Study on the discharge behavior of molten-core through the control rod guide tube in the core disruptive accident of SFR

Kato, Shinya; Matsuba, Kenichi; Kamiyama, Kenji; Ganovichev, D. A.*; Baklanov, V. V.*

Proceedings of 2019 International Congress on Advances in Nuclear Power Plants (ICAPP 2019) (Internet), 9 Pages, 2019/05

In order to ensure In-Vessel Retention (IVR) of molten-core in Core Disruptive Accident (CDA), we are investigating the possibility of the molten-core discharge through the control rod guide tube (CRGT) to prevent energetics due to exceeding the prompt criticality. Internal structures of the CRGT, such as a sodium-flow regulator when the CRGT is connected to the high-pressure plenum, may disturb the discharge of molten-core from the core region. Based on above background, an experimental program to clarify characteristics of molten-core discharge through the CRGT has been commenced as one of subjects under a joint study with National Nuclear Center of the Republic of Kazakhstan (NNC-RK) named EAGLE-3 project. An experiment using molten-alumina as fuel simulant and sodium was conducted at the out-of-pile test facility owned by NNC-RK to investigate sodium cooling effect around the sodium flow regulator on its destruction. The experimental result represented that void development at the initiation of molten-alumina discharge eliminated liquid-phase sodium from the discharge path and this also eliminated sodium cooling effect around the sodium flow regulator. As a result, early destruction of the sodium flow regulator and massive discharge of molten alumina occurred in turn.

Validation of three-dimensional finite-volume-particle method for simulation of liquid-liquid mixing flow behavior

Kato, Masatsugu*; Funakoshi, Kanji*; Liu, X.*; Matsumoto, Tatsuya*; Liu, W.*; Morita, Koji*; Kamiyama, Kenji

Proceedings of 11th Korea-Japan Symposium on Nuclear Thermal Hydraulics and Safety (NTHAS-11) (Internet), 7 Pages, 2018/11

Results of an out-of-pile experiment for fragmentation of a simulated molten core material discharged into a shallow sodium pool

Matsuba, Kenichi; Kamiyama, Kenji; Ganovichev, D. A.*; Baklanov, V. V.*

Proceedings of 11th Korea-Japan Symposium on Nuclear Thermal Hydraulics and Safety (NTHAS-11) (Internet), 4 Pages, 2018/11

In Core Disruptive Accidents of Sodium-cooled Fast Reactors, molten core material would be discharged through control rod guide tubes into the inlet coolant plenums beneath the rector cores. The inlet coolant plenums have quite limited heights and sodium inventories. Therefore, in the inlet plenums, molten core material with a jet-like shape would impinge on the bottom of the plenum before it breaks up into fragments. In this study, to clarify fragmentation behavior in a shallow sodium pool whose height and volume are so limited that jet impingement on the bottom is expected, an out-of-pile experiment discharging molten alumina into a sodium pool was conducted. Although a small amount of alumina agglomeration was found on the bottom plate (steel disk) installed in the sodium pool, most of the molten alumina was fragmented into debris particles. Results obtained in the present experiment suggest that molten core material is fragmented and quenched even in a shallow sodium pool.

Numerical simulation on self-leveling behavior of mixed particle beds using multi-fluid model coupled with DEM

Phan, L. H. S.*; Ohara, Yohei*; Kawata, Ryo*; Liu, X.*; Liu, W.*; Morita, Koji*; Guo, L.*; Kamiyama, Kenji; Tagami, Hirotaka

Proceedings of 12th International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Reactor Thermal-Hydraulics, Operation and Safety (NUTHOS-12) (USB Flash Drive), 12 Pages, 2018/10

Self-leveling behavior of core fuel debris beds is one of the key phenomena for the safety assessment of core disruptive accidents (CDAs) in sodium-cooled fast reactors (SFRs). The SIMMER code has been developed for CDA analysis of SFRs, and the code has been successfully applied to numerical simulations for key thermal-hydraulic phenomena involved in CDAs as well as reactor safety assessment. However, in SIMMER's fluid-dynamics model, it is always difficult to represent the strong interactions between solid particles as well as the discrete particle characteristics. To solve this problem, a new method has been developed by combining the multi-fluid model of the SIMMER code with the discrete element method (DEM) for the solid phase to reasonably simulate the particle behaviors as well as the fluid-particle interactions in multi-phase flows. In this study, in order to validate the multi-fluid model of the SIMMER code coupled with DEM, numerical simulations were performed on a series of self-leveling experiments using a gas injection method in cylindrical particle beds. The effects of friction coefficient on the simulation results were investigated by sensitivity analysis. Though more extensive validations are needed, the reasonable agreement between simulation results and corresponding experimental data preliminarily demonstrates the potential ability of the present method in simulating the self-leveling behaviors of debris bed. It is expected that the SIMMER code coupled with DEM is a prospective computational tool for analysis of safety issues related to solid particle debris bed in SFRs.

