Short-term pressure and temperature MSLB response analyses for large dry containment of the Maanshan nuclear power station

•The GOTHIC code is used for the PWR dry containment pressure and temperature analysis.•Boundary conditions are hot standby and 102% power main steam line break accidents.•Containment pressure and temperature responses of GOTHIC are similar with FSAR.•The capability of the developed model to perform licensing calculation is assessed.

Units 1 and 2 of the Maanshan nuclear power station are the typical Westinghouse three-loop PWR (pressurized water reactor) with large dry containments. In this study, the containment analysis program GOTHIC is adopted for the dry containment pressure and temperature analysis. Free air space and sump of the PWR dry containment are individually modeled as control volumes. The containment spray system and fan cooler unit are also considered in the GOTHIC model. The blowdown mass and energy data of the main steam line break (hot standby condition and various reactor thermal power levels) are tabulated in the Maanshan Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR) 6.2 which could be used as the boundary conditions for the containment model. The calculated containment pressure and temperature behaviors of the selected cases are in good agreement with the FSAR results. In this study, hot standby and 102% reactor thermal power main steam line break accidents are selected. The calculated peak containment pressure is 323.50 kPag (46.92 psig) for hot standby MSLB, which is a little higher than the FSAR value of 311.92 kPag (45.24 psig). But it is still below the design value of 413.69 kPag (60 psig). The calculated peak vapor temperature inside the containment is 187.0 °C (368.59 F) for 102% reactor thermal power MSLB, which is lower than the FSAR result of 194.42 °C (381.95 F). The effects of the containment spray system and fan cooler units could be clearly observed in the GOTHIC analysis. The calculated containment pressure and temperature behaviors of the selected cases are in good agreement with the FSAR results. Since the results are similar with the Mananshan FSAR, and the applicability of the GOTHIC dry containment model is assessed.