Validation of fuel-coolant interaction model for severe accident simulations

Abstract

A specialized module VAPEX-M has been developed and implemented as a part of an integral code, SOCRAT, to enable the modeling of fuel-coolant interactions (FCIs) during severe accidents. The mathematical model and correlations for the main physical processes are described. Results of computational analysis of three experimental series reported in the literature are presented. The calculations were carried out by the combined SOCRAT/VAPEX code and were aimed at validation of the predictive capabilities of the code. The experiments chosen cover a wide range of physical parameters, which enables different aspects of the code to be verified, that is, drag correlations (MAGICO-2000), evaporation rate (QUEOS), fuel fragmentation, and interaction with the coolant in all complexity (FARO). Generally, reasonable agreement between the measured data and calculated results was obtained, which allows one to use the combined SOCRAT/VAPEX code for severe accidents analysis. Copyright © 2011 Vladimir Melikhov et al.