Analysis of unprotected transients with control and safety rod drive mechanism expansion feedback in a medium sized oxide fuelled fast breeder reactor

• Possibilities of enhancing safety under ULOF and UTOP accidents.
• CSRDM expansion feedbacks under unprotected transients.
• CSRDM expansion feedback enhances the safety of fast reactors.
• CSRDM expansion feedbacks ensuring enough time for initiating safety actions.

Possibilities of enhancing core safety under unprotected loss of flow (ULOF) and unprotected transient over power (UTOP) accidents with control and safety rod drive mechanism (CSRDM) expansion feedbacks are explored in a medium sized oxide fuelled fast breeder reactor. This feedback is expected to take the reactor to a safe shutdown under ULOF and to an another steady state under UTOP where there is no significant fuel melting. Under ULOF, with CSRDM feedback net reactivity was maintained negative throughout the transient (up to 2000 s) and the power dropped to a level of heat removal capacity of decay heat removal system based on natural circulation. Similarly, under UTOP with the above feedback reactor power goes to a lower peak value. The fuel temperature is just touching the melting temperature and the melt fraction does not cross 5%. With CSRDM expansion feedbacks both ULOF and UTOP transients prolong beyond 2000 s. It ensures, availability of time for initiating any safety actions against the transients, and thus it helps to preclude core disruptive accidents (CDA) in a medium sized oxide fuelled reactors.Classification: L. safety and risk analysis