RELAP5/MOD3.2 Investigation of a VVER-1000 MCP Switching on Problem

This paper provides a discussion of various RELAP5 parameters calculated for the investigation of the nuclear power reactor parameter behavior in case of switching on one main coolant pump (MCP) when the other three MCPs are in operation. The reference power plant for this analysis is Unit 6 at the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) site. Operational data from Kozloduy NPP have been used for the purpose of assessing how the RELAP5 model compares against plant data. During the plant-commissioning phase at Kozloduy NPP Unit 6 a number of experiments have been performed. One of them is switching on MCP when the other three MCPs are in operation. The event is characterized by rapid increase in the flow through the core resulting in a coolant temperature decrease, which leads to insertion of positive reactivity due to the modeled feedback mechanisms. This investigation has been conducted by Bulgarian and Russian specialists on the stage when the reactor power was at 75% of the nominal level. The purpose of the experiment was the complete testing of reliability of all power plant equipment, testing the reliability of the main regulators and defining a jump of the neutron reactor power in case of switching on of one main coolant pump. The Institute for Nuclear Research and Nuclear Energy - Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (INRNE-BAS), Sofia, and Kozloduy NPP have been developing a RELAP5/MOD3.2 model for Kozloduy NPP VVER-1000 for investigation of operational occurrences, abnormal events, and design basis scenarios. This investigation is a process that compares the analytical results obtained by the RELAP5 computer model of the VVER-1000 against the experimental transient data received from the Kozloduy NPP Unit 6. The comparisons between the RELAP5 results and the test data indicate good agreement. This report was possible through the participation of leading specialists from Kozloduy NPP and with the support of Argonne National Laboratory, under the International Nuclear Safety Program (INSP) of the United States Department of Energy.