COMPUTATION OF FLOWS IN EXPERIMENTAL SIMULATIONS OF REACTOR CORE MELTING

We describe a numerical computation, based on the finite element metho d, of an experiment simulating a particular failure of a reactor press ure vessel, a core melt accident in which the vessel melts. We investi gate this melt-through as it occurs in a steel crucible. We found that a crucial parameter in the definition of the failure sequence is the build-up of heat-driven flows. To characterize the expected natural co nvection flow patterns, a number of additional, small-scale experiment s were performed. We present results from calculations on both these s ets of experiments and compare them with the presently available measu rements.