Metallic melt infiltration in preheated debris bed and the effect of solidification

Abstract

The re-melting of multi-component debris is important for both in-vessel and ex-vessel phases of severe accident progression in nuclear power plants. However, current knowledge is limited with respect to understanding the associated complex phenomena and their interactions. In this paper, the phenomenon of melt infiltration through a porous debris bed with and without solidification is examined by synthesizing the data obtained from ongoing experimental research (REMCOD facility). In this regard, results obtained from 12 experiments are analyzed. Eight tests were conducted for melt infiltration through debris at temperatures above solidification. At this condition, two flow regimes are identified for the melt flow inside the hot porous debris, which is initially dominated by capillary forces and hydrostatic head and then later by the gravity forces. In addition, 4 tests were performed for melt penetration into cold debris where melt infiltration is limited by solidification. It was found that the depth of penetration is correlated with the difference between “sensible heat of melt” and “the amount of heat required to heat the bed up to the melting point of specific melt composition.”