Background

Consideration of severe accidents in a Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) design is an essential component of Defence in Depth (DID) approach used in nuclear safety. Severe accidents have a very low probability, but can have significant consequences resulting from nuclear fuel degradation/damage. Computer codes (deterministic and Probabilistic) are essential tools for understanding how the reactor and its containment might respond under severe accident conditions and their probability of failure. The codes are used as a tool to support engineering judgement, based on which specific measures to mitigate the consequences of severe accidents are taken in NPP design and are also used to determine accident management strategies. Simulators are used for training of operators, students and faculty.

The aims of severe accident analysis are:

• To evaluate the ability of the design to withstand severe accidents;
• To identify particular vulnerabilities;
• To assess the equipment and instrmentation that could manage and monitor the course of the accident;
• To mitigate accident effects;
• To develop a severe accident management programme;
• To provide input for off-site emergency planning;

Three severe accidents have taken place in the 60-years of the history of civil nuclear power generation. These are:
Three Mile Island (USA 1979) where the reactor was severely damaged but radiation was contained and there were no adverse health or environmental consequences.
Chernobyl (Ukraine 1986) where the destruction of the reactor by reactivity transient, steam explosion and fire killed 31 people and had significant health and environmental consequences.
Fukushima (Japan 2011) where three old reactors (together with a fourth) were destroyed due to loss of cooling resulting from incapacitating of the emergency power supply due to tsunami

Objective

The objective of this conference is to bring the experts in this field at one platform and share the experience and knowledge on different aspects of the severe accidents and management. This would help to create a virtual centre for continuous analysis of severe accidents of all the types of civil nuclear power plants in the Indian scene addressing the following thrust areas:
1. Modeling & Simulation for thermal hydraulics of Nuclear Reactors
2. Code Development & Validation
3. Comparison between Fukushima, Chernobyl & TMI accidents
4. Hydrogen Phenomenon and management
5. Emergency and Severe Accident Analysis: responses & procedures
6. Spent fuel pool/pond management
7. Operational Safety Improvements
8. Modeling of transport of FP (Fission Product) in Environment
9. Thermal Hydraulics in Safety Assessment
10. Natural Circulation & Passive Systems
11. Air Ingression
12. Steam explosion