Direct containment heating and aerosol generation during high-pressure-melt expulsion experiments

Severe nuclear plant accidents can involve the degradation of the reactor core while the primary coolant system remains pressurized. Molten fuel reaching the lower head of the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) may attack and fail the instrument guide tube penetrations, allowing the tube to be expelled from the vessel. The resulting aperture allows the molten fuel to be ejected into the cavity, followed by the blowdown of the contents of the primary system (high-pressure-melt ejection). Entrainment of the core debris in the cavity by the blowdown gases may cause high-temperature fuel particles to be carried into the containment building. Energy exchange between the particles and the atmosphere may cause heating and pressurizing of the containment (direct containment heating (DCH)). The complex phenomena associated with direct containment heating accident sequences are not well understood. This work describes a series of four experiments that have been performed to study and quantify the processes involved. The data from the experiments are used to guide the development of computer models to describe the response of containments under accident conditions.