Investigation of the hydrogen production by the FeCrAl nuclear fuel cladding using MELCOR 2.2

Abstract

This paper deals with hydrogen production in nuclear power reactors by cladding of the fuel. The description of accident tolerant fuel, especially FeCrAl cladding material and its oxidation is presented. Model is based on Phebus facility, that was build for better understanding of phenomena occurring during severe accidents in light water reactors. Conventional used zirconium cladding was replaced by FeCrAl alloy and simulated by MELCOR code. This software is plant risk assessment tool for simulating light water reactors and its accidents. Results shows significantly decrease of hydrogen production.