NUMERICAL PREDICTION OF THE REACTOR PRESSURE VESSEL MELTING UNDER IVR-ERVC CONDITIONS

Muritala A. Amidu, Yacine Addad

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

A numerical model for the prediction of the melting process of the reactor pressure vessel under severe accident conditions is presented in this paper. The model is based on the enthalpy-porosity approach with an extension for continuous liquid fraction function. The model is implemented in OpenFoam CFD code and it is validated against the melt test of gallium in a rectangular cavity. Subsequently, the model is applied for the simulation of the reactor pressure vessel melting process under the thermal load from the molten corium during the IVR-ERVC condition. The predicted remaining vessel thicknesses by the model in this study are compared with the previous predictions using the lumped parameter method (LPM). A gentle decrease in the wall thickness is predicted in the present study in contrast with the sharp decrease predicted by the LPM code. This model could serve as a complementary tool to MELCOR codes in which the wall ablation of the lower head by melting cannot be considered.

Original languageBritish English
Title of host publicationATH 2020 - International Topical Meeting on Advances in Thermal Hydraulics
Pages582-590
Number of pages9
ISBN (Electronic)9780894487774
StatePublished - 2020
Event2020 International Topical Meeting on Advances in Thermal Hydraulics, ATH 2020 - Virtual, Online
Duration: 20 Oct 202023 Oct 2020

Publication series

NameATH 2020 - International Topical Meeting on Advances in Thermal Hydraulics

Conference

Conference2020 International Topical Meeting on Advances in Thermal Hydraulics, ATH 2020
CityVirtual, Online
Period20/10/2023/10/20

Keywords

  • corium
  • enthalpy-porosity method
  • Melting
  • severe accident

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