OECD/MCCI 2-D Core Concrete Interaction (CCI) tests : final report February 28, 2006.

Although extensive research has been conducted over the last several years in the areas of Core-Concrete Interaction (CCI) and debris coolability, two important issues warrant further investigation. The first issue concerns the effectiveness of water in terminating a CCI by flooding the interacting masses from above, thereby quenching the molten core debris and rendering it permanently coolable. This safety issue was investigated in the EPRI-sponsored Melt Attack and Coolability Experiments (MACE) program. The approach was to conduct large scale, integral-type reactor materials experiments with core melt masses ranging up to two metric tons. These experiments provided unique, and for the most part repeatable, indications of heat transfer mechanism(s) that could provide long term debris cooling. However, the results did not demonstrate definitively that a melt would always be completely quenched. This was due to the fact that the crust anchored to the test section sidewalls in every test, which led to melt/crust separation, even at the largest test section lateral span of 1.20 m. This decoupling is not expected for a typical reactor cavity, which has a span of 5-6 m. Even though the crust may mechanically bond to the reactor cavity walls, the weight of the coolant and the crust itself is expected to periodically fracture the crust and restore contact with the melt. Although crust fracturing does not ensure that coolability will be achieved, it nonetheless provides a pathway for water to recontact the underlying melt, thereby allowing other debris cooling mechanisms to proceed. A related task of the current program, which is not addressed in this particular report, is to measure crust strength to check the hypothesis that a corium crust would not be strong enough to sustain melt/crust separation in a plant accident. The second important issue concerns long-term, two-dimensional concrete ablation by a prototypic core oxide melt. As discussed by Foit the existing reactor material database for dry cavity conditions is solely one-dimensional. Although the MACE Scoping Test was carried out with a two-dimensional concrete cavity, the interaction was flooded soon after ablation was initiated to investigate debris coolability. Moreover, due to the scoping nature of this test, the apparatus was minimally instrumented and therefore the results are of limited value from the code validation viewpoint. Aside from the MACE program, the COTELS test series also investigated 2-D CCI under flooded cavity conditions. However, the input power density for these tests was quite high relative to the prototypic case. Finally, the BETA test series provided valuable data on 2-D core concrete interaction under dry cavity conditions, but these tests focused on investigating the interaction of the metallic (steel) phase with concrete. Due to these limitations, there is significant uncertainty in the partition of energy dissipated for the ablation of concrete in the lateral and axial directions under dry cavity conditions for the case of a core oxide melt. Accurate knowledge of this 'power split' is important in the evaluation of the consequences of an ex-vessel severe accident; e.g., lateral erosion can undermine containment structures, while axial erosion can penetrate the basemat, leading to ground contamination and/or possible containment bypass. As a result of this uncertainty, there are still substantial differences among computer codes in the prediction of 2-D cavity erosion behavior under both wet and dry cavity conditions. In light of the above issues, the OECD-sponsored Melt Coolability and Concrete Interaction (MCCI) program was initiated at Argonne National Laboratory. The project conducted reactor materials experiments and associated analysis to achieve the following technical objectives: (1) resolve the ex-vessel debris coolability issue through a program that focused on providing both confirmatory evidence and test data for the coolability mechanisms identified in MACE integral effects tests, and (2) address remaining uncertainties related to long-term 2-D core-concrete interactions under both wet and dry cavity conditions. Data from the various tests conducted as part of the program are being used to develop and validate models and codes that are used to extrapolate the experimental findings to plant conditions. Achievement of these technical objectives will demonstrate the efficacy of severe accident management guidelines for existing plants, and provide the technical basis for better containment designs of future plants. The project completed three large scale CCI experiments to address the second technical objective defined above

OECD MCCI Small-Scale Water Ingression and Crust Strength Tests (SSWICS) SSWICS-3 test data report : thermal Hydraulic results, Rev. 0 February 19, 2003.

