Development of a Method to Assess Impact Hazards

The structural integrity of pressure retaining primary circuit components and of the containment boundary is of great significance for the safety justification of all nuclear reactors. In this regard, it is important to understand the vulnerability of safety related components to potential accidents. Whilst the direct consequences of pipe or pressure vessel failure, for example in terms of the extent of loss of coolant, may be tolerable, the indirect consequences of failure may not. A Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA) may indirectly damage plant safety systems, including the containment boundary, due to the effect of missiles generated by the LOCA. This paper describes a study to develop a modern numerical modelling technique to estimate damage by missiles. Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) has been applied to simulate the acceleration of the missile due to the fluid jet.