The Technical Support Guidelines (TSG) Calculations Tool aids civilian nuclear power plant reactor operators, shift supervisors, and the engineering staff of the Technical Support Center (TSC) in making important decisions and deciding when to take relevant actions during the course of an emergency situation to prevent or mitigate a severe nuclear reactor accident. All relevant plant data can be pre-loaded into the application, which reduces the burden placed on users and analysts during stressful situations.

The software takes values generated by civilian nuclear power plant data or computer system-level modeling, such as time to reactor core uncovery and offset calibration of water level instrumentation. The software uses formulas generated by the U.S. nuclear industry, and DOE, which are based on first principles thermal hydraulics and nuclear physics, to generate field observable values specific to the civilian nuclear power plant’s emergency situation. The results can then be used to assist personnel in determining the transition from emergency operating procedures to severe accident management guidelines. The TSG Tool also calculates values which provide insights during a reactor meltdown to assist operators and decision makers in determining strategies on mitigation efforts -- such as the minimum water injection rate need to maintain the molten reactor core within the reactor pressure vessel.

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