Sudden Discharge of Gas Mixture in a Confined Multi-Compartments

Abstract

The paper presents the results of a series of tests in the PANDA facility, performed within the OECD/SETH-2 project, focusing on the evolution of gas distribution in one subdivided compartment resulting from the sudden opening of a connection with a second compartment initially at higher pressure and filled with a mixture of different composition. This situation occurs in the case of the sudden opening of a rupture disk (or hatches) – and could be related to the EPR design. Gas transport mixing and distribution within the containment compartments is driven by the pressure difference between the volumes in the early phase of the test, and by temperature gradient and gas mixture concentration difference after that the pressure between the vessels has been equalized. The analysis performed with GOTHIC code and presented in this paper aims at complementing the interpretation of the physical phenomena taking place during the test evolution and inferred from the measurement results.