Nuclear Engineering and Technology

Korean Nuclear Society (한국원자력학회)
권호 표지

Spontaneous Steam Explosions Observed In The Fuel Coolant Interaction Experiments Using Reactor Materials

  • Published : 2002.08.01
Download PDF
⟨ Previous Next ⟩

Abstract

The present paper reports spontaneous steam explosions observed in fuel coolant interaction experiments using prototypic reactor materials. Pure ZrO$_2$ and a mixture of UO$_2$ and ZrO$_2$ are used. A high temperature molten material in the form of a jet is poured into a subcooled water pool located in a pressure vessel. An induction skull melting technique is used for the melting of the reactor material. In both tests using pure ZrO$_2$ and a mixture of UO$_2$ and ZrO$_2$, either a quenching or a spontaneous steam explosion was observed. The morphology of debris and pressure profile clearly indicate the differences between the qunching cases and explosion cases. The dynamic pressure. dynamic impulse, water temperature, melt temperature, and static pressure Inside the containment chamber were measured . As the spontaneous steam explosion for the reactor material is firstly observed in the present experiments, the results of present experiments could be a siginificant step forward the understanding the explosion of the reactor material.

Keywords

References

  1. M. L. Corradini, B. J., Kim, B. J. and M. D., Oh, 'Vapor Explosions in light water reactors: A review of theory ans modeling,' Prograss in Nuclear Energe, Vol. 22, No. 1, pp. 1-117, (1988) https://doi.org/10.1016/0149-1970(88)90004-2
  2. X. Chen. R. Luo. W. W. Yeun, and T. G. Theofanous, 'Experimental simulation of mircrointeractions in large scale explosions,' Proc. of the OECD/CSNI specialist meeting on fuel coolant interactions, JAERI-Tokai, Japan, 364-390, (1997)
  3. D. E. Mitchell, M. L. Corradini, and W. W. Tarbell, 'Intermediate scale steam explosion phenomena: Experiments and analysis,' SNAD81-10124, SNL, (1981)
  4. D. H. Cho, D. R. Armstrong, and W. H. Gunther, 'Experiments on interactions between Ziroconium-containing melt and water,' NUREG/CR-5372, (1998)
  5. N. Yamano, Y. Maruyama, T. Kudo, A. Hidaka, and J. Sugimoto, 'Phenomenological Studies on Melt-coolant Interactions in the ALPHA Program,' Nuclear Engineering and Design, Vol. 155, pp. 369-389, (1995) https://doi.org/10.1016/0029-5493(94)00883-Z
  6. D. Magallon, I. Huhtiniemi, and H. Hohmann, H., 'Lessens learnt from FARO/TERMOS corium melt quenching experiments,' Nuclear Engineering and Design 189, 223-238, (1999) https://doi.org/10.1016/S0029-5493(98)00274-X
  7. D. Magallon and I. Huhtiniemi, Corium melt quenching tests at low pressure and sub-cooled water in FARO, Nuclear Engineering and Design, 204, 369-376 (2001) https://doi.org/10.1016/S0029-5493(00)00318-6
  8. I. Huhtiniemi, D. Magallon, and H. Hohmann, 'Results of recent KROTOS FCI tests: Alumina vs. Corium Melts,' Proc. of the OECD/CSNI specialist meeting on fuel coolant interactions, JAERI-Tokai, Japan, 275-286, (1997)
  9. I. Huhtiniemi, and D. Magallon, 'Insight into Steam Explosions with Corium Melts in KROTOS', Proc. of NURETH-9, San-Francisco, California, U.S.A., (1999)
  10. M. Kato, H. Nagasaka, Y. Vasilyev, A. Kolodesshnikov and V. Zhdanov, 'Fuel coolant interaction tests under ex-vessel conditions', Proc. of the OECD workshop on ex-vessel debris coolabilitty, Karlsruhe, 293300, (1999)
  11. D. Magallon et. al, 'Proposal for a OECD research programme on fuel-coolant interaction-Steam Explosion Resolution for nuclear applications,' (2001)
  12. S. J. Oh, 'The role of IVR from the severe accident management perspective,' Workshop on In-Vessel Retention for the KNGR Severe Accident Management, KEPRI, Daejon, Korea, (1999)
  13. V. I. Aleksandrov, V. V. Osiko and V. M. Tatarintsev, 'Otchet FIAN,' Moskow, (1968)
  14. S. W. Hong, B. T. Min, J. H. Song, H. D. Kim, J. K. Choi, 'A Study on the Melting and Release of Refractory Materials using Induction Skull Melting,' Proc. of the Second Japan-Korea Symposium on Nuclear Thermal Hydraulics and Safety, Fukuoka , Japan (2000).
  15. J. H. Song et al., 'The Preliminary Results of Steam Explosion Experiments in TROI,' Paper number 74, 9th International Conference on Nuclear Engineering, April 812, Nice, France, (2001)
  16. J. H. Song, et al., 'Experiments on the interactions of molten ZrO2 with water using TROI facility,' Nuclear Engineering and Design, Vol. 213, pp. 97-110 (2002) https://doi.org/10.1016/S0029-5493(01)00504-0
  17. V. I. Aleksandrov, V. V., Osiko, A. M. Prokhorov ,and V. M. Tatarntsev, V. M., 'Synthesis and crystal growth of refractory materials by RF melting in a cold container,' Chapter 6, Current topics in materials Science, Vol. 1, edited by E. Kaldis, North-Holland publishing company, (1978)
  18. H. S. Park, R. Chapman and M. Corradini, 'Vapor explosions in a one-dimensional large scale geometry with simulant melts,' NUREG/CR-6623, (1999)