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Coolability of Heat-Generating Porous Debris Beds in Severe Accident Situations

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Two-Phase Flow for Automotive and Power Generation Sectors

Part of the book series: Energy, Environment, and Sustainability ((ENENSU))

Abstract

Molten fuel–coolant interactions in postulated severe accident scenario of nuclear reactors lead to the formation of a porous debris bed. Substantial heat generation takes place within such debris beds as a result of radioactive decay, and this needs to be continuously removed in order to maintain the temperature of the debris material within acceptable limits. This is achieved by boiling heat transfer using cooling water. Any failure in this regard can lead to re-melting of the material in an extreme situation and lead to further catastrophic consequences. In this context, it becomes imperative to have an assessment of the limit beyond which the debris cannot be maintained in a coolable condition. This limit is typically identified by the occurrence of dryout, i.e. water vapour accumulation within the debris bed. This chapter attempts to highlight the underlying mechanism and the pertinent factors contributing to dryout occurrence in typical debris beds. Various experimental studies and numerical modelling carried out in this regard are thoroughly reviewed. Augmentation of the dryout limit using available techniques is discussed in detail. A numerical model that has been developed for analysing multiphase flow and the associated heat and mass transfer in such porous debris beds are also presented in this chapter along with some salient results.

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Abbreviations

a i :

Interfacial area density, m−1

c p :

Specific heat capacity, J/kg.K

D p :

Particle diameter, m

F :

Solid–fluid drag force, kg.m−2.s−2

g :

Acceleration due to gravity, m/s2

h :

Enthalpy, J/kg

K :

Permeability, m2

K r :

Relative permeability

m :

Mass transfer rate, kg.s−1

p :

Pressure, Pa

q :

Volumetric heat transfer rate, W.m−3

R :

Interfacial momentum exchange coefficient, kg.m−3.s−1

T :

Temperature, K

V :

Velocity, m.s−1

α :

Volume fraction

ɛ f :

Porosity

η :

Passability, m

η r :

Relative passability

λ :

Thermal conductivity, W.m−1.K−1

μ :

Viscosity, kg.m−1.s−1

ρ :

Density, kg.m−3

ψ :

Sphericity

f :

Fluid phase

i :

Liquid–vapour interface

j :

Primary phase index

k :

Dispersed phase index

l :

Liquid phase

LC :

Liquid continuous regime

s :

Solid phase

sat :

Saturation value

v :

Vapour phase

VC :

Vapour continuous regime

′′′:

Volumetric quantities

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to AREVA SA for providing fellowship to the first author.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Nuclear Studies and Applications, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, 700032, India

    Aranyak Chakravarty

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, 700032, India

    Aranyak Chakravarty, Priyankan Datta, Koushik Ghosh, Swarnendu Sen & Achintya Mukhopadhyay

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  1. Aranyak Chakravarty
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  2. Priyankan Datta
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  3. Koushik Ghosh
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  4. Swarnendu Sen
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  5. Achintya Mukhopadhyay
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Swarnendu Sen .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Energy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi, India

    Kaushik Saha

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Avinash Kumar Agarwal

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India

    Koushik Ghosh

  4. Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL, USA

    Sibendu Som

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Chakravarty, A., Datta, P., Ghosh, K., Sen, S., Mukhopadhyay, A. (2019). Coolability of Heat-Generating Porous Debris Beds in Severe Accident Situations. In: Saha, K., Kumar Agarwal, A., Ghosh, K., Som, S. (eds) Two-Phase Flow for Automotive and Power Generation Sectors. Energy, Environment, and Sustainability. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3256-2_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3256-2_12

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