The Melt Attack and Coolability Experiments (MACE) program at Argonne National Laboratory addressed the issue of the ability of water to cool and thermally stabilize a molten core/concrete interaction (MCCI) when the reactants are flooded from above. These tests provided data regarding the nature of corium interactions with concrete, the heat transfer rates from the melt to the overlying water pool, and the role of noncondensable gases in the mixing processes that contribute to melt quenching. However, due to the integral nature of these tests, several questions regarding the crust freezing behavior could not be adequately resolved. These questions include: (1) To what extent does water ingression into the crust increase the melt quench rate above the conduction-limited rate and how is this affected by melt composition and system pressure and (2) What is the fracture strength of the corium crust when subjected to a thermal-mechanical load and how does it depend upon the melt composition? A series of separate-effects experiments are being conducted to address these issues. The first employs an apparatus designed to measure the quench rate of a pool of corium ({approx}{phi}30 cm; up to 20 cm deep). The main parameter to be varied in these quench tests is the melt composition since it is thought to have a critical influence on the crust cracking behavior which, in turn, alters quench rate. The issue of crust strength will be addressed with a second apparatus designed to mechanically load the crust produced by the quench tests. This apparatus will measure the fracture strength of the crust while under a thermal load created by a heating element beneath the crust. The two apparatuses used to measure the melt quench rate and crust strength are jointly referred to as SSWICS (Small-Scale Water Ingression and Crust Strength). This report describes results of the third water ingression test, designated SSWICS-3. This test investigated the quenching behavior of a fully oxidized PWR corium melt containing 8 wt% limestone/common sand concrete at a system pressure of 4 bar absolute. The report includes a description of the test apparatus, the instrumentation used, plots of the recorded data, and some rudimentary data reduction to obtain an estimate of the heat flux from the corium to the overlying water pool

OECD MMCI Small-Scale Water Ingression and Crust Strength tests (SSWICS) SSWICS-1 final data report, Rev. 1 February 10, 2003.; Report, Rev. 1

The Melt Attack and Coolability Experiments (MACE) program at Argonne National Laboratory addressed the issue of the ability of water to cool and thermally stabilize a molten core/concrete interaction (MCCI) when the reactants are flooded from above. These tests provided data regarding the nature of corium interactions with concrete, the heat transfer rates from the melt to the overlying water pool, and the role of noncondensable gases in the mixing processes that contribute to melt quenching. However, due to the integral nature of these tests, several questions regarding the crust freezing behavior could not be adequately resolved. These questions include: (1) To what extent does water ingression into the crust increase the melt quench rate above the conduction-limited rate and how is this affected by melt composition and system pressure; and (2) What is the fracture strength of the corium crust when subjected to a thermal-mechanical load and how does it depend upon the melt composition? A series of separate-effects experiments are being conducted to address these issues. The first employs an apparatus designed to measure the quench rate of a pool of corium ({approx}{phi}30 cm; up to 20 cm deep). The main parameter to be varied in these quench tests is the melt composition since it is thought to have a critical influence on the crust cracking behavior which, in turn, alters quench rate. The issue of crust strength will be addressed with a second apparatus designed to mechanically load the crust produced by the quench tests. This apparatus will measure the fracture strength of the crust while under a thermal load created by a heating element beneath the crust. The two apparatuses used to measure the melt quench rate and crust strength are jointly referred to as SSWICS (Small-Scale Water Ingression and Crust Strength). This report describes results of the first water ingression test, designated SSWICS-1. The test investigated the quench behavior of a 15 cm deep, fully oxidized PWR corium melt containing 8 wt% limestone/common sand concrete decomposition products. The melt was quenched at nominally atmospheric pressure. The report includes a description of the test apparatus, the instrumentation used, plots of the recorded data, and data reduction to obtain an estimate of the corrected heat flux from the corium to the overlying water pool. A section of the report is devoted to calculations of the conduction-limited heat flux that accounts for heat losses to the crucible holding the corium. The remainder of the report describes post test examinations of the crust, which includes permeability and mechanical strength measurements, and chemical analysis

OECD MCCI project final report, February 28, 2006.

