Thermal Fragmentation Research Articles

Early science with the Large Millimetre Telescope: An LMT/AzTEC 1.1 mm Survey of dense cores in the Monoceros R2 giant molecular cloud

We present a 1.1~mm census of dense cores in the Mon~R2 Giant Molecular Cloud with the AzTEC instrument on the Large Millimeter Telescope (LMT). We detect 295 cores (209 starless, and 86 with protostars) in a two square degree shallow survey. We also carry out a deep follow-up survey of 9 regions with low to intermediate ($3<A_V<7$) gas column densities and detect 60 new cores in the deeper survey which allows us to derive a completeness limit. After performing corrections for low signal-to-noise cores, we find a median core mass of $\sim 2.1 \text{M}_{\odot}$ and a median size of $ 0.08$~pc. $46\%$ of the cores (141) have masses exceeding the local Bonor-Ebert mass for cores with T=12K, suggesting that in the absence of supporting non-thermal pressure, these regions are unstable to gravitational collapse. We present the core mass function (CMF) for various subdivisions of the core sample. We find that cores with masses $>$10~$M_{\odot}$ are exclusively found in regions with high core number densities and that the CMF of the starless cores has an excess of low-mass cores ($<$5~$M_{\odot}$) compared to the CMF of protostellar cores. We report a power law correlation of index $1.99 \pm 0.03$ between local core mass density and gas column density (as traced by Herschel) over a wide range of size scales (0.3-5~pc). This power law is consistent with that predicted for thermal fragmentation of a self-gravitating sheet.

Gas-to-particle partitioning of major biogenic oxidation products: a study on freshly formed and aged biogenic SOA

Abstract. Secondary organic aerosols (SOAs) play a key role in climate change and air quality. Determining the fundamental parameters that distribute organic compounds between the phases is essential, as atmospheric lifetime and impacts change drastically between the gas and particle phase. In this work, gas-to-particle partitioning of major biogenic oxidation products was investigated using three different aerosol chemical characterization techniques. The aerosol collection module, the collection thermal desorption unit, and the chemical analysis of aerosols online are different aerosol sampling inlets connected to a proton-transfer reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometer (ACM-PTR-ToF-MS, TD-PTR-ToF-MS, and CHARON-PTR-ToF-MS, respectively, referred to hereafter as ACM, TD, and CHARON). These techniques were deployed at the atmosphere simulation chamber SAPHIR to perform experiments on the SOA formation and aging from different monoterpenes (β-pinene, limonene) and real plant emissions (Pinus sylvestris L.). The saturation mass concentration C* and thus the volatility of the individual ions was determined based on the simultaneous measurement of their signal in the gas and particle phase. A method to identify and exclude ions affected by thermal dissociation during desorption and ionic dissociation in the ionization chamber of the proton-transfer reaction mass spectrometer (PTR-MS) was developed and tested for each technique. Narrow volatility distributions with organic compounds in the semi-volatile (SVOCs – semi-volatile organic compounds) to intermediate-volatility (IVOCs – intermediate-volatility organic compounds) regime were found for all systems studied. Despite significant differences in the aerosol collection and desorption methods of the proton-transfer-reaction (PTR)-based techniques, a comparison of the C* values obtained with different techniques was found to be in good agreement (within 1 order of magnitude) with deviations explained by the different operating conditions of the PTR-MS. The C* of the identified organic compounds were mapped onto the two-dimensional volatility basis set (2D-VBS), and results showed a decrease in C* with increasing oxidation state. For all experiments conducted in this study, identified partitioning organic compounds accounted for 20–30 % of the total organic mass measured from an aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS). Further comparison between observations and theoretical calculations was performed for species found in our experiments that were also identified in previous publications. Theoretical calculations based on the molecular structure of the compounds showed, within the uncertainties ranges, good agreement with the experimental C* for most SVOCs, while IVOCs deviated by up to a factor of 300. These latter differences are discussed in relation to two main processes affecting these systems: (i) possible interferences by thermal and ionic fragmentation of higher molecular-weight compounds, produced by accretion and oligomerization reactions, that fragment in the m∕z range detected by the PTR-MS and (ii) kinetic influences in the distribution between the gas and particle phase with gas-phase condensation, diffusion in the particle phase, and irreversible uptake.

