Analysis of the MT-3 Clad Ballooning Reflood Test using the Multi-rod Coupled MATARE Code
If PWR fuel rods balloon in a co-located fashion following a large break LOCA, it is possible that an un-coolable region could be formed. The MT-3 test was one of the few large-scale experiments performed to investigate this. In this paper we report the analysis of this experiment using a novel combined thermal-hydraulic and structural-mechanics model, able to model multiple distinct rods in a coupled fashion. The sensitivity of the behaviour to (in particular) the channel droplet distribution makes a full ¿first principles¿ validation impractical, but good agreement is achieved between observed and predicted blockage fractions, and the observed incoherence of ballooning is reproduced well.
AMMIRABILE Luca;
WALKER Simon;
2010-03-16
ELSEVIER SCIENCE SA
JRC44423
0029-5493,
www.elsevier.com/locate/nucengdes,
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC44423,
10.1016/j.nucengdes.2009.12.038,
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