Numerical simulation of heat transfer behavior in EAGLE ID1 in-pile test using finite volume particle method

Abstract The EAGLE ID1 test was performed by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency to demonstrate the effectiveness of fuel discharge from a fuel subassembly with an inner duct structure. The experimental results suggested that the early duct wall failure observed in the test was initiated by high heat flux from the molten pool and the post-test analyses showed that the high heat flux may be enhanced effectively by molten steel. In this study, the mechanisms of heat transfer were analyzed using a fully Lagrangian approach based on the finite volume particle method. A series of physical behaviors in the pool were simulated to investigate the effect of the behaviors on molten pool-to-duct wall heat transfer in ID1 test. The present 2D particle-based simulation demonstrated that a large thermal load on the duct wall can be caused by direct contact of the liquid fuel releasing nuclear heat and high-temperature liquid steel.