have developed an algorithm for the probabilistic-statistical calculation of criterion characteristics of the behaviour of fuel elements for light-water reactors (LWRs) in design basis accidents, TVEL said on 17 December.
The algorithm is in the form of a set of computer programs and is used together with the RAPTA-5.2 design code in fuel safety justifications for foreign nuclear power plant projects.
“We provide a clear justification of the fuel in terms of reliability, performance and safety criteria. It is for this purpose that we have developed a software package for calculating the behaviour of fuel elements RAPTA, which makes it possible to assess the uncertainty of the values of the parameters of fuel elements obtained using the RAPTA-5.2 code," noted Alexander Eremenko, head of the design and technological department for the development of fuel elements with uranium fuel for thermal reactors at VNIINM.
The method complies with the recommendations of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the EUR Organisation (European Utility Requirements) for justifying the safety of fuel for LWRs. It makes it possible to successfully license Russian fuel for foreign nuclear plants.
The method has already been used to substantiate the safety of fuel for foreign power plants, such as the Czech Temelín and Dukovany NPPs, Hungary’s Paks-II NPP, and Slovakia’s Mochovce and Bohunice NPPs.