Development of a Boiling Model for Application in Lumped-Parameter Codes for Assessment of External Reactor Vessel Cooling

Abstract

As a method for In-Vessel Retention (IVR) External Reactor Vessel Cooling (ERVC) might be an effective way for maintaining reactor vessel integrity during a severe accident with a core melt. For evaluating the ERVC as a severe accident management procedure simulation of cooling the Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV) by flooding the reactor cavity is necessary and means simulation of heat transfer at a submerged heating surface. A model for simulation of the nucleate boiling during ERVC for lumped-parameter codes like ATHLET-CD based on a boiling model which was developed at the Renesselaer Polytechnical Institute (RPI) implemented in the CFD code ANSYS CFX 13.0 is under development at RUB.