Characterization of high-temperature nuclear fuel-coolant interactions through X-ray visualization and image processing

Johnson, M.*; Journeau, C.*; Matsuba, Kenichi; Emura, Yuki; Kamiyama, Kenji

Annals of Nuclear Energy, 151, p.107881_1 - 107881_13, 2021/02

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anucene.2020.107881

High-resolution X-ray imaging was employed at the JAEA MELT facility to visualize a kilogram-scale interaction between a jet of high temperature molten stainless steel and sodium. A novel software, SPECTRA, has been developed for the quantitative characterization of jet quenching and fragmentation. Tracking and 3D reconstruction of the melt phase traversing the imaging window enabled the detection of 72% of the debris mass recovered post-experiment. The rebounding of melt fragments confirmed a solid outer crust at the melt-coolant interface, while a thermal fragmentation event induced rapid vapor expansion. Jet fragmentation is best explained by the vaporization of coolant entrained within the melt jet generating an internal over-pressure sufficient for fragmentation of the crust. Thermal fragmentation produced a bimodal debris size distribution of coarse jet shells and finer fragments.

Numerical simulation of the solid particle sedimentation and bed formation behaviors using a hybrid method

Sheikh, M. A. R.*; Liu, X.*; Matsumoto, Tatsuya*; Morita, Koji*; Guo, L.*; Suzuki, Toru*; Kamiyama, Kenji

Energies (Internet), 13(19), p.5018_1 - 5018_15, 2020/10

https://doi.org/10.3390/en13195018

Study on eutectic melting behavior of control rod materials in core disruptive accidents of sodium-cooled fast reactors, 1; Project overview and progress until 2018

Yamano, Hidemasa; Takai, Toshihide; Furukawa, Tomohiro; Kikuchi, Shin; Emura, Yuki; Kamiyama, Kenji; Fukuyama, Hiroyuki*; Higashi, Hideo*; Nishi, Tsuyoshi*; Ota, Hiromichi*; et al.

Proceedings of 2020 International Conference on Nuclear Engineering (ICONE 2020) (Internet), 10 Pages, 2020/08

https://doi.org/10.1115/ICONE2020-16075

One of the key issues in a core disruptive accident (CDA) evaluation in sodium-cooled fast reactors is eutectic reactions between boron carbide (BC) and stainless steel (SS) as well as its relocation. Such behaviors have never been simulated in CDA numerical analyses in the past, therefore it is necessary to develop a physical model and incorporate the model into the CDA analysis code. This study focuses on BC-SS eutectic melting experiments, thermophysical property measurement of the eutectic melt, and physical model development for the eutectic melting reaction. The eutectic experiments involve the visualization experiments, eutectic reaction rate experiments and material analyses. The thermophysical properties are measured in a range from solid to liquid state. The physical model is developed for a severe accident computer code based on the measured data of the eutectic reaction rate and the physical properties. This paper describes the project overview and progress of experimental and analytical studies conducted until 2018. Specific results in this paper are boron concentration distributions of solidified BC-SS eutectic sample in the eutectic melting experiments, which would be used for the validation of the eutectic physical model implemented into the computer code.

Crystal structures of highly hole-doped layered perovskite nickelate PrSrNiO studied by neutron diffraction

Kajimoto, Ryoichi; Nakajima, Kenji; Fujita, Masaki*; Ishikado, Motoyuki*; Torii, Shuki*; Ishikawa, Yoshihisa*; Miao, P.*; Kamiyama, Takashi*

Journal of the Physical Society of Japan, 88(11), p.114602_1 - 114602_6, 2019/11

https://doi.org/10.7566/JPSJ.88.114602

Two-phase flow structure in a particle bed packed in a confined channel

Ito, Daisuke*; Kurisaki, Tatsuya*; Ito, Kei*; Saito, Yasushi*; Imaizumi, Yuya; Matsuba, Kenichi; Kamiyama, Kenji

Proceedings of 18th International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Reactor Thermal Hydraulics (NURETH-18) (USB Flash Drive), p.6430 - 6439, 2019/08

In core disruptive accident of sodium-cooled fast reactor, cooling of residual fuel debris formed in the reactor core is one of important factors to achieve in-vessel retention of the fuel. To clarify the feasibility of the cooling which is called "in-place cooling", characteristics of gas-liquid two-phase flow in the debris bed must be well understood. Since the debris bed can be formed in a confined flow channel in the core, effect of the channel wall cannot be neglected. Thus, this study aims to clarify the effect of the wall on two-phase flow characteristics in the debris bed, which was simulated as a particle bed packed in a pipe. The pressure drop was measured and compared with results by previous models, and porosity and void fraction distributions were measured by X-ray radiography. Then, the pressure drop evaluation model was modified considering the wall effect, and the applicability of the models was discussed.

