Effect of quenching on molten core-concrete interaction product

Kitagaki, Toru  ; Ikeuchi, Hirotomo  ; Yano, Kimihiko ; Brissonneau, L.*; Tormos, B.*; Domenger, R.*; Roger, J.*; Washiya, Tadahiro 

Characterization of fuel debris is required to develop fuel debris removal tools. Especially, knowledge pertaining to the characteristics of molten core-concrete interaction (MCCI) product is needed because of the limited information available at present. The samples of a large-scale MCCI test performed under quenching conditions, VULCANO VW-U1, by CEA were analyzed to evaluate the characteristics of the surface of MCCI product generated just below the cooling water. As a result, the microstructure of the samples were found to be similar despite the different locations of the test sections. The Vickers hardness of each of the phases in these samples was higher than that of previously analyzed samples in another VULCANO test campaign, VBS-U4. From the comparison between analytical results of VULCANO MCCI test product, MCCI product generated under quenching condition is homogeneous and its hardness could be higher than that of the bulk MCCI product.