The Effective Convectivity Model for Simulation of Molten Metal Layer Heat Transfer in a Boiling Water Reactor Lower Head

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the development of approaches for assessment of core debris heat transfer and Control Rod Guide Tube (CRGT) cooling effectiveness in case of a Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) severe accident. We consider a hypothetical scenario with stratified (metal layer atop) melt pool in the lower plenum. Effective Convectivity Model (ECM) and Phase-Change ECM (PECM) are developed for the modeling of molten metal layer heat transfer. The PECM model takes into account reduced convection heat transfer in mushy zone and compositional convection that enables simulations of noneutectic binary mixture solidification and melting. The ECM and PECM are (i) validated against relevant experiments for both eutectic and noneutectic mixtures and (ii) benchmarked against CFD-generated data including the local heat transfer characteristics. The PECM is then applied to the analysis of heat transfer in a stratified heterogeneous debris pool taking into account CRGT cooling. The PECM simulation results show apparent efficacy of the CRGT cooling which can be utilized as Severe Accident Management (SAM) measure to protect the vessel wall from focusing effect caused by metallic layer.