Abstract
For gaining basic data on decay heat coolability of debris bed in the post-accident heat removal, measurement of dryout heat flux was made, with stagnant water as coolant, in a 50 mm I. D. pyrex glass cylinder vessel. The fuel debris bed subjected to decay heat was simulated by steel ball particles which were inductively heated with a power supply of 20 kHz and 30 kW. The bed was made of homogeneous size particles. An emphasis was placed on the influence of system pressure and particle size. The experiment covered the ranges over the steel ball diameters of 0.34.0 mm and the system pressure of 0.020.5 MPa.
The experimental results, as a whole, agreed fairly well with the prediction based on Lipinski's 0-D model with respect to the dependence of dryout heat flux both on pressure and on particle size. In detail, however, the dryout heat flux deviates toward a lower value at a higher pressure while to a higher value for a smaller size particle bed. Comparison of the results between the free and fixed beds suggests that the deviation to the higher side will be attributed to the channeling and/or levitation.
