Determination of the End State of the Three Mile Island Unit 2 Accident Using Neutron Transport Analysis

Since the March 1979 accident, the source range monitors (SRMs) at Three Mile Island Unit 2 (TMI-2) have been reading several orders of magnitude higher than would be expected in a normal shutdown core. A study in which these anomalous SRM readings are analyzed and the cause determined is reported. Here, the DOT 4.3 two-dimensional transport code was used to simulate the SRM response and the response of an axial string of solid-state track recorders by modeling the neutronics of the damaged TMI-2 core. This modeling has indicated the presence of ∼10 tonnes of fuel material in the lower vessel plenum, a condition that was subsequently verified by direct observation. The computational model, the method of cross-section preparation, and an analysis of the various core neutron sources are described, as well as the results obtained from this effort.