The degradation of materials within the vessel, when the temperatures reached under the effect of the core's residual power exceed a threshold leading to significant oxidization of the fuel rod claddings due to water vapor as well as various chemical interactions between the materials that make up either the fuel rods or the control rods. The two-phase thermal-hydraulics of coolant flows in the reactor coolant primary and secondary systems including a 2D description of the vessel (see Figure 1) simplifies qualification of the physical models implemented in ASTEC by comparing the simulated results with those obtained experimentally.Įach module (described in details in and ) handles phenomena that occur in a part of the reactor or phase of the accident, and in particular:
#Accident simulation software software#
MC3D software) and the mechanical integrity of the containment (for which the IRSN uses the CEA CAST3M software package). It is also used by several organisations outside Europe (Canada, Russian Federation, India, Singapore, Ukraine, etc.).ĪSTEC covers the entire phenomenology of severe accidents except steam explosion (for which the IRSN uses the SARNET (Severe accident research network) network of excellence. Furthermore, ASTEC is also occasionally used for preparing certain crisis exercises (nuclear or radiological accident simulation exercises for training various players and the organization itself) at the IRSN Crisis Technical Centre.ĪSTEC is the European reference software within the European Commission It is also used to prepare and interpret the experimental programs with respect to either in-vessel or ex-vessel phenomena which could occur during meltdown accidents.
ASTEC is widely used in IRSN level 2 probabilistic safety assessments (PSA2) for French reactors. the European Pressurised Reactor - EPR), source term evaluations in accident situations and the development of severe accident management guidelines. The main applications of the software package are safety analyses for nuclear reactors (e.g. ASTEC is currently maintained and developed by the IRSN.
This particularly covers Western-designed pressurized water reactors (PWRs) such as those used for France's nuclear power supply, Russian-designed PWRs (VVERs), boiling water reactors (BWRs) and CANDU heavy water reactors. All Rights Reserved.The ASTEC (Accident Source Term Evaluation Code) software system makes it possible to simulate all phenomena that take place during a water-cooled reactor meltdown accident, from the initiating event to the discharge of radioactive materials (called the "source term") out from the containment. © 2010 4X Forensic Engineering Laboratories, Inc. read moreĤX Forensic Engineering Laboratories, Inc We provide expert witness and analytical & testing services in the areas of fire & explosion analysis, water loss investigations, product defect & failure analysis and accident reconstruction. If you have particular simulation or test you would like to conduct please contact our laboratory to discuss the feasibility of carrying out such work.ĤX Forensic Engineering Laboratories is a full-service forensic engineering laboratory. More detail on these areas of simulation and testing are shown below: Below are some of our computer simulation and testing capabilities. With regards to testing the laboratory has a wide array of experience in temperature testing, strain gauge failure testing, fuel gas testing, carbon monoxide testing, water pressure testing and electronic circuit testing. The laboratory also has simulation capabilities in the area of accident reconstruction.
Some particular areas of expertise are Finite Element Analysis (FEA) simulation for heat transfer, fire modeling, gas flow, stress and impact analysis. 4X Forensic Engineering Laboratories has a wide range of experience in the fire scene examination, product defect analysis.ĤX Forensic Engineering Laboratories has a wide variety of computerized engineering simulation software and testing tools at hand to aid in support of opinions in the area of fire, failure and accident analysis.