Performance excursion
A power excursion , also called a power excursion, of a nuclear reactor consists in the fact that the regulated nuclear fission chain reaction is amplified by a malfunction or incorrect control to a ( thermal ) power above the design limit. This usually triggers a reactor shutdown . However, if the shutdown does not take place, the power generated can exceed the safety reserves of the cooling circuit, so that the temperature in the reactor rises to dangerous values and destruction is the result.
In the case of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster , a series of operating errors combined with special properties of the special reactor type led to an uncontrollable, sudden power excursion that led to the destruction of the reactor with core meltdown and the release of large amounts of radioactive material.
An analogy with chemical reactions is the "thermal runaway" , the overheating of an exothermic chemical reaction or a technical apparatus due to a self-reinforcing, heat-producing process.
See also
literature
- A. Ziegler, H.-J. Allelein (Hrsg.): Reaktortechnik : Physical-technical basics . 2nd edition, Springer 2013, ISBN 978-3-642-33846-5 , page 345, page 559
Individual evidence
- ↑ RH Zahoransky (Ed.): Energy technology . 6th edition, Springer Vieweg 2013, ISBN 978-3-8348-2279-6 , page 112