Model of interaction of a steam-water cavity with a molten metal near a solid wall

Abstract

To evaluate the consequences of an accidental rupture of a steam generator heat exchange tube in a reactor with a heavy liquid metal coolant, a mathematical model of the interaction of a steam-water cavity with molten metal near a solid wall was developed. The melt flow is considered as a potential flow of an incompressible fluid. The heat exchange between the melt and the steam-water mixture is not taken into account. The steam-water mixture is modeled by an equilibrium two-phase model. It is believed that the evolution of the steam-water cavity is an isentropic process. The numerical implementation of the mathematical model was performed using the boundary element method. Verification of the developed model using a numerical solution of a spherically symmetric problem of the interaction of a spherical steam-water cavity with a melt in infinite space, obtained using the Rayleigh-Plesset equation, showed good agreement between the solutions obtained by different methods. Using the developed model, a test calculation of the interaction of a steam-water cavity with the surrounding molten metal near a solid wall was performed. Analysis of the calculation revealed several stages of this interaction