Evaluation of the Radiological Consequences of Beyond Design Basis Accident for IRT MEPhI

Abstract

The results of an analysis of the radiological consequences of a beyond design basis accident for IRT MEPhI with high-enrichment uranium fuel and conversion to IRT-3M fuel assemblies with fuel kernel based the alloy U–9% Mo in an aluminum matrix with enrichment 19.7% are presented. The beyond design basis accident is assumed to be blocking of the flow section of the coolant in FA by a foreign object. It was postulated that a single eight-tube FA will melt in this accident. The analysis is performed using approximate conservative estimates. It is shown that the effective dose for the population does not exceed the admissible level. The radiological consequences of the accident for a reactor with high- and low-enrichment fuel are almost indistinguishable.