Numerical Simulation of Concrete Ablation and Corium Cooling for Molten Corium-Concrete Interaction (MCCI)

Abstract

Abstract In a postulated severe accident situation in Light Water Reactors (LWRs), if the core fuel cannot be effectively cooled, the reactor core material will be heated and form a molten corium in the lower head. When the lower plenum of the reactor vessel fails, the molten corium may flow into the cavity under the reactor vessel and react with the concrete. This process, known as Molten Corium Concrete Interaction (MCCI), is characterized by concrete ablation and oxidation of metal in the corium, both of which produce a large amount of combustible and non-condensable gases, threatening the integrity of the containment. Thus in-depth study of the characteristics of concrete ablation and corium cooling have great significance. In the present study, an MCCI analysis code, MOQUICO (molten corium concrete interaction and corium cooling code, QUI means quintic) has been developed. The MACE M3b and OECD/MCCI CCI-3 tests were analyzed to validate the developed code. The melt temperature, axial and radial ablation depths, upward heat flux were calculated and were in good agreement with the experimental measurements, which proved that the code is capable of simulating MCCI and related phenomena of LWRs. Sensitivity analyses on the factors of decay heat, concrete type and water injection moment were performed and analyzed.