SIMMER-III Analyses of Local Fuel-Coolant Interactions in a Simulated Molten Fuel Pool: Effect of Coolant Quantity

Studies on local fuel-coolant interactions (FCI) in a molten pool are important for the analyses of severe accidents that could occur for sodium-cooled fast reactors (SFRs). To clarify the mechanisms underlying this interaction, in recent years, several experimental tests, with comparatively larger...

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Main Authors: Songbai Cheng, Ken-ichi Matsuba, Mikio Isozaki, Kenji Kamiyama, Tohru Suzuki, Yoshiharu Tobita
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2015-01-01
Series:Science and Technology of Nuclear Installations
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/964327
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author Songbai Cheng
Ken-ichi Matsuba
Mikio Isozaki
Kenji Kamiyama
Tohru Suzuki
Yoshiharu Tobita
author_facet Songbai Cheng
Ken-ichi Matsuba
Mikio Isozaki
Kenji Kamiyama
Tohru Suzuki
Yoshiharu Tobita
author_sort Songbai Cheng
collection DOAJ
description Studies on local fuel-coolant interactions (FCI) in a molten pool are important for the analyses of severe accidents that could occur for sodium-cooled fast reactors (SFRs). To clarify the mechanisms underlying this interaction, in recent years, several experimental tests, with comparatively larger difference in coolant volumes, were conducted at the Japan Atomic Energy Agency by delivering a given quantity of water into a molten pool formed with a low-melting-point alloy. In this study, to further understand this interaction, interaction characteristics including the pressure buildup as well as mechanical energy release and its conversion efficiency are investigated using the SIMMER-III, an advanced fast reactor safety analysis code. It is found that the SIMMER-III code not only reasonably simulates the transient pressure and temperature variations during local FCIs, but also supports the limited tendency of pressurization and resultant mechanical energy release as observed from experiments when the volume of water delivered into the pool increases. The performed analyses also suggest that the most probable reason leading to such limited tendency should be primarily due to an isolation effect of vapor bubbles generated at the water-melt interface.
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issn 1687-6075
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language English
publishDate 2015-01-01
publisher Wiley
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series Science and Technology of Nuclear Installations
spelling doaj-art-e3217409a61e4e5ca734ffb8089389e22025-08-20T02:21:24ZengWileyScience and Technology of Nuclear Installations1687-60751687-60832015-01-01201510.1155/2015/964327964327SIMMER-III Analyses of Local Fuel-Coolant Interactions in a Simulated Molten Fuel Pool: Effect of Coolant QuantitySongbai Cheng0Ken-ichi Matsuba1Mikio Isozaki2Kenji Kamiyama3Tohru Suzuki4Yoshiharu Tobita5Advanced Fast Reactor Cycle System Research and Development Center, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, 4002 Narita, Oarai, Ibaraki 311-1393, JapanAdvanced Fast Reactor Cycle System Research and Development Center, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, 4002 Narita, Oarai, Ibaraki 311-1393, JapanAdvanced Fast Reactor Cycle System Research and Development Center, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, 4002 Narita, Oarai, Ibaraki 311-1393, JapanAdvanced Fast Reactor Cycle System Research and Development Center, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, 4002 Narita, Oarai, Ibaraki 311-1393, JapanAdvanced Fast Reactor Cycle System Research and Development Center, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, 4002 Narita, Oarai, Ibaraki 311-1393, JapanMonju Project Management and Engineering Center, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, 1 Shiraki, Tsuruga, Fukui 919-1279, JapanStudies on local fuel-coolant interactions (FCI) in a molten pool are important for the analyses of severe accidents that could occur for sodium-cooled fast reactors (SFRs). To clarify the mechanisms underlying this interaction, in recent years, several experimental tests, with comparatively larger difference in coolant volumes, were conducted at the Japan Atomic Energy Agency by delivering a given quantity of water into a molten pool formed with a low-melting-point alloy. In this study, to further understand this interaction, interaction characteristics including the pressure buildup as well as mechanical energy release and its conversion efficiency are investigated using the SIMMER-III, an advanced fast reactor safety analysis code. It is found that the SIMMER-III code not only reasonably simulates the transient pressure and temperature variations during local FCIs, but also supports the limited tendency of pressurization and resultant mechanical energy release as observed from experiments when the volume of water delivered into the pool increases. The performed analyses also suggest that the most probable reason leading to such limited tendency should be primarily due to an isolation effect of vapor bubbles generated at the water-melt interface.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/964327
spellingShingle Songbai Cheng
Ken-ichi Matsuba
Mikio Isozaki
Kenji Kamiyama
Tohru Suzuki
Yoshiharu Tobita
SIMMER-III Analyses of Local Fuel-Coolant Interactions in a Simulated Molten Fuel Pool: Effect of Coolant Quantity
Science and Technology of Nuclear Installations
title SIMMER-III Analyses of Local Fuel-Coolant Interactions in a Simulated Molten Fuel Pool: Effect of Coolant Quantity
title_full SIMMER-III Analyses of Local Fuel-Coolant Interactions in a Simulated Molten Fuel Pool: Effect of Coolant Quantity
title_fullStr SIMMER-III Analyses of Local Fuel-Coolant Interactions in a Simulated Molten Fuel Pool: Effect of Coolant Quantity
title_full_unstemmed SIMMER-III Analyses of Local Fuel-Coolant Interactions in a Simulated Molten Fuel Pool: Effect of Coolant Quantity
title_short SIMMER-III Analyses of Local Fuel-Coolant Interactions in a Simulated Molten Fuel Pool: Effect of Coolant Quantity
title_sort simmer iii analyses of local fuel coolant interactions in a simulated molten fuel pool effect of coolant quantity
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/964327
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