Development of Debris Coolability Analysis Module in Severe Accident Analysis Code SAMPSON for IMPACT Project

Debris coolability in the lower plenum of the reactor pressure vessel is an important factor for the evaluation of in-vessel debris retention. The debris coolability analysis module has been developed to predict more mechanistically the safety margin of the present reactor vessels in a severe accident. The module calculates debris spreading and cooling through melting and solidification in combination with the temperature distribution of the vessel wall and it evaluates the wall failure. Debris spreading is solved by the explicit method on a quasi-three-dimensional scheme and debris coolability is solved on the basis of natural convection analysis with melting and solidification. The calculated results for spreading were compared with the results from a water spreading experiment on the floor and the results for coolability were compared with those from an n-octadecane melting experiment in the rectangular vessel. The comparisons showed the capability for predictions of the spearhead transportation in the debris spreading process and of the melting front transportation and time evolution of the fluid temperature in the melting process. The module provides a good tool for the prediction of the reactor pressure vessel safety margin in a severe accident through the analysis of debris spreading and coolability.