ANALYSIS OF THE NODALISATION INFLUENCE ON SIMULATING ATMOSPHERIC STRATIFICATIONS IN THE EXPERIMENT THAI TH13 WITH THE CONTAINMENT CODE SYSTEM COCOSYS

The activities related to this paper are to investigate the influence of nodalisation on simulating atmospheric stratification in the THAI experiment TH13 (ISP-47) with the German containment code COCOSYS. This article focuses on different nodalisations of the vessel dome, where an atmospheric stratification occurred due to a high helium content. The volume of the dome was divided into several levels that were varied horizontally into different geometries. These geometries differ in the number of zones as well as in the existence of zones that enable the direct rise of an ascending steam plume into the vessel dome. Additionally, the vertical subdivision of the vessel dome was increased to simulate density gradients in a more detailed way. It was pointed out that the proper simulation of atmospheric stratifications and their dissolution depends on both a suitable horizontal as well as vertical nodalisation scheme. Besides, the treatment of fog droplets has an influence if their settlement is not simulated correctly. This report gives an overview of the gained experience and provides nodalisation requirements to simulate atmospheric stratifications and their proper dissolution.