Comparative analysis of film boiling correlations for steam explosion problem

Abstract

The article considers the existing models and correlations for describing heat transfer during film boiling. Film boiling is an important thermophysical process that determines the course of interaction of the melt of reactor core materials with the coolant, which can potentially occur during a severe accident at a nuclear power plant with a pressurized water-cooled reactor (VVER/PWR). The values of the Nusselt number predicted by these models are compared. A fairly significant dispersion of calculated parameters has been established, making it difficult to unambiguously choose one or another correlation. However, in the range of parameters typical for the interaction of a high-temperature melt of reactor core materials with a coolant, several correlations give quite close values, which allows them to be recommended for use in calculation codes for modeling thermal-hydraulic processes during a severe accident at a nuclear power plant with VVER/PWR type.