Theory 19/Nuclear Safety Engineering
Core Damage Is a Heat Ratio
The claim
Core damage probability is set by the ratio of decay heat to residual cooling capacity rather than by the initiating event, so small events can be severe on degraded cooling.
01Mechanism
Fuel damage occurs when heat removal falls below generation; the ratio determines the time to damage after any loss of cooling.
02Predictions
- P1Damage probability should track the ratio.
- P2Event severity alone should mispredict.
03Refutation
Damage tracking initiating event would remove the cooling term.