Calculation of dose rates in loss of coolant accident due to double ended rupture of the experimental tangential irradiation beam tube of MTR reactor.

Aboelross, Mahmoud; Amin, Esmat; Zaky, Magdy; Abdelsalam, Abdallah; Bahr, Wafaa Osman

doi:10.21608/ajnsa.2021.75275.1472

Calculation of dose rates in loss of coolant accident due to double ended rupture of the experimental tangential irradiation beam tube of MTR reactor.

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Reactor Physics and Neutrons, Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority, Cairo, Egypt

² Department of Nuclear Safety Engineering, Nuclear and Radiological Regulatory Authority, Cairo, Egypt

³ ETRR-2, EAEA, Egypt

⁴ Physics Department, Faculty of science,Cairo University,Cairo,Egypt.

⁵ Physics Department ,Faculty of Science,Cairo University,Cairo,Egypt

10.21608/ajnsa.2021.75275.1472

Abstract

A MTR reactor is an open water pool reactor type. The water pool serves as a shield from radioactive radiations.
The most serious accident in this type of reactor is the Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA) due to rupture either of a primary coolant pipe or of any experimental beam tube. In the present work it has been assumed that pool water drains out due to double ended rupture of the tangential irradiation beam tube (TIC) which has a diameter 150 mm. For an operating power level of 22 MW, the equilibrium core would enter into melting conditions if the pool drain time is less than one hour.
It was also assumed that Emergency Core Cooling System (chimney water injection system and siphon effect breaker were not working.
The reactor interiors have been modeled using the Monte Carlo N-Particle Transport code MCNPX 2.7.0. The source term has been determined using the ORIGEN-2 code. The doses and dose rates calculations in different places of operator (as phantom of Tissue-Equivalent Material) inside of the reactor building were determined by using Monte Carlo N-Particle Transport (MCNPX).The results show that the dose rate in the control room would be 5.24557 SV/h, the dose rate in the reactor hall above the pools on the gate would be7.20137 SV/h and the dose rate in the Emergency control room would be 2.68239 SV/h. Those dose rates are extremely high and would lead to fatal doses in short time.

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