Analytical characterization of artist’s paint systems based on emulsion polymers and synthetic organic pigments

The identification of artworks’ constituent materials is a prerequisite for the development of appropriate art conservation methodologies, as well as for addressing authenticity issues. The present study focuses on the characterization of acrylic emulsion paints, with the use of Pyrolysis coupled with Gas Chromatography / Mass Spectrometry (Py-GC/MS), in combination with Fourier Transform Infrared in ATR mode (FTIR-ATR) and Scanning Electron Microscopy coupled with Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDX). Commercial paints manufactured by Liquitex (USA) and Rembrandt series of Royal Talens (NL) were chosen for the study; the four paints selected contained the synthetic organic pigments, Hansa yellow (PY3), diketopyrrolopyrrole (PR264), phthalocyanine blue (PB15) or phthalocyanine green (PG7). The results provide clear evidence of recent changes in the paint formulations regarding the polymeric binder, with the addition of styrene to the co-polymer nBA/MMA. Furthermore, different dispersants/surfactants were detected within the paints from the two different brands. Additional information was acquired on the additives incorporated in the paint, such as UV absorbers, optical brighteners, antioxidants and biocides. With regards to the identification of the synthetic organic pigments, several new molecular fragments were recorded using the applied experimental set-up at 600 °C, as compared to previous works. The products formed by the pyrolysis of the pigments are presented and discussed, showing evidence of different thermal fragmentation pathways as regards the synthetic organic pigments, when mixed in the emulsion paints.

Fragmentation and disk formation during high-mass star formation

Context. High-mass stars form in clusters, but neither the early fragmentation processes nor the detailed physical processes leading to the most massive stars are well understood. Aims. We aim to understand the fragmentation, as well as the disk formation, outflow generation, and chemical processes during high-mass star formation on spatial scales of individual cores. Methods. Using the IRAM Northern Extended Millimeter Array (NOEMA) in combination with the 30 m telescope, we have observed in the IRAM large program CORE the 1.37 mm continuum and spectral line emission at high angular resolution (~0.4″) for a sample of 20 well-known high-mass star-forming regions with distances below 5.5 kpc and luminosities larger than 104 L⊙. Results. We present the overall survey scope, the selected sample, the observational setup, and the main goals of CORE. Scientifically, we concentrated on the mm continuum emission on scales on the order of 1000 AU. We detect strong mm continuum emission from all regions, mostly due to the emission from cold dust. The fragmentation properties of the sample are diverse. We see extremes where some regions are dominated by a single high-mass core whereas others fragment into as many as 20 cores. A minimum-spanning-tree analysis finds fragmentation at scales on the order of the thermal Jeans length or smaller suggesting that turbulent fragmentation is less important than thermal gravitational fragmentation. The diversity of highly fragmented vs. singular regions can be explained by varying initial density structures and/or different initial magnetic field strengths. Conclusions. A large sample of high-mass star-forming regions at high spatial resolution allows us to study the fragmentation properties of young cluster-forming regions. The smallest observed separations between cores are found around the angular resolution limit which indicates that further fragmentation likely takes place on even smaller spatial scales. The CORE project with its numerous spectral line detections will address a diverse set of important physical and chemical questions in the field of high-mass star formation.

