Determination of the hydrogen source term during the reflooding of an overheated core: Calculation results of the integral reflood test QUENCH-03 with PWR-type bundle

Abstract During a severe accident, one of the main accident management procedure consists of injecting water in the reactor core by means of various safety injection devices. Nevertheless, the success of a core reflood is not guaranteed because of possible negative effects: temperature escalation, enhanced hydrogen production, enhanced release of fission products, core degradation due to thermal shock, shattering, debris and melt formation. The QUENCH-03 experiment was carried out to investigate the behavior on reflooding at high temperature of LWR fuel rods with little oxidation. Posttest calculations with the ASTEC-CATHARE V2 code were made for code assessment and validation of the new reflooding model. This thermal–hydraulic model is used to detect the quench front position and to calculate the heat transfer between fuel and fluid in the transition boiling region. Comparisons between the calculational and experimental results are presented. Emphasis has been placed on clad temperature, hydrogen production and melt relocation. The effects of core state damage (initial temperature at reflooding onset) and the reflood mass flow rate on the hydrogen source term were investigated using the QUENCH-03 test as a base case. Calculations were made by varying both parameters in the input data deck. The results demonstrate (and confirm) the existence of a minimum flow rate for a successful reflood.