Description of the MARS small scale replica of a Fast Breeder Reactor and of the numerical models used to simulate a Hypothetical Core Disruptive Accident in the test-facility

Marie-France Robbe (1) , Yves Cariou (2) , Michel Lepareux (1) , Eloi Treille (3)

1 SEMT - Service d'Etudes Mécaniques et Thermiques
2 FRAMATOME
3 SOCOTEC

In case of a Hypothetical Core Disruptive Accident (HCDA) in a Liquid Metal Reactor, the interaction between fuel and liquid sodium creates a high pressure gas bubble in the core. The violent expansion of this bubble loads the vessel and the internal structures, whose deformation is important. The experimental test MARS simulates a HCDA in a small scale mock-up containing all the significant internal components of a Fast Breeder Reactor. The test-facility is filled with water topped by an argon blanket and the explosion is generated by an explosive charge. This paper describes the MARS test-facility and presents two numerical modelings used to simulate the test with the CASTEM-PLEXUS code. In the first model, the main internal structures are described with a classical shell model. The second model represents, in addition, the heat exchangers and pumps by means of a porosity model homogenizing the components with the surrounding fluid.

Domaines: Mécanique des structures [physics.class-ph]

Marie-France Robbe, Yves Cariou, Michel Lepareux, Eloi Treille. Description of the MARS small scale replica of a Fast Breeder Reactor and of the numerical models used to simulate a Hypothetical Core Disruptive Accident in the test-facility. International colloquium in mechanics of solids, fluids, structures and interactions, Aug 2000, Nha Trang, Vietnam. pp.725-734. ⟨cea-04071532⟩