Modeling direct containment heating phenomena with CONTAIN 1. 12

CONTAIN is a detailed mechanistic computer code developed at Sandia National Laboratories for the integrated analysis of light water reactor severe accident containment phenomena. The most recent version of the code, CONTAIN 1.12, incorporates models for the phenomena of high pressure melt ejection (HPME) and the subsequent processes collectively known as Direct Containment Heating (DCH). CONTAIN 1.12 was used to model the Limited Flight Path 8A (LFP8A) experiment conducted at the Surtsey test facility at Sandia National Laboratories. In the experiment, 50 kg of molten thermite was injected into a scale model of the Surry cavity and then blown into the Surtsey vessel by high pressure steam. A seven-cell best-estimate CONTAIN model, using only a minimum of measured data, was used to simulate the LFP8A experiment. A comparison of the experimental and calculated results indicated that CONTAIN 1.12 was accurately modeling the physical processes involved in DCH phenomena, but the method of injecting the molten debris into the cavity in the CONTAIN model was causing the code to overpredict the chemical reaction and heat transfer rates between the molten debris and the system atmosphere. CONTAIN 1.12 predicted the peak vessel pressure to within less than 2% of the experimental value,more » but missed the timing on the pressure peak by approximately 1.75 s over the course of a 10 s calculation. 6 refs., 6 figs.« less