Development of evaluation method for in-place cooling of residual core materials in core disruptive accidents of SFRs

Imaizumi, Yuya; Aoyagi, Mitsuhiro; Kamiyama, Kenji; Matsuba, Kenichi; Ganovichev, D. A.*; Baklanov, V. V.*

Proceedings of 27th International Conference on Nuclear Engineering (ICONE-27) (Internet), 11 Pages, 2019/05

The cooling of the residual core materials after the fuel discharge from the core in the accident of SFRs can significantly affect the distribution fraction of the core materials, which is an important factor for the in-vessel retention (IVR). For the evaluation of the cooling of the residual core materials which is called ``in-place cooling'', behavior in a SFR core was analyzed preliminary by SIMMER-III. Based on the analysis result, method of phenomena identification and ranking table (PIRT) was applied. Fundamental experiment focusing on three thermal-hydraulic phenomena those were extracted by PIRT was considered in order to investigate them and utilize it for validation of the SIMMER-III. To achieve continuous oscillation of sodium level which can occur in the phase of in-place cooling of SFRs, analytical survey was conducted by SIMMER-III. As a result of that, the effects of experimental conditions on the oscillation amplitude and the duration time were clarified quantitatively, which are necessary to determine the specific experimental conditions.

Effect of porosity distribution on two-phase pressure drop in a packed bed

Kurisaki, Tatsuya*; Ito, Daisuke*; Ito, Kei*; Saito, Yasushi*; Imaizumi, Yuya; Matsuba, Kenichi; Kamiyama, Kenji

Proceedings of 11th Korea-Japan Symposium on Nuclear Thermal Hydraulics and Safety (NTHAS-11) (Internet), 3 Pages, 2018/11

In the evaluation of the in-place cooling which is for the residual core materials in the severe accident of sodium-cooled fast reactors, pressure loss of two-phase flow in debris bed is one of the important factors. Although Lipinski model is already proposed for the pressure loss evaluation, the accuracy would decrease when the porosity is not homogeneous. Thus, experiment to measure the pressure loss in a packed bed of non-homogeneous porosity distribution was conducted, and the Lipinski model was modified dividing the cross section to evaluate the pressure loss in it. As a result, it was confirmed that agreement of the experimental values with the values by modified Lipinski model was better than that with the original Lipinski model.

Particle-based simulation of heat transfer behavior in EAGLE ID1 in-pile test

Morita, Koji*; Ogawa, Ryusei*; Tokioka, Hiromi*; Liu, X.*; Liu, W.*; Kamiyama, Kenji

Proceedings of 12th International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Reactor Thermal-Hydraulics, Operation and Safety (NUTHOS-12) (USB Flash Drive), 11 Pages, 2018/10

The EAGLE in-pile ID1 test has been performed by Japan Atomic Energy Agency to demonstrate early fuel discharge from a fuel subassembly with an inner duct structure, which is named FAIDUS. It was deduced that early duct wall failure observed in the test was initiated by high heat flux from the molten pool of fuel and steel mixture. The posttest analyses suggest that molten pool-to-duct wall heat transfer might be enhanced effectively by the molten steel with large thermal conductivity in the pool without the presence of fuel crust on the duct wall. In this study, mechanisms of heat transfer from the molten pool to the duct wall was analyzed using a fully Lagrangian approach based on the finite volume particle method for multi-component, multi-phase flows. A series of pin disruption, molten pool formation and duct wall failure behaviors was simulated to investigate mixing and separation behavior of molten steel and fuel in the pool, and their effect on molten pool-to-duct wall heat transfer. The present 2D particle-based simulations demonstrated that large thermal load beyond 10 MW/m on the duct wall was caused by effective heat transfer due to direct contact of liquid fuel with nuclear heat to the duct wall.

Investigation of the electronic structure and lattice dynamics of the thermoelectric material Na-doped SnSe

Wu, P.*; Zhang, B.*; Peng, K. L.*; Hagiwara, Masayuki*; Ishikawa, Yoshihisa*; Kofu, Maiko; Lee, S. H.*; Kumigashira, Hiroshi*; Hu, C. S.*; Qi, Z. M.*; et al.

Physical Review B, 98(9), p.094305_1 - 094305_7, 2018/09

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.98.094305

Using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and inelastic neutron scattering, we have studied how electronic structures and lattice dynamics evolve with temperature in Na-doped SnSe.

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, 2018/06

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.