A study of molten debris freezing and wall erosion in the RIA-ST-4 experiment

Technical Report · Tue Apr 01 04:00:00 EST 1980

OSTI ID:6613306

El-Genk, M S; Moore, R L

The safe containment of molten debris following a hypothetical core meltdown accident in a light water reactor depends on the postaccident distribution and freezing of the debris. The objective of the present work is to analyze the freezing of molten debris produced during a severe, in-pile reactivity initiated accident experiment, designated RIA-ST-4. A one-dimensional physical model is developed to study the transient freezing of a molten debris layer deposited on the inner surface of the RIA-ST-4 coolant flow shroud wall and to assess the potential for wall melting upon being contacted by the molten debris. The conditions of finite wall thickness, continuous cooling at the wall outer surface, radiative cooling of the debris, temperature-dependent thermophysical properties, and internal heat generation in the debris are considered in the analysis. The governing equations are solved numerically using a one-dimensional, finite element code.

• Research Organization: EG and G Idaho, Inc., Idaho Falls (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6613306
• Report Number(s): NUREG/CR-1072
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
220900* -- Nuclear Reactor Technology-- Reactor Safety
ACCIDENTS
COMPUTER CALCULATIONS
CONTAINMENT
DATA
ENERGY TRANSFER
EROSION
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FREEZING
HEAT TRANSFER
INFORMATION
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MELTDOWN
NUMERICAL DATA
ONE-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
REACTOR ACCIDENTS
REACTORS
WATER COOLED REACTORS