Jerzy Foit

Results of the LIVE-L4 Experiment on Melt Behavior in the RPV Lower Head

The development of a corium pool in the lower head and its behavior is still a critical issue and is of great importance to assess the severe accident progression consequences to ensure the nuclear plant safety. Therefore, experimental efforts are a vital element of the assessment process, providing hard data and insights of the complicated multi-component, highly turbulent corium pool dynamics. It is essential to consider the whole evolution of the accident, including e.g. formation and growth of the in-core melt pool, characteristics of corium arrival in the lower head, and molten pool behavior after the debris re-melting. These phenomena have a strong impact on a potential termination of a severe accident. The general objective of the LIVE program at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is to study these phenomena experimentally in large-scale 3D geometry and in supporting separate-effects tests, with emphasis on the transient behavior. The LIVE-L4 experiment was performed using a non-eutectic melt (KNO3 -NaNO3 ) as a simulant fluid. Besides the transient behavior, for which the LIVE-L4 test provides qualified data on temperature evolution in the molten pool and crust growth rates, the experiment addresses other important phenomena, such as the local distribution of heat flux, and the influence of solidification on the thermal-hydraulics of the pool, i.e. the possible existence of a mushy region and its impact on the heat transfer. In the post-test analysis crust thickness profile along the vessel wall, the crust composition and the morphology were determined. The results of this experiment also allow a comparison with findings obtained earlier in other experimental programs. The LIVE-L4 experimental results are being used for the assessment of correlations and development and validation of mechanistic models for the description of molten pool behavior. These calculations are complemented by analyses with the CFD code CONV (thermal hydraulics of heterogeneous, viscous and heat-generating melts) which was developed at IBRAE. The CONV code was applied to simulate the LIVE-L4 test: a) assuming homogeneous heat generation in the liquid and b) accounting for wire heaters used to simulate the heat generation in the melt. Though the results of calculations demonstrate satisfactory agreement with the experimental measurements, deficiencies in the code prediction have been identified regarding e.g. the prediction of the crust thickness. The paper summarizes the objectives of the LIVE program, the main results obtained in the LIVE-L4 experiment and the results of the post-test calculations performed with the CONV code.Copyright

LIVE-L4 and LIVE-L5L Experiments on Melt Pool and Crust Behavior in Lower Head of Reactor Pressure Vessel

Abstract The LIVE-L4 and LIVE-L5L experiments investigated the thermal-hydraulic behavior of the corium pool in the reactor pressure vessel lower head with the three-dimensional test vessel LIVE. The simulant material is a noneutectic binary mixture of 20% NaNO3-80% KNO3. Transient and steady-state parameters such as melt temperature and heat flux distribution through the vessel wall as well as crust formation characteristics were obtained. The two tests demonstrated that transient events like repeated melt relocation and change of decay power density facilitate crust deformation and change of crust thickness. Massive crust formation in a noneutectic melt pool leads to a change of melt pool composition and a decrease of melt-crust interface temperature. The melt temperature and heat flux at the same pool height and same power density can be roughly compared independent of heating history and initial melt pouring pattern. The dimensionless melt temperature as well as the dimensionless heat flux through the wall during the steady state are independent of power density if the pools have the same height. But, they are dependent on the pool height. For a low pool, the gradients with height of both melt temperature and heat flux through the vessel are larger than those for a high pool.

LIVE Experiments on Melt Behavior in the RPV Lower Head

Behavior of the corium pool in the lower head is still a critical issue in understanding of PWR core meltdown accidents. One of the key parameter for assessing the vessel mechanical strength is the resulting heat flux at the pool-vessel interface. A number of studies [1]–[3] have already been performed to pursue the understanding of a severe accident with core melting, its course, major critical phases and timing and the influence of these processes on the accident progression. Uncertainties in modeling these phenomena and in the application to reactor scale will undoubtedly persist. These include e.g. formation and growth of the in-core melt pool, relocation of molten material after the failure of the surrounding crust, characteristics of corium arrival in residual water in the lower head, corium stratifications in the lower head after the debris re-melting [4]. These phenomena have a strong impact on a potential termination of a severe accident. The main objective of the LIVE program [5] at FZK is to study the core melt phenomena both experimentally in large-scale 3D geometry and in supporting separate-effects tests, and analytically using CFD codes in order to provide a reasonable estimate of the remaining uncertainty band under the aspect of safety assessment. Within the LIVE experimental program several tests have been performed with water and with non-eutectic melts (mixture of KNO3 and NaNO3 ) as simulant fluids. The results of these experiments, performed in nearly adiabatic and in isothermal conditions, allow a direct comparison with findings obtained earlier in other experimental programs (SIMECO, ACOPO, BALI, etc.) and will be used for the assessment of the correlations derived for the molten pool behavior. The information obtained from the LIVE experiments includes heat flux distribution through the reactor pressure vessel wall in transient and steady state conditions, crust growth velocity and dependence of the crust formation on the heat flux distribution through the vessel wall. Supporting post-test analysis contributes to characterization of solidification processes of binary non-eutectic melts. Complimentary to other international programs with real corium melts, the results of the LIVE activities provide data for a better understanding of in-core corium pool behavior. The experimental results are being used for development of mechanistic models to describe the in-core molten pool behavior and their implementation in the severe accident codes like ASTEC. The paper summarizes the objectives of the LIVE program and presents the main results obtained in the LIVE experiments up to now.Copyright

