Study of the processes of corium-melt retention in the reactor pressure vessel (INVECOR)

Integral large-scale vessel retention experiments have been performed using up to 60 kg of prototypic corium melt (C-30) that is discharged from the electric melting furnace from a height of 1,7 m into a model RPV (Reactor Pressure Vessel) (40cm dia. x 60cm depth) with plasmatrons for decay heating of corium. The experiments on corium retention in the vessel were 1-2 hours. Specific power release in corium was 5-8 W.cm3 and the maximum temperature of the RPV wall was up to 1300°C. The following has been achieved during the project: 1) The technology of the protective coating on the graphite crucibles and on surfaces of plasmatron graphite nozzles has been developed. The plasmatron design now gives improved simulation of decay heat in corium. This has required numerous trials to set up the experimental systems. 2) Calculations of the corium pool and its heating efficiency, distributions of thermal fluxes and temperatures in the RPV have been performed. Validation of the models for the large-scale integral experiments has been conducted by means of specific tests. 3) 4 large-scale experiments with sustained energy release into the molten corium pool in the model RPV using oxidic corium (C-30) and oxidic-metallic corium (C-30+10 wt% stainless steel) have been conducted. 4) Post-test analysis of corium samples and RPV steel has been done. This included sectioning of corium ingot and the RPV wall, XRD, optical metallography and element analysis. It was found during the post-test examination that solidified corium exists both in the form of a continuous, massive ingot and in the form of small fragments located above the ingot. There was insignificant erosion of the steel surface of the RPV wall at the impact point of the corium jet. The results lead us to the following preliminary conclusions: 1) The relatively low thermal fluxes through a RPV model wall could be explained as follows: firstly, the thermal insulation on the RPV external surface results in the redistribution of thermal fluxes normal to, and along, the RPV wall; secondly, there is incomplete dissolution of uranium dioxide by the metallic zirconium melt in the melting furnace and this endothermic dissolution of UO2 continues during the decay heat generation in the corium retained in the RPV; thirdly, the gap caused by differential expansion between the corium crust and the RPV wall reduces heat transfer; fourthly, the layered character of the corium crust effectively reduces the crust's thermal conductivity. 2) Steady-state phenomena during corium retention in the reactor vessel are highly dependent on the previous transient processes of the melt speed dropping onto the lower head, the corium pool formation and the configuration of this pool. The presence of a fragmented debris layer over a massive corium ingot suggests that an optimistic prediction about corium coolability can be made. Here, with a large area for "corium/water" interaction on the top layer of debris, internal flooding & cooling seems probable.