Validation of ASTEC V2 models for the behaviour of corium in the vessel lower head

Carénini, L.; Fleurot, J.; Fichot, F.

doi:10.1016/j.nucengdes.2013.06.041

Cited by 11 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 11 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In integral SA codes, like the ASTEC code developed by IRSN (Chatelard et al 2014), the entire process of a reactor core meltdown accident is simulated, from initiating events to the release of radioactive materials. Different modules address different aspects of the accident, the corium behaviour in the lower plenum of the vessel being one of them (Carénini, Fleurot & Fichot 2014). In such a code, the focusing effect evaluation is based on a simplified approach proposed by Theofanous et al (1997), which combines correlations from both Rayleigh-Bénard and natural convection.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interaction between forced and natural convection in a thin cylindrical fluid layer at low Prandtl number

Rein,

Carénini,

Fichot

et al. 2023

J. Fluid Mech.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Motivated by nuclear safety issues, we study the heat transfers in a thin cylindrical fluid layer with imposed fluxes at the bottom and top surfaces (not necessarily equal) and a fixed temperature on the sides. We combine direct numerical simulations and a theoretical approach to derive scaling laws for the mean temperature and for the temperature difference between the top and bottom of the system. We find two asymptotic scaling laws depending on the flux ratio between the upper and lower boundaries. The first one is controlled by heat transfer to the side, for which we recover scaling laws characteristic of natural convection (Batchelor, Q. Appl. Maths, vol. 12, 1954, pp. 209–233). The second one is driven by vertical heat transfers analogous to Rayleigh–Bénard convection (Grossmann & Lohse, J. Fluid Mech., vol. 407, 2000, pp. 27–56). We show that the system is inherently inhomogeneous, and that the heat transfer results from a superposition of both asymptotic regimes. Keeping in mind nuclear safety models, we also derive a one-dimensional model of the radial temperature profile based on a detailed analysis of the flow structure, hence providing a way to relate this profile to the imposed boundary conditions.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%