Multi-dimensional Analysis Method of Hydrogen Combustion in the Containment of a Nuclear Power Plant

The most severe case is the occurrence of detonation, which induces a few-fold greater pressure load on the containment wall than a deflagration flame. The occurrence of a containment-wise global detonation is prohibited by a national regulation. The compartments located in the flow path such as steam generator compartment, annular compartment, and dome region are likely to have highly-concentrated hydrogen. If it is found that hydrogen concentration in any compartment is far below a detonation criterion during an accident progression, it can be thought that the occurrence of a detonative explosion in a compartment is excluded. However, if it is not, it is necessary to evaluate the characteristics of flame acceleration in the containment. The possibility of a flame transition from a deflagration to a detonation (DDT) can be evaluated from a calculated hydrogen distribution in a compartment by using sigma-lambda criteria. However, this method can provide a very conservative result because the geometric characteristics of a real compartment are not considered well. In order to evaluate the containment integrity from a threat of a hydrogen explosion, it is necessary to establish an integrated evaluation system, which includes a lumped-parameter and detail analysis methods. In this study, a method for the multi-dimensional analysis of hydrogen combustion is proposed to mechanistically evaluate the flame acceleration characteristics with a geometric effect. The geometry of the containment is modeled 3-dimensionally using a CAD tool. To resolve a propagating flame front, an adaptive mesh refinement method is coupled with a combustion analysis solver