Transient deformation of LMFBR cores due to local failure: Experimental and theoretical investigation

Abstract

Abstract This paper describes an effort to predict the mechanical core deformation caused by local failure within an LMFBR core. These activities are intended to cover all the potential core damage possibilities currently under discussion and analysis. In particular it is shown that the reactor can be scrammed in time under pessimistic-realistic pressure transients and that the damage does not exceed tolerable limits. A special gas generator technique to simulate a fuel coolant explosion has been developed at AWRE Foulness. This has been used to perform the explosion tests needed to demonstrate the safety of the SNR 300 core. A molten fuel—coolant interaction (MFCI) experimental facility, and a drop tower to carry out sub-assembly crushing tests are described. Theoretical studies are presented which use mass-spring-dashpot, lumped parameter-hinge or micro-rigid-lumped-mass models. They simulate the crushing and bending of a single sub-assembly interacting with the coolant as well as the behaviour of a multirow “spoke” model. For the core analysis only preliminary computational results are presently available which can be compared with the full scale tests in which the fluid pressure did not exceed a “threshold” of about 100 bar. Parameter studies show the influence of pulse shape, material properties as well as the time integrator. Some of the unanswered question concern the dydrodynamic feedback of the deformations on the pressure distribution in space and time. Also the behaviour of the highly irradiation-embrittled cores is poorly understood today. Finally, an enhanced energy release package to describe the MFCI must still be added to the reactivity calculation module of a future fast reactor dynamics code.