Estimation of porosity and void fraction profiles in a packed bed of spheres using X-ray radiography

Ito, Daisuke*; Ito, Kei*; Saito, Yasushi*; Aoyagi, Mitsuhiro; Matsuba, Kenichi; Kamiyama, Kenji

Nuclear Engineering and Design, 334, p.90 - 95, 2018/08

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nucengdes.2018.05.003

Two-phase flow through porous media must be well understood to develop a severe accident analysis code not only for light water reactor but also sodium-cooled fast reactor. When a core disruptive accident occurs in sodium-cooled fast reactor, the fuel inside the core become melted and interacts with the coolant. As a result, gas-liquid two-phase flow will be formed in the debris bed, which may have porous nature depending on the cooling process. In such condition, the local porosity and its distribution are very important to characterize two-phase flow field in the porous media. In this study, X-ray radiography was applied to measure the local porosity in the packed bed of spheres. The radial profiles were estimated from the chordal profiles measured by the X-ray method and compared with the previous porosity model. In addition, the void fraction radial profiles were also obtained in air-water two-phase flow.

Sedimentation behavior of mixed solid particles

Sheikh, Md. A. R.*; Son, E.*; Kamiyama, Motoki*; Morioka, Toru*; Matsumoto, Tatsuya*; Morita, Koji*; Matsuba, Kenichi; Kamiyama, Kenji; Suzuki, Toru*

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 55(6), p.623 - 633, 2018/01

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2017.1419888

During core-disruptive accidents in sodium-cooled fast reactors, the sedimentation behavior of fragmented debris is crucial for in-vessel retention. The height of the beds formed may influence both the cooling of the bed and the neutronic characteristics. To develop an experimental database of bed formation behavior, a series of experiments using simulant materials, namely, AlO, ZrO, and stainless steel, were performed under gravity-driven discharge of solid particles from a nozzle into a quiescent cylindrical water pool. The bed height was measured for particles of different size, density, and sphericity, and an injection nozzle with varying diameter, injection velocity, and injection height. From these experiments, an empirical correlation was established to predict the bed height for both homogeneous and mixed particles for the different properties. This correlation reproduces reasonably well the experimental trend in bed height.

An Experimental study on the fragmentation and accompanying cooling behaviors of a simulated molten oxide fuel penetrating into a sodium pool

Matsuba, Kenichi; Kamiyama, Kenji; Toyooka, Junichi; Zuev, V. A.*; Kolodeshnikov, A. A.*

Proceedings of 17th International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Reactor Thermal Hydraulics (NURETH-17) (USB Flash Drive), 11 Pages, 2017/09

To clarify jet fragmentation and accompanying cooling behaviors of molten core materials discharged into sodium, results of the out-of-pile experiments with a simulant material (AlO) were analyzed. The results clarified that while AlO jets were entirely fragmented into smaller particles during their penetration to several tenths of a meter in depth of sodium, an additional significant distance was needed to cool down the particles to the degree that thermal loading on the steel structures could be neglected. Based on the results, it is concluded that in terms of the reduction of thermal load on the lower structures in the reactor vessels, the cooling distance after fragmentation should be treated.

Numerical simulation of solid-particle sedimentation behavior using a multi-fluid model coupled with DEM

Kawata, Ryo*; Ohara, Yohei*; Sheikh, Md. A. R.*; Liu, X.*; Matsumoto, Tatsuya*; Morita, Koji*; Guo, L.*; Kamiyama, Kenji; Suzuki, Toru

Proceedings of 17th International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Reactor Thermal Hydraulics (NURETH-17) (USB Flash Drive), 14 Pages, 2017/09

Characteristics of pressure drop and void fraction in a simulated debris bed

Ito, Daisuke*; Nava, M.*; Saito, Yasushi*; Aoyagi, Mitsuhiro; Kamiyama, Kenji; Suzuki, Toru*

Proceedings of 2017 Japan-US Seminar on Two-Phase Flow Dynamics (JUS 2017), 4 Pages, 2017/06

Progress of design and related researches of sodium-cooled fast reactor in Japan

Kamide, Hideki; Sakamoto, Yoshihiko; Kubo, Shigenobu; Oki, Shigeo; Ohshima, Hiroyuki; Kamiyama, Kenji

Proceedings of International Conference on Fast Reactors and Related Fuel Cycles; Next Generation Nuclear Systems for Sustainable Development (FR-17) (USB Flash Drive), 10 Pages, 2017/06

Development of a sodium-cooled fast reactor has been implemented in Japan from the viewpoint of severe accident countermeasures in order to strengthen safety of a fast reactor since the Great East Japan Earthquake. This paper describes the progress of design study and research and development related to safety enhancement and the severe accident countermeasures. For the purpose of strengthening of decay heat removal function, several researches have been carried out on the decay heat removal in a core disruptive accident (CDA), diversity and applicability of decay heat removal systems, and thermal hydraulic evaluation methods. In order to elucidate the behavior of molten fuel during CDA, some in-pile and out-of-pile tests has been performed by international collaboration including basic experiments. Core design was also improved from the viewpoint of preventing the occurrence of severe accident.