Numerical Analysis for Stratification with Steam Condensation Using a CFD Code

Abstract

If nuclear fuel melts due to the loss of cooling, hydrogen is generated by chemical reaction of metallic clad with steam, resulting in the hydrogen risk of explosion. Therefore the stratification of hydrogen in the steam-air environment is important, which is influenced by the steam condensation. In this paper, we explored physical parameters which may affect the hydrogen stratification under steam condensation conditions through benchmarking process with a small-scale experiment using a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code, in order to identify relative influences of numerical model parameters on the stratification analysis.