Preliminary Safety Assessment Of The Integral Fast Reactor Concept

The results of a preliminary assessment of the safety characteristics of the integral fast reactor concept are presented. The response of metal fueled cores to a variety of transients are examined. The range of events that were assessed include transient overpower (TOP) without scram, loss-of-flow (LOF) without scram, local fuel failure events, and core melt accidents. The results show that by taking advantage of the inherent characteristics of a pool plant and metallic cores, a plant design can be developed that does not require the action of active safety systems to prevent significant damage to the core for any single off-normal occurrence. Further, even in the case of multiple failures, significant times are available for corrective action.