Numerical Study of Fuel Melting and Molten Migration Based on the MPS Method

Core melting and molten migration behavior are hot and difficult issues in the field of nuclear reactor severe accident research. The Moving Particle Semi-implicit (MPS) meshless method has potential to simulate free-surface and multiphase flows. In this study, the MPS method was utilized to simulate the melting process of UO2-Zr rod-type fuel elements. The models of heat conduction with phase change, simplified UO2-Zr eutectic reaction, viscous flow and surface tension were implemented with the framework of standard MPS method. Then, the improved MPS code was used to simulate and analyze the process of high-temperature melting and characteristics of molten migration and solidification in the coolant channel, aiming at revealing the severe accidents for light water reactors (LWR), particularly the early core damage. The results showed that compared with the case of higher initial temperature, when the initial temperature of molten UO2 is lower, more molten UO2 will solidify on the surface of rod cluster, and the blockage of upper flow channel caused by molten UO2 is more serious. In addition, this study also demonstrated the potential of the MPS method for the study of complicated severe accident phenomena in not only traditional LWR but also advanced nuclear reactors in the future.