Electron-Beam Processing of Petroleum Sludge

Thermal radiolysis under the conditions of electron-beam distillation at a dose to 240 kGy converts petroleum sludge into C4–C31 hydrocarbons with a yield to 80 wt %. The condensate distilled off contains about 20 wt % alkenes, thereby indicating the chain regeneration and thermal fragmentation of bulky alkyl radicals. The yield of the condensate increases to 90 wt % in the case of mixing the initial petroleum sludge with lignin. In this case, the yield of alkenes is lower due to the binding of unsaturated compounds by the components of charcoal and tar and because of a change in the mechanism of alkane fragmentation in the presence of lignin.

Steel Wire Mesh as a Thermally Resistant SERS Substrate.

In this paper, we present novel type of Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) platform, based on stainless steel wire mesh (SSWM) covered with thin silver layer. The stainless steel wire mesh, typically used in chemical engineering industry, is a cheap and versatile substrate for SERS platforms. SSWM consists of multiple steel wires with diameter of tens of micrometers, which gives periodical structure and high stiffness. Moreover, stainless steel provides great resistance towards organic and inorganic solvents and provides excellent heat dissipation. It is worth mentioning that continuous irradiation of the laser beam over the SERS substrate can be a source of significant increase in the local temperature of metallic nanostructures, which can lead to thermal degradation or fragmentation of the adsorbed analyte. Decomposition or fragmentation of the analysed sample usually causea a significant decrease in the intensity of recorded SERS bands, which either leads to false SERS responses or enables the analysis of spectral data. To our knowledge, we have developed for the first time the thermally resistant SERS platform. This type of SERS substrate, termed Ag/SSWM, exhibit high sensitivity (Enhancement Factor (EF) = 106) and reproducibility (Relative Standard Deviation (RSD) of 6.4%) towards detection of p-mercaptobenzoic acid (p-MBA). Besides, Ag/SSWM allows the specific detection and differentiation between Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial species: Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis in label-free and reproducible manner. The unique properties of designed substrate overcome the limitations associated with photo- and thermal degradation of sensitive bacterial samples. Thus, a distinctive SERS analysis of all kinds of chemical and biological samples at high sensitivity and selectivity can be performed on the developed SERS-active substrate.

ALMA observations of RCW 120 Fragmentation at 0.01 pc scale

Context. Little is known about how high-mass stars form. Around 30% of the young high-mass stars in the Galaxy are observed at the edges of ionized (H II) regions. Therefore these are places of choice to study the earliest stages of high-mass star formation, especially toward the most massive condensations. High spatial resolution observations in the millimeter range might reveal how these stars form and how they assemble their mass. Aims. We want to study the fragmentation process down to the 0.01 pc scale in the most massive condensation (1700 M⊙) observed at the southwestern edge of the H ii region RCW 120 where the most massive Herschel cores (~124 M⊙ in average) could form high-mass stars. Methods. Using ALMA 3 mm continuum observations toward the densest and most massive millimetric condensation (Condensation 1) of RCW 120, we used the getimages and getsources algorithms to extract the sources detected with ALMA and obtained their physical parameters. The fragmentation of the Herschel cores is discussed through their Jeans mass to understand the properties of these future stars. Results. We extracted 18 fragments from the ALMA continuum observation at 3 mm toward eight cores detected with Herschel, whose mass and deconvolved size range from 2 M⊙ to 32 M⊙ and from 1.6 mpc to 28.8 mpc, respectively. The low degree of fragmen- tation observed regarding thermal Jeans fragmentation suggests that the observed fragmentation is inconsistent with ideal gravitational fragmentation and other ingredients such as turbulence or magnetic fields should be added to explain this inconsistency. Finally, the range of the mass of the fragments indicates that the densest condensation of RCW 120 is a favorable place for the formation of high-mass stars with the presence of a probable UCH ii region associated with the 27 M⊙ Fragment 1 of Core 2.

