Consequence assessment of vapour cloud explosion involving large commercial airliner crash upon nuclear reactor containment

Abstract

This work concerns with the consequences analysis of vapour cloud explosion (VCE) on the nuclear reactor plant due to accidental aircraft crash. The International Atomic Energy (IAEA) requires the operator of each licensed nuclear power plant to demonstrate that the site is acceptably safe from the perspective of the internal and external risk of exposure to workers, visitors and third parties who are working within the site vicinity. One of the potential external hazards is the unintentional aircraft accident with the potential on consequential damage to the site through impact, fuel fire and other effects. The fire and explosion overpressure resulting from the accident have the potential to damage the nuclear structural components and gave a challenge to a safe reactor shut down. The equivalent TNT, TNO multi energy and Baker-Strehlow models were used to estimate the overpressure from the explosion within the distances of 50 - 410 m from the first impact location of nuclear reactor. The structural damage at varying distances from the fire and explosion hazards was estimated using Probit equation. Analysis of the results shows that the control room at a distance of 210 m would be highly damage with a probability of 99 %. The probability for major structural damage at a radial distance of 410 m is 93 %. The findings of this analysis may be used to evaluate the safety improvements required on the nuclear power plant on the risk associated with aviation-related hazards and provide an insight on the safe design and the sitting of the existing facilities and/or new nuclear installations.