Although extensive research has been conducted over the last several years in the areas of Core-Concrete Interaction (CCI) and debris coolability, two important issues warrant further investigation. The first issue concerns the effectiveness of water in terminating a CCI by flooding the interacting masses from above, thereby quenching the molten core debris and rendering it permanently coolable. This safety issue was investigated in the Melt Attack and Coolability Experiments (MACE) program. The approach was to conduct large scale, integral-type reactor materials experiments with core melt masses ranging up to two metric tons. These experiments provided unique, and for the most part repeatable, indications of heat transfer mechanism(s) that could provide long term debris cooling. However, the results did not demonstrate definitively that a melt would always be completely quenched. This was due to the fact that the crust anchored to the test section sidewalls in every test, which led to melt/crust separation, even at the largest test section lateral span of 1.20 m. This decoupling is not expected for a typical reactor cavity, which has a span of 5-6 m. Even though the crust may mechanically bond to the reactor cavity walls, the weight of the coolant and the crust itself is expected to periodically fracture the crust and restore contact with the melt. The fractured crust will provide a pathway for water to recontact the underlying melt, thereby allowing other debris cooling mechanisms to proceed and contribute to terminating the core-concrete interaction. Thus, one of the key aims of the current program was to measure crust strength to check the hypothesis that a corium crust would not be strong enough to sustain melt/crust separation in a plant accident. The second important issue concerns long-term, two-dimensional concrete ablation by a prototypic core oxide melt. As discussed by Foit, the existing reactor material database for dry cavity conditions is solely one-dimensional. Although the MACE Scoping Test was carried out with a two-dimensional concrete cavity, the interaction was flooded soon after ablation was initiated to investigate debris coolability. Moreover, due to the scoping nature of this test, the apparatus was minimally instrumented and therefore the results are of limited value from the code validation viewpoint. Aside from the MACE program, the COTELS test series also investigated 2-D CCI under flooded cavity conditions. However, the input power density for these tests was quite high relative to the prototypic case. Finally, the BETA test series provided valuable data on 2-D core concrete interaction under dry cavity conditions, but these tests focused on investigating the interaction of the metallic (steel) phase with concrete. Due to these limitations, there is significant uncertainty in the partitioning of energy dissipated for the ablation of concrete in the lateral and axial directions under dry cavity conditions for the case of a core oxide melt. Accurate knowledge of this 'power split' is important in the evaluation of the consequences of an ex-vessel severe accident; e.g., lateral erosion can undermine containment structures, while axial erosion can penetrate the basemat, leading to ground contamination and/or possible containment bypass. As a result of this uncertainty, there are still substantial differences among computer codes in the prediction of 2-D cavity erosion behavior under both wet and dry cavity conditions. Thus, a second key aim of the current program was to provide the necessary data to help resolve these modeling differences. In light of the above issues, the OECD-sponsored Melt Coolability and Concrete Interaction (MCCI) program was initiated at Argonne National Laboratory. The project conducted reactor materials experiments and associated analysis to achieve the following technical objectives: (1) resolve the ex-vessel debris coolability issue through a program that focused on providing both confirmatory evidence and test data for the coolability mechanisms identified in previous integral effects tests, and (2) address remaining uncertainties related to long-term 2-D core-concrete interaction under both wet and dry cavity conditions. Data from the various tests conducted as part of the program is used to develop and validate models and codes that eventually form the basis for extrapolating the experimental findings to plant conditions. Achievement of these technical objectives will demonstrate the efficacy of severe accident management guidelines for existing plants, and provide the technical basis for better containment designs of future plants. The project completed a total of eleven reactor material tests to investigate melt coolability and 2-D core-concrete interaction mechanisms under both wet and dry cavity conditions

Topical Report: NSTF Facilities Plan for Water-Cooled VHTR RCCS: Normal Operational Tests

As part of the Department of Energy (DOE) Generation IV roadmapping activity, the gas-cooled Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) has been selected as the principal concept for hydrogen production and other process-heat applications such as district heating and potable water production. On this basis, the DOE has selected the VHTR for additional R&D with the ultimate goal of demonstrating emission-free electricity and hydrogen production with this advanced reactor concept

Topical Report: Natural Convection Shutdown Heat Removal Test Facility (NSTF) Evaluation for Generating Additional Reactor Cavity Cooling System (RCCS) data.

