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Computational Analysis of Heat Removal from the Core-Melt Catcher in a BN-800 Vessel in the Case of a Serious Unanticipated Accident

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Abstract

A numerical analysis is performed of the cooling efficiency of a bed consisting of fragments of a destroyed core on a BN-800 catcher. A stationary model of the effective thermal conductivity is used to calculate the vertical distribution of the temperature in a heat-releasing layer, including a porous layer located in the coolant, taking account of the aggregate state of the components. The ST0-BED code is tested on numerical results obtained using explicit expressions derived from an analytical solution. The physical accuracy of the method is checked on the results of series-D experiments performed at the Sandia Laboratories in the USA. The numerical estimates show that the cooling of the heat-releasing mass consisting of fuel and the source material of the core assemblies on the BN-800 catcher occurs in the case of a serious accident with heat release density corresponding to 5.5 h after the reactor becomes subcritical. The maximum temperature in the bed at this time will be lower than the boiling temperature of the fuel. The temperature on the catcher is 650–900°C.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nizhnii Novgorod State Technical University, Russia

    G. N. Vlasichev

  2. I. I. Afrikantov Experimental Design Office of Machine Engineering, Russia

    N. G. Kuzavkov

Authors
  1. G. N. Vlasichev
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  2. N. G. Kuzavkov
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Vlasichev, G.N., Kuzavkov, N.G. Computational Analysis of Heat Removal from the Core-Melt Catcher in a BN-800 Vessel in the Case of a Serious Unanticipated Accident. Atomic Energy 92, 100–109 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015814320039

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