MASSES: An SMA Large Project Surveying Protostars to Reveal How Stars Gain their Mass

AbstractLow-mass stars form from the gravitational collapse of dense molecular cloud cores. While a general consensus picture of this collapse process has emerged, many details on how mass is transferred from cores to stars remain poorly understood. MASSES (Mass Assembly of Stellar Systems and their Evolution with the SMA), an SMA large project, has just finished surveying all 74 Class 0 and Class I protostars in the nearby Perseus molecular cloud to reveal the interplay between fragmentation, angular momentum, and outflows in regulating accretion and setting the final masses of stars. Scientific highlights are presented in this proceedings, covering the topics of episodic accretion, hierarchical thermal Jeans fragmentation, angular momentum transfer, envelope grain sizes, and disk evolution.

A search for evidence of small-scale inhomogeneities in dense cores from line profile analysis

In order to search for intensity fluctuations on the HCN(1–0) and HCO+(1–0) line profiles, which could arise due to possible small-scale inhomogeneous structure, long-term observations of high-mass star-forming cores S140 and S199 were carried out. The data were processed by the Fourier filtering method. Line temperature fluctuations that exceed the noise level were detected. Assuming the cores consist of a large number of randomly moving small thermal fragments, the total number of fragments is ∼ 4 × 106 for the region with linear size ∼ 0.1 pc in S140 and ∼ 106 for the region with linear size ∼ 0.3 pc in S199. Physical parameters of fragments in S140 were obtained from detailed modeling of the HCN emission in the framework of the clumpy cloud model.

Condition for low-mass star formation in shock-compressed metal-poor clouds

Shocks may have been prevalent in the early Universe, associated with virialization and supernova explosions, etc. Here, we study thermal evolution and fragmentation of shock-compressed clouds, by using a one-zone model with detailed thermal and chemical processes. We explore a large range of initial density (1-1e5 /cm^3), metallicity (0-1e-2 Z_sun), UV strength (0-500 times Galactic value), and cosmic microwave background temperature (10 and 30 K). Shock-compressed clouds contract isobarically via atomic and molecular line cooling, until self-gravitating clumps are formed by fragmentation. If the metals are only in the gas-phase, the clump mass is higher than ~ 3 M_sun in any conditions we studied. Although in some cases with a metallicity higher than ~ 1e-3 Z_sun, re-fragmentation of a clump is caused by metal-line cooling, this fragment mass is higher than ~ 30 M_sun. On the other hand, if about half the mass of metals is condensed in dust grains, as in the Galactic interstellar medium, dust cooling triggers re-fragmentation of a clump into sub-solar mass pieces, for metallicities higher than ~ 1e-5 Z_sun. Therefore, the presence of dust is essential in low-mass (< M_sun) star formation from a shock-compressed cloud.

Meet the Editors: Dietrich A. Volmer

Meet the Editors: Dietrich A. Volmer

Study on thermal fragmentation characteristics of a superheated alumina droplet

In the frame of the European Commission FP7 SAFEST project, IRSN proposed to experimentally investigate the steam explosion triggering mechanisms of a superheated alumina droplet falling into water, through a set of experiments in the Micro Interactions in Steam Explosion Energetics facility (MISTEE) at KTH. Since thermal fragmentation is considered to be a likely process for the triggering of Steam Explosions in the KROTOS tests (performed at CEA) with alumina, the ability of a single droplet of such material to undergo thermally induced fine fragmentation is studied on the MISTEE facility with a close-up visualization.A series of experiments were conducted, where droplets of molten alumina were discharged into a water pool and potentially exposed to a small pressure wave. The intense interactions were recorded with a high-speed camera along with the pressure in the droplet vicinity.The ability of alumina to undergo thermal fragmentation is expected to be firstly contingent on the stability of the vapour film enshrouding the melt droplet. The water and melt temperatures may then play a crucial role on the vapour film stability, and therefore on the observation of a steam explosion. Indeed, under high to moderate water sub-cooling conditions, experimental observations indicate that fine fragmentation of the melt can occur when the droplet is exposed to even a weak pressure wave, in the range of 0.15 MPa. In contrast, melt fine fragmentation is suppressed at low water sub-cooling conditions (less than 30 °C), where the formation of a thick vapour film (and large wake) is observed, and which is probably too stable to be destabilized by the weak pressure wave.The effect of the melt temperature on thermal fragmentation is also assessed. This parameter influences the solidification of the droplet and the strength of the explosion as it determines the available heat energy. In the present conditions, fine fragmentation of melt occurred even at quite low melt superheat (≈60 °C). For a high melt superheat (above 200 °C) a very energetic spontaneous steam explosion was observed. A physical analysis on the debris particles acquired indicates a mass median diameter of ≈100 µm, comparable to the one observed in the KROTOS alumina experiments.The MISTEE experimental results are finally used to assess the heat and mass transfer modelling of the coolant during the fragmentation process in the FCI code MC3D.

