• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.21-28
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• 2013

The flow and heat transfer characteristics of the ex-vessel core melt (corium) were investigated using a commercial CFD code along with the experimental data on the spreading of corium available in the literature (VULCANO VE-U7 test). In the numerical simulation of the unsteady two-phase flow, the volume-of-fluid model was applied for the spreading and interfacial surface formation of corium with the surrounding air. The effects of the key parameters were evaluated for the corium spreading, including the radiation, decay heat, temperature-dependent viscosity and initial temperature of corium. The results showed a reasonable trend of corium progression influenced by the changes in the radiation, decay heat, temperature-dependent viscosity and initial temperature of corium. The modeling of the viscosity appropriate for corium and the radiative heat transfer was critical, since the front progression and temperature profiles were strongly dependent on the models. Further development is required for the code to consider the formation of crust on the surfaces of corium and the interaction with the substrate.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.12
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• pp.4551-4559
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• 2022

The aim of this research is to analyze the characteristics of a core melt discharged from the reactor vessel and the spreading behavior the core melt in the reactor cavity of the SMART. First, a severe accident sequence under conservative conditions is simulated by the MELCOR code to obtain the conditions for an analysis of the spreading behavior and coolability of the ex-vessel melt. Second, the spreading behavior and coolability of the ex-vessel melt are analyzed by the MELTSPREAD code. The level, temperature, and pressure of the water in the cavity as well as the temperature, mass, composition, and discharge velocity of the melt were utilized to construct the ex-vessel analysis. The melt spread only to part of the cavity, and that the height of the corium in a static state was less than 25 cm. The characteristics of a small modular reactor on the spreading behavior and coolability of melt were analyzed. In the SMART, the amount of melt discharged into the cavity is relatively small and the area of the cavity is sufficiently large when compared to a high-power pressurized water reactor. It was found that the coolability of an ex-vessel core melt can be sufficiently secured.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.425-429
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• 2011

In the unlikely of nuclear reactor meltdown, the leaked core melt or corium must be contained in a device called core-catcher so that the corium can be cooled and stabilized. The ex-vessel behavior of corium involves complex physical and chemical mechanisms of flow propagation, heat transfer, and reactions with sacrificial substrates. In this study, the detailed characteristics of corium flow and heat transfer were investigated by using a commercial CFD code for VULCANO VE-U7 test reported in the literature. The volume-of-fluid (VOF) model was used to predict the interfacial surface formation of corium and the surrounding air, and the discrete ordinate model was adopted to calculate radiation between corium and the surroundings. It was found that cooling via radiation through the top surface of corium had a dominant effect on the temperature and viscosity profiles at the front of the corium flow.