Data analyses for Nevada Test Site (NTS) premixed combustion tests

Technical Report · Wed May 01 04:00:00 EDT 1985

OSTI ID:5432057

Ratzel, A C

This report provides results from an in-depth analysis of twenty-one of the twenty-four premixed large-scale combustion experiments sponsored by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and conducted by EG and G at the Nevada Test Site (NTS). These experiments were performed in a 2048 cubic meter spherical vessel (hydrogen dewar) with mixtures of hydrogen, steam, and air ignited by glow plugs or heated resistance coils. Hydrogen concentrations ranged from 5 to 13% (by volume) and steam concentrations from 4 to 40%. Several tests also incorporated spray systems and/or fans which enhanced the combustion rate and significantly altered the postcombustion gas cooling. In this work, data provided by EPRI from instrumentation designed to characterize the thermal environment in the dewar during and following combustion have been evaluated. The data reduction package SMOKE has been used to process data from thin-film gauges, Gardon and Schmidt-Boelter heat flux gauges, capacitance calorimeters, gas and wall thermocouples, and pressure sensors. Local measurements of the heat transfer are provided from the calorimetry, and global averages are inferred from the pressure. Instrumentation ''goodness'' for each test is assessed based on the raw data and on comparisons of local and global results. Graphical and tabular results are provided for each test, ad trends observed from the results are reported. This information should be useful for benchmarking existing computer codes used in modeling nuclear containment and associated safety-related equipment response to degraded-core accidents and for improving combustion and heat transfer models currently used in these computer simulations. 26 refs., 109 figs., 20 tabs.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-76DP00789
• OSTI ID: 5432057
• Report Number(s): NUREG/CR-4138; SAND-85-0135; ON: TI85015258
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
220900* -- Nuclear Reactor Technology-- Reactor Safety
ACCIDENTS
AIR
BENCHMARKS
CALORIMETRY
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
COMBUSTION
COMPUTER CODES
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
CONTAINERS
CONTAINMENT
DATA
DATA ANALYSIS
DEWARS
ELEMENTS
ENERGY TRANSFER
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FIELD TESTS
FLUIDS
GASES
HEAT TRANSFER
HYDROGEN
INFORMATION
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NEVADA TEST SITE
NONMETALS
NUMERICAL DATA
OXIDATION
REACTOR ACCIDENTS
REACTOR CORE DISRUPTION
S CODES
SIMULATION
STEAM
TESTING
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
US DOE
US ORGANIZATIONS