Final results of the XR2-1 BWR metallic melt relocation experiment
This report documents the final results of the XR2-1 boiling water reactor (BWR) metallic melt relocation experiment, conducted at Sandia National Laboratories for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The objective of this experiment was to investigate the material relocation processes and relocation pathways in a dry BWR core following a severe nuclear reactor accident such as an unrecovered station blackout accident. The imposed test conditions (initial thermal state and the melt generation rates) simulated the conditions for the postulated accident scenario and the prototypic design of the lower core test section (in composition and in geometry) ensured that thermal masses and physical flow barriers were modeled adequately. The experiment has shown that, under dry core conditions, the metallic core materials that melt and drain from the upper core regions can drain from the core region entirely without formation of robust coherent blockages in the lower core. Temporary blockages that suspended pools of molten metal later melted, allowing the metals to continue draining downward. The test facility and instrumentation are described in detail. The test progression and results are presented and compared to MERIS code analyses. 6 refs., 55 figs., 4 tabs.
- Research Organization:
- US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Washington, DC (United States). Div. of Systems Technology; Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Science Applications International Corp., Albuquerque, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-94AL85000
- OSTI ID:
- 531083
- Report Number(s):
- NUREG/CR-6527; SAND-97-1039; ON: TI97008702; TRN: 97:019372
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: Aug 1997
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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