The nuclear industry has long relied upon bounding parametric analyses in predicting the safety margins of reactor designs undergoing design-basis accidents. These methods have been known to return highly-conservative results, limiting the operating conditions of the reactor. The Best-Estimate Plus Uncertainty (BEPU) method using a modernized version of the Code-Scaling, Applicability, and Uncertainty (CSAU) methodology has been applied to more accurately predict the safety margins of the Oregon State University Advanced Plant Experiment (APEX) facility experiencing a Loss-of-Feedwater Accident (LOFA). The statistical advantages of the Bayesian paradigm of probability was utilized to incorporate prior knowledge when determining the analysis required to justify the safety margins. RELAP5 Mod 3.3 was used to accurately predict the thermal-hydraulics of a primary Feed-and-Bleed response to the accident using assumptions to accompany the lumped-parameter calculation approach. A novel coupling of thermal-hydraulic and statistical software was accomplished using the Symbolic Nuclear Analysis Package (SNAP). Uncertainty in Peak Cladding Temperature (PCT) was calculated at the 95/95 probability/confidence levels under a series of four separate sensitivity studies. / Graduation date: 2013
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/37872 |
| Date | 05 March 2013 |
| Creators | Hallee, Brian Todd |
| Contributors | Wu, Qiao |
| Source Sets | Oregon State University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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