As part of the Department of Energy (DOE) Generation IV roadmapping activity, the Very High Temperature gas cooled Reactor (VHTR) has been selected as the principal concept for hydrogen production and other process-heat applications such as district heating and potable water production. On this basis, the DOE has selected the VHTR for additional R&D with the ultimate goal of demonstrating emission-free electricity and hydrogen production with this advanced reactor concept. One of the key passive safety features of the VHTR is the potential for decay heat removal by natural circulation of air in a Reactor Cavity Cooling System (RCCS). The air-cooled RCCS concept is notably similar to the Reactor Vessel Auxiliary Cooling System (RVACS) that was developed for the General Electric PRISM sodium-cooled fast reactor. As part of the DOE R&D program that supported the development of this fast reactor concept, the Natural Convection Shutdown Heat Removal Test Facility (NSTF) was developed at ANL to provide proof-of-concept data for the RVACS under prototypic natural convection flow, temperature, and heat flux conditions. Due to the similarity between RVACS and the RCCS, current VHTR R&D plans call for the utilization of the NSTF to provide RCCS model development and validation data, in addition to supporting design validation and optimization activities. Both air-cooled and water-cooled RCCS designs are to be included. In support of this effort, ANL has been tasked with the development of an engineering plan for mechanical and instrumentation modifications to NSTF to ensure that sufficiently detailed temperature, heat flux, velocity and turbulence profiles are obtained to adequately qualify the codes under the expected range of air-cooled RCCS flow conditions. Next year, similar work will be carried out for the alternative option of a water-cooled RCCS design. Analysis activities carried out in support of this experiment planning task have shown that: (a) in the RCCS, strong 3-D effects result in large heat flux, temperature, and heat transfer variations around the tube wall; (b) there is a large difference in the heat transfer coefficient predicted by turbulence models and heat transfer correlations, and this underscores the need of experimental work to validate the thermal performance of the RCCS; and (c) tests at the NSTF would embody all important fluid flow and heat transfer phenomena in the RCCS, in addition to covering the entire parameter ranges that characterize these phenomena. Additional supporting scaling study results are available in Reference 2. The purpose of this work is to develop a high-level engineering plan for mechanical and instrumentation modifications to NSTF in order to meet the following two technical objectives: (1) provide CFD and system-level code development and validation data for the RCCS under prototypic (full-scale) natural convection flow conditions, and (2) support RCCS design validation and optimization. As background for this work, the report begins by providing a summary of the original NSTF design and operational capabilities. Since the facility has not been actively utilized since the early 1990's, the next step is to assess the current facility status. With this background material in place, the data needs and requirements for the facility are then defined on the basis of supporting analysis activities. With the requirements for the facility established, appropriate mechanical and instrumentation modifications to NSTF are then developed in order to meet the overall project objectives. A cost and schedule for modifying the facility to satisfy the RCCS data needs is then provided

Advanced Burner Test Reactor Preconceptual Design Report.

The goals of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) are to expand the use of nuclear energy to meet increasing global energy demand, to address nuclear waste management concerns and to promote non-proliferation. Implementation of the GNEP requires development and demonstration of three major technologies: (1) Light water reactor (LWR) spent fuel separations technologies that will recover transuranics to be recycled for fuel but not separate plutonium from other transuranics, thereby providing proliferation-resistance; (2) Advanced Burner Reactors (ABRs) based on a fast spectrum that transmute the recycled transuranics to produce energy while also reducing the long term radiotoxicity and decay heat loading in the repository; and (3) Fast reactor fuel recycling technologies to recover and refabricate the transuranics for repeated recycling in the fast reactor system. The primary mission of the ABR Program is to demonstrate the transmutation of transuranics recovered from the LWR spent fuel, and hence the benefits of the fuel cycle closure to nuclear waste management. The transmutation, or burning of the transuranics is accomplished by fissioning and this is most effectively done in a fast spectrum. In the thermal spectrum of commercial LWRs, some transuranics capture neutrons and become even heavier transuranics rather than being fissioned. Even with repeated recycling, only about 30% can be transmuted, which is an intrinsic limitation of all thermal spectrum reactors. Only in a fast spectrum can all transuranics be effectively fissioned to eliminate their long-term radiotoxicity and decay heat. The Advanced Burner Test Reactor (ABTR) is the first step in demonstrating the transmutation technologies. It directly supports development of a prototype full-scale Advanced Burner Reactor, which would be followed by commercial deployment of ABRs. The primary objectives of the ABTR are: (1) To demonstrate reactor-based transmutation of transuranics as part of an advanced fuel cycle; (2) To qualify the transuranics-containing fuels and advanced structural materials needed for a full-scale ABR; and (3) To support the research, development and demonstration required for certification of an ABR standard design by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The ABTR should also address the following additional objectives: (1) To incorporate and demonstrate innovative design concepts and features that may lead to significant improvements in cost, safety, efficiency, reliability, or other favorable characteristics that could promote public acceptance and future private sector investment in ABRs; (2) To demonstrate improved technologies for safeguards and security; and (3) To support development of the U.S. infrastructure for design, fabrication and construction, testing and deployment of systems, structures and components for the ABRs. Based on these objectives, a pre-conceptual design of a 250 MWt ABTR has been developed; it is documented in this report. In addition to meeting the primary and additional objectives listed above, the lessons learned from fast reactor programs in the U.S. and worldwide and the operating experience of more than a dozen fast reactors around the world, in particular the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II have been incorporated into the design of the ABTR to the extent possible