Design and Economic Characteristics of Severe Accident Mitigation Strategies for Nuclear Power Plants

  Objective  During the development of China nuclear power industry, a variety of foreign developed reactors have been introduced, therefore the severe accident mitigation strategies in China is multifarious. By analyzing the engineering practice and the economic feasibility for each strategy, the references for the selection of severe accident mitigation strategies for future nuclear power plants in China are given.

  Method  The development and the engineering practices of severe accident mitigation strategies were studied, and the economy analysis of these strategies were conducted with the consideration of the system main equipment costs, supporting space construction costs and the economic impact of the nuclear emergency process.

  Result  Among all the strategies, the passive cavity injection cooling system with the design scheme of in-containment refueling water storage tank as the water source has the lowest engineering cost, the extended core catcher has the shortest nuclear emergency time requirement and the lowest economic losses caused during the accident mitigation process.

  Conclusion  For nuclear power plants located far away from densely populated areas, the passive cavity injection cooling system can be chosen to reduce the overall engineering cost. For nuclear power plants located near densely populated areas or large industrial zones, the extended core catcher is the best choice.