Ion Mobility Spectrometer-Fragmenter-Ion Mobility Spectrometer Analogue of a Triple Quadrupole for High-Resolution Ion Analysis at Atmospheric Pressure.

Two differential mobility analyzers (DMAs) acting as narrow band mobility filters are coupled in series, with a thermal fragmentation cell placed in between, such that parent ions selected in DMA1 are fragmented in the cell at atmospheric pressure, and their product ions are analyzed on DMA2. Additional mass spectrometer analysis is performed for ion identification purposes. A key feature of the tandem DMA is the short residence time (∼0.2 ms) of ions in the analyzer, compared to tens of milliseconds in drift tube ion mobility spectrometers (IMS). Ion fragmentation within the analyzer and associated mobility tails are therefore negligible for a DMA but not necessarily so in conventional IMS. This advantage of the DMA is demonstrated here by sharply defined product ion mobility peaks. Ambient pressure ion fragmentation has been previously demonstrated by both purely thermal means as well as rapidly oscillating intense electric fields. Our purely thermal fragmentation cell here achieves temperatures up to 700 °C measured inside the heating coil of a cylindrical ceramic heater, through whose somewhat colder axis we direct a beam of mobility-selected ions. We investigate tandem separation of chloride adducts from the explosives EGDN, nitroglycerine (NG), PETN, and RDX and from deprotonated TNT. Atmospheric pressure fragmentation of the first three ions yields one or several previously reported fragments, providing highly distinctive tandem DMA channels for explosive identification at 1 atm. RDX ions had not been previously fragmented at ambient pressure, yet [RDX + Cl]- converts up to 7% (at 300 °C) into a 166 m/ z product. The known high thermal resilience of TNT is confirmed here by its rather modest conversion, even when the ceramic is heated to 700 °C. At this temperature some previously reported fragments are found, but their mobilities are fairly close to each other and to the one of the far more abundant parent ion, making their identification by mobility alone problematic. We anticipate that moderately higher fragmenter temperatures will produce smaller fragments with mobilities readily separated from that of [TNT - H]-.

Coal char particle secondary fragmentation in an entrained-flow coal-water slurry gasifier

Coal char particle size in the gasifier has an influence on the carbon conversion, gasifier slagging as well as the particle matter content in raw syngas. The particle size distribution in a bench-scale opposed multi-burner (OMB) gasifier illustrated that the secondary fragmentation behavior exists in the entrained-flow gasifier after the particles moving from high temperature impinging flame region to the gasification chamber outlet region. Particles larger than 200 μm in the impinging flame region have porosity structures with fragile shapes. Particle size distributions under different oxygen to carbon ratios (O/C) also indicate that there is an obvious fragmentation while the particle size is larger than 200 μm. As long as the coal char particles move from the impinging flame region towards the gasification chamber outlet region, the secondary fragmentation is probably taken place as a result of percolative fragmentation, undergoing gasification reactions and thermal stress. However, thermal stress fragmentation only has an influence on the particle sizes larger than 350 μm according to the calculation by a simplified mathematical model.

