Experimental investigation of debris sedimentation behaviour on bed formation characteristics

Shamsuzzaman, M.*; Horie, Tatsuro*; Fuke, Fusata*; Kai, Takayuki*; Zhang, B.*; Matsumoto, Tatsuya*; Morita, Koji*; Tagami, Hirotaka ; Suzuki, Toru; Tobita, Yoshiharu

Investigation on sedimentation behavior of debris is important to evaluate the sequence of core disruptive accident in SFR. To clarify this behavior, a series of experiments was performed by gravity driven discharge of solid debris from a nozzle into a water pool. The discharged debris accumulates on the collector plate at the bottom, forming either a Gaussian-type convex or ring-type concave mound depending on the experiment parameters. Three types of spherical debris with three diameters are employed to study the effect of experiment parameters on mound height of debris bed. During the experiment, mound height becomes decreasing with nozzle diameter and increasing with debris volume, which exhibits descending tendency in asymmetrical fashion with density variation and an unalike variation in mound height was observed with debris diameter. An empirical model was developed applying dimensional analysis to predict the variation in mound height of debris bed during sedimentation process.