To prevent direct contact of the melt and basemat concrete of the cavity in a postulated core melt accident, a core catcher concept is suggested. Upon ablation of the sacrificial layer on top of the core catcher while...To prevent direct contact of the melt and basemat concrete of the cavity in a postulated core melt accident, a core catcher concept is suggested. Upon ablation of the sacrificial layer on top of the core catcher while molten core material is discharged, a mixture of water and gas is injected from below. It is expected that a simultaneous injection of water and gas could prevent a possible steam explosion/spike and also suppress the rapid release of steam which might result in fast over-pressurization of the containment. A test facility for the core catcher using a thermite reaction technique for the generation of the melt was designed and constructed at Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute （KAERI）. The first series of tests were performed by using a mixture of Al, Fe2O3, and CaO as a stimulant. As a first try, only water was injected from the bottom of the melt through five water injection nozzles when the melt front reached the water injection nozzles. A description of the test facility for the core catcher, the thermite composition, and the methods of experiment is included. The test results are discussed.展开更多
文摘To prevent direct contact of the melt and basemat concrete of the cavity in a postulated core melt accident, a core catcher concept is suggested. Upon ablation of the sacrificial layer on top of the core catcher while molten core material is discharged, a mixture of water and gas is injected from below. It is expected that a simultaneous injection of water and gas could prevent a possible steam explosion/spike and also suppress the rapid release of steam which might result in fast over-pressurization of the containment. A test facility for the core catcher using a thermite reaction technique for the generation of the melt was designed and constructed at Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute （KAERI）. The first series of tests were performed by using a mixture of Al, Fe2O3, and CaO as a stimulant. As a first try, only water was injected from the bottom of the melt through five water injection nozzles when the melt front reached the water injection nozzles. A description of the test facility for the core catcher, the thermite composition, and the methods of experiment is included. The test results are discussed.