Experimental and modeling study on the effects of dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP) addition on H2, CH4, and C2H4 ignition

Dimethyl methylphosphonate (C3H9O3P, DMMP) is considered both a surrogate of Sarin, a chemical weapon of mass destruction, and a fire suppressant. In this study, new ignition delay time measurements were taken in a heated shock tube for a mixture of DMMP/O2 in 99% Ar and for diluted mixtures of H2, CH4, and C2H4 doped with DMMP. These data can be used to validate and refine a detailed kinetics model for DMMP. Results showed that the DMMP addition did not modify the ignition delay times obtained with the C2H4 mixture, while a strong promoting effect was observed with CH4. Results were compared to detailed kinetics models from the literature, and it was shown that these models need to be significantly improved. A tentative model was assembled based on a modern hydrocarbon mechanism from the group of Curran and on updated phosphorus chemistry and thermochemistry recently proposed. Computations using this tentative model exhibited the need to revise several aspects of the DMMP oxidation chemistry, such as the rate coefficients of the reactions describing the rapid thermal fragmentation of DMMP and potentially the interactions between the phosphorus chemistry and radicals and molecules in the C2 chemistry.

Hierarchical Fragmentation in the Perseus Molecular Cloud: From the Cloud Scale to Protostellar Objects

Abstract We present a study of hierarchical structure in the Perseus molecular cloud, from the scale of the entire cloud ( pc) to smaller clumps (∼1 pc), cores (∼0.05–0.1 pc), envelopes (∼300–3000 au), and protostellar objects (∼15 au). We use new observations from the Submillimeter Array (SMA) large project “Mass Assembly of Stellar Systems and their Evolution with the SMA (MASSES)” to probe the envelopes, and recent single-dish and interferometric observations from the literature for the remaining scales. This is the first study to analyze hierarchical structure over five scales in the same cloud complex. We compare the number of fragments with the number of Jeans masses in each scale to calculate the Jeans efficiency, or the ratio of observed to expected number of fragments. The velocity dispersion is assumed to arise either from purely thermal motions or from combined thermal and non-thermal motions inferred from observed spectral line widths. For each scale, thermal Jeans fragmentation predicts more fragments than observed, corresponding to inefficient thermal Jeans fragmentation. For the smallest scale, thermal plus non-thermal Jeans fragmentation also predicts too many protostellar objects. However, at each of the larger scales thermal plus non-thermal Jeans fragmentation predicts fewer than one fragment, corresponding to no fragmentation into envelopes, cores, and clumps. Over all scales, the results are inconsistent with complete Jeans fragmentation based on either thermal or thermal plus non-thermal motions. They are more nearly consistent with inefficient thermal Jeans fragmentation, where the thermal Jeans efficiency increases from the largest to the smallest scale.

Chemical dynamics simulations of CID of peptide ions: comparisons between TIK(H+)2 and TLK(H+)2 fragmentation dynamics, and with thermal simulations.

Gas phase unimolecular fragmentation of the two model doubly protonated tripeptides threonine-isoleucine-lysine (TIK) and threonine-leucine-lysine (TLK) is studied using chemical dynamics simulations. Attention is focused on different aspects of collision induced dissociation (CID): fragmentation pathways, energy transfer, theoretical mass spectra, fragmentation mechanisms, and the possibility of distinguishing isoleucine (I) and leucine (L). Furthermore, discussion is given regarding the differences between single collision CID activation, which results from a localized impact between the ions and a colliding molecule N2, and previous thermal activation simulation results; Z. Homayoon, S. Pratihar, E. Dratz, R. Snider, R. Spezia, G. L. Barnes, V. Macaluso, A. Martin-Somer and W. L. Hase, J. Phys. Chem. A, 2016, 120, 8211-8227. Upon thermal activation unimolecular fragmentation is statistical and in accord with RRKM unimolecular rate theory. Simulations show that in collisional activation some non-statistical fragmentation occurs, including shattering, which is not present when the ions dissociate statistically. Products formed by non-statistical shattering mechanisms may be related to characteristic mass spectrometry peaks which distinguish the two isomers I and L.

