Energy Partition and Mechanical Damage

The ultimate objective of any safety evaluation is to be able to specify the eventual and safe condition of the plant following any malfunction. Thus in a core disruptive accident the ultimate objective is to be able to say where the damage debris comes to rest and how this will be contained and cooled.

Thus, taking the accident described in Table 5.10 as an example, the pre­sent need is to show what damage is done by the energy release of the postulated 500 MW-sec work energy. (Section 4.3.4 gives the meaning of this work energy.)