Analysis of Cofrentes Abnormal Plant Transients with RETRAN-02 and RETRAN-03

The applicability and usefulness of a complete and well-qualified plant transient code and model to support in-depth evaluation of anomalous plant transients are described. The qualified best-estimate RETRAN-02 model for the Cofrentes nuclear power plant (a boiling water reactor with an uprated power of 2952 MW) has been updated for RETRAN-03 using algebraic slip and one-dimensional kinetics. This model has been used in the analysis of recent abnormal plant transients at Cofrentes, including a partial control rod insertion at 92% power, a turbine trip at 67% power with reactor vessel overfill, and reactor instabilities during startup.