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Title: Experiments to investigate the effects of 1:10 scale Zion structures on direct containment heating (DCH) in the Surtsey Test Facility: The IET-1 and IET-1R tests

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:10168853
; ; ;  [1];  [2]
  1. Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)
  2. Ktech Corp., Albuquerque, NM (United States)

The Integral Effects Test (IET) series was designed to investigate the effects of subcompartment structures on direct containment heating (DCH). Scale models of the Zion reactor pressure vessel (RPV), cavity, instrument tunnel, and subcompartment structures were constructed in the Surtsey Test Facility at Sandia National Laboratories. The RPV was modelled with a melt generator that consisted of a steel pressure barrier, a cast MgO crucible, and a thin steel inner liner. The melt generator/crucible had a hemispherical bottom head containing a graphite limiter plate with a 4 cm exit hole to simulate the ablated hole in the RPV bottom head that would be formed by tube ejection in a high pressure melt ejection (HPME) accident. The reactor cavity model contained an amount of water (3.48 kg) that was scaled to condensate levels in the Zion plant. Iron oxide, aluminum, chromium thermite (43 kg) was used to simulate molten corium. The driving gas was 440 g{center_dot}moles of steam at an initial absolute pressure of 7.1 MPa in IET-1 and 477 g{center_dot}moles of steam at an initial pressure of 6.3 MPa in IET-1R. Steam blowdown entrained debris into the Sorts vessel resulting in a peak pressure increase in Sorts of 98 kPa in IET-1 and 110 kPa in IET-1R. The total debris mass ejected into the Sorts vessel was 43.0 kg in IET-1, compared to 36.2 kg in IET-1R. The Sorts vessel had been previously inerted with N{sub 2}. The total quantity of hydrogen produced by steam/metal reactions was 223 g{center_dot}moles in IET-1 and 252 g{center_dot}moles in IET-1R.

Research Organization:
Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
AC04-76DP00789
OSTI ID:
10168853
Report Number(s):
SAND-92-0255; ON: DE92019327
Resource Relation:
Other Information: PBD: Jul 1992
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English