Reconfigurable paramagnetic microswimmers: Brownian motion affects non-reciprocal actuation.

Swimming at low Reynolds number is typically dominated by a large viscous drag, therefore microscale swimmers require non-reciprocal body deformation to generate locomotion. Purcell described a simple mechanical swimmer at the microscale consisting of three rigid components connected together with two hinges. Here we present a simple microswimmer consisting of two rigid paramagnetic particles with different sizes. When placed in an eccentric magnetic field, this simple microswimmer exhibits non-reciprocal body motion and its swimming locomotion can be directed in a controllable manner. Additional components can be added to create a multibody microswimmer, whereby the particles act cooperatively and translate in a given direction. For some multibody swimmers, the stochastic thermal forces fragment the arm, which therefore modifies the swimming strokes and changes the locomotive speed. This work offers insight into directing the motion of active systems with novel time-varying magnetic fields. It also reveals that Brownian motion not only affects the locomotion of reciprocal swimmers that are subject to the Scallop theorem, but also affects that of non-reciprocal swimmers.

Thermal fragmentation and pulverization properties of lignite in drying process and its mechanism

ABSTRACTThe fragmentation and pulverization properties of lignite in the different drying processes were investigated in this study. Lignite particles were dried at different temperatures (100, 140, and 180°C), particle sizes (6–25 mm) and drying time (0–60 min), and the parameters of fragmentation index (Sf) and pulverization ratio (β) were used to describe the fragmentation and pulverization properties of lignite. The results indicated the fragmentation index increased from 3.10 to 30.41 with the increase in temperature and particle size. Pulverization ratio increased slightly from 0.39 to 0.63% with temperature, and it decreased from 0.58 to 0.36% with particle size. Fragmentation index and pulverization ratio increased rapidly from 1.20 to 5.50 and 0.05 to 0.47%, respectively, and then tended to grow slowly with drying time. Fragmentation index was linearly related to the loss of moisture content. Different kinds of fragmentation and pulverization occurred at the same time: fine particles exfoliated from the surface, and there were also fragmentation at the outer zone or the core of the particles to produce the smaller particles. The evolutions of macropores might be the main reason of thermal fragmentation.

A non-equilibrium multiphase model for pressure escalation in fuel coolant interaction during explosion

A non-equilibrium model is used to simulate the multiphase interactions of molten fuel and coolant at explosion stage. In the current model, fluids are liquid coolant, vapor, molten drop and molten fragment. According to the non-equilibrium concept, an energy balance is built at vapor film surrounding the melt. Heat transferred from the melt to the vapor film interface directly participates to evaporate the liquid coolant, without heating the bulk liquid. Mass transfer between molten drop and molten fragment are dominated by thermal and hydrodynamic fragmentation mechanisms. The conservation equations are solved by the modified MCBA-SIMPLE method, with a semi-implicit iteration. Shock tube tests in two-phase medium and two simulations of the KROTOS experiments are used to validate the model. Simulations of KROTOS42 are performed for sensitivity study on fragmentation model, melt diameter, void fraction and melt temperature. Results reveal that the non-equilibrium multiphase model can give reasonable predictions on pressure generation and escalation in fuel coolant interaction. Fragmentation model analysis reveals that thermal fragmentation at trigger stage has unobvious effect on hydrodynamic fragmentation and hydrodynamic fragmentation is the major factor on pressure escalation. With the escalation of pressure, hydrodynamic fragmentation based on stripping mechanism results in a weaker pressurization against Rayleigh–Taylor mechanism. It is suggested that Rayleigh Taylor instability will be more preponderant at higher relative velocity in vapor explosion. Besides, the sensitivity study indicates that the steam generation and quenching process during the premixing have significant effect on explosion. Further, the model is preliminarily applied to a reactor simulation and integrity of the cavity wall is evaluated.