Mixing of Hydrogen-Steam Buoyancy Jets Released into the Upper Atmosphere of the Containment Building

Abstract

This study evaluates the spatial dilution of hydrogen concentration caused by steam-hydrogen buoyancy jets rising through the open top of the steam generator compartment during a loss-of-coolant accident in the OPR1000, the Korean Standard Nuclear Power Plant. The correlation of the concentration decay rate in the plume with relatively high buoyant flux was applied to estimate the hydrogen concentration in the rise distance of the buoyant jet. The MELCOR code was used to calculate the gas composition and discharge flow rate in the ruptured cold leg during the rapid cladding oxidation to determine the volume and buoyant fluxes that affect the mixing behavior. The concentration decay rate at the plume’s center decreases as the steam-hydrogen binary buoyant jet rises. Despite the assumed initial volume flux and simplified jet nozzle geometry, the decay rate correlation can assess conservatively the diluted hydrogen in a severe accident.