Core Melt Solidification Characteristics in PRV Lower Head-Experimental Results From LIVE Tests

Core melt solidification phenomena in the lower plenum of pressurized reactor vessel during external reactor vessel cooling is investigated in late in-vessel phase experiment tests under different external cooling conditions and melt pouring positions. The melt solidification behavior, which has not yet been given sufficient attention, is an important issue since it influences not only the transient but also the steady state of melt pool thermal hydraulics. A noneutectic melt (80 mol % KNO 3 -20 mol % NaN0 3 ) was used to simulate the core melt. It has been found out that when the vessel is cooled with water during the whole test period (water cooling), the cooling is more effective than the case that the vessel lower head is first cooled with air and flooded by water (air/water cooling). Water cooling at the beginning leads to faster buildup of crust layer on the vessel inner wall and lower crust thermal conductivity compared with air/water cooling. In comparison with the air/water cooling, the water cooling also achieves shorter time period of crust growth. During the solidification period in all tests, the constitutional supercooling condition is fulfilled. Pouring position near the vessel wall results in considerable asymmetry in the heat flux distribution through the vessel wall.

MCCI of a Metal and Oxide Melt With Reinforced Siliceous Concrete in MOCKA Experiments

Within the framework of large-scale MOCKA (KIT, Germany) experiments, a series of experiments have been performed to study the interaction of a simulant oxide (Al2O3, ZrO2, CaO) and metal melt (Fe) in a stratified configuration. To allow for a longer-term interaction, additional heating was provided by alternating additions of thermite and Zr metal to the melt. Since the heat generated by the thermite reaction and the exothermal oxidation reaction of Zr is mainly deposited in the oxide phase, prototypic heating of both melt phases is achieved. This allows the investigation of concrete erosion by metal melt as well as by the oxide which was not possible in all former experiments.Current tests in the MOCKA (KIT, Germany) program are focused on assessing the influence of concrete reinforcement (rebars) on the cavity erosion behaviour using a simulant oxide-iron melt in a stratified configuration. The experiments are performed in siliceous concrete crucibles with an inner diameter of 25 cm containing 12 wt.% reinforcement. In these experiments, the overall downward erosion by the metal melt was of the same order as the sideward one. In addition, the lateral erosion in the overlaid oxide melt region was about the same as in the metal melt region. The former experiments (BETA, COMET-L) and MOCKA tests on siliceous concrete without reinforcement have produced results with pronounced downward erosion by the metal phase. This pronounced downward erosion of the siliceous concrete without rebars seems to be inherent for melts containing a significant fraction of iron.Copyright

Core Melt Solidification Characteristics in RPV Lower Head: Experimental Results From LIVE-Tests

Core melt solidification phenomena during external reactor vessel cooling is investigated in LIVE tests with different external cooling conditions and melt pouring positions. A non-eutectic simulant melt (80-20 mole% KNO3 -NaNO3 ) is used in the LIVE tests. It is found out that when the vessel is cooled with water at the beginning of the melt pouring, the cooling is more effective than in the case of delayed water cooling condition, in which the vessel is first cooled with air and then flooded by water. The initial water cooling leads to a faster growth of crust layer, lower crust thermal conductivity and thinner crust layer than those under the delayed water cooling condition. The initial water cooling leads also to higher heat flux through the vessel wall during the steady state and shorter crust growth period in comparison with the delayed water cooling condition. The solidification of the melt is probably under supercooling condition. The pouring position near the vessel wall results in considerable asymmetric heat flux distribution at one latitude. The heat flux at the position of melt pouring is higher than the one at other locations.Copyright