Steam explosions and nuclear reactor risk analysis
Tid: On 2021-06-02 kl 11.00
Plats: https://kth-se.zoom.us/j/63586220675
Medverkande: Dmitry Grishchenko, Department of Physics
A steam explosion is a process of transformation of thermal energy of a hot liquid into mechanical energy of an explosively evaporating coolant. The thermal energy stored in the molten materials of a nuclear reactor core at ~3000K can be sufficient to damage the reactor containment and release radioactive materials into the environment. Since 1980, when the Swedish government established a Steam Explosion Committee, it has been a subject of active research in Sweden and world-wide. In this lecture, I will discuss the cross-disciplinary complexity and chaotic nature of steam explosions, new experimental evidence, and modelling approaches to quantify steam explosion risks for Nordic reactors.