A review on the clad failure studies

In the late phase of a severe reactor accident, the molten corium interacts with the vessel wall, and it can lead to the failure of the lower head. Through the failed bottom wall, part of the corium can flow into the cavity, and air can enter the primary circuit. The residual fuel in the core periphery will be further oxidized in air atmosphere. The degradation process will accelerate, and new chemical species will be formed, which can have an impact on the release of radioactive materials.Two experiments were carried out with electrically heated nine-rod pressurized water reactor-type bundles in the CODEX (COre Degradation EXperiment) facility to provide experimental data on the behavior of real fuel bundles under air oxidation conditions. The main objective of the tests was the investigation of oxidation phenomena, and some other important aspects (e.g., enhanced fission product release) were not addressed.The CODEX air ingress tests indicated the acceleration of oxidation phenomena and core degradation processes during the late phase of the vessel melt through accident, when air can have access to the residual fuel bundles in the reactor core. The degradation process was accompanied with zirconium-nitride formation and release of uranium-rich aerosols.

Interaction of Failed Fuel Rods Under Air Ingress Conditions

The early phase of severe accidents in WER reactors was simulated in the CODEX (COre Degradation Experiment) facility with electrically heated fuel rod bundles. The selected test conditions and applied measurement techniques made possible the observation of some specific phenomena, such as the protective role of oxide scale during quenching of high-temperature bundles, the composition of gases produced during the oxidation of boron-carbide control rods, and the interlink between the aerosol release and the oxidation process. The general behavior of the VVER bundles did not differ significantly from that of the Western-design light water reactor bundles tested under similar high-temperature conditions, but the experiments emphasized that the application of WER-specific material properties and models is essential for comprehensive numerical simulations.

S. Hagen

Papers

LWR fuel rod behavior during severe accidents