A two-cell equilibrium model for predicting direct containment heating Original Research Article

This paper discusses two adiabatic equilibrium models. Assessment and validation of the separate effects (kinetic) models and the parameters (i.e. particle size) that control them are not required. The first, a single-cell equilibrium model, places a true upper bound on direct containment heating (DCH) loads. This upper bound, when compared with the entire DCH database, often far exceeds experiment observations by a margin too large to be useful in reactor analyses. The single-cell model is used as a conceptual seed for a two-cell model. A two-cell equilibrium (TCE) model is developed that captures the dominant mitigating features of containment compartmentalization and the noncoherence of the entrainment and blowdown processes. The existing DCH database has been used to extensively validate the TCE model. DCH loads are shown to be insensitive to physical scale and details of the subcompartment geometry. A simple model is developed to predict the coherence of debris dispersal and reactor coolant system blowdown. The coherence ratio is independent of physical scale and only weakly dependent on cavity design.