Experimental and numerical investigation on characteristics of MCCI with exothermic thermite

Abstract Investigation was conducted experimentally and numerically for ex-vessel melt behavior and concrete interaction during Molten Corium-Concrete Interaction (MCCI) in current research. The CINA (Corium-Concrete Interaction Apparatus) experiment was carried out with a total of 94 kg melt generated by exothermic thermite chemical reaction to react in a two-dimensional (2-D) cylindrical siliceous crucible with an inner diameter of 300 mm and a height of 500 mm. Meanwhile, the variation of melt temperature was monitored during the experiment. Besides, the accurate ablation depth and thickness of stratified layers were measured after the experiment. Numerical simulation was used to study the mechanism of high-temperature melt heat transfer and concrete ablation during the MCCI process. The slag film model to calculate the melt/concrete interface heat transfer coefficient and the stratified melt model were both used to simulate the above experiment. The results showed that the numerical results were in good agreement with experiment measurements by the slag film model under separated layers condition.