Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Solidification of Gallium in an Initially Emptied Horizontal Pipe Flow

Abstract

In a reactor core meltdown under postulated severe accidents, the molten material (corium) could be ejected or relocated through existing vessel penetrations (cooling pipe connections), thus potentially contaminating other locations in the power plant. There exists, however, a potential for plugging of melt flow due to its complete solidification, providing the availability of an adequate heat sink. Therefore, a numerical model was created to simulate the flow of molten metal through an initially empty horizontal pipe. The numerical model was verified using a previously developed analytical model and validated against experimental tests with gallium (low melting temperature) as a substitute for corium. The numerical model was able to predict the penetration length (length of distance traveled by the molten metal) after a complete blockage occurred with an average percent error range of 9%. Since the numerical model has been verified and validated, the model was updated to predict the penetration length in the cooling pipe in case of a severe accident. The model was used to predict the penetration length for different Reynolds numbers and pipe diameters, which resulted in the range of penetration length from about 0.33 m to 0.93 m.