Three types of containment configurations for large breeder reactors (1000 MWe/2500 MWt) were compared to determine characteristic responses of each type to selected hypothetical accident conditions. The three types of system configurations were the single, double and containment-confinement designs. Two types of postulated hypothetical accidents were applied as a basis for evaluation -the energetic cove disassembly accident and the whole core melt-through accident. More than 20 separate cases were analyzed in which design and accident assumptions were varied. Based on this study the containment-confinement configuration is shown to be the most promising for limiting off-site radiation doses for large sodium-cooled breeder reactors given the specific assumptions on the initial accident conditions.
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