Containment aerosol behaviour simulation studies in the BARC nuclear aerosol test facility

A Nuclear Aerosol Test Facility (NATF) has been built and commissioned at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre to carry out simulation studies on the behaviour of aerosols released into the reactor containment under accident conditions. This report also discusses some new experimental techniques for estimation of density of metallic aggregates. The experimental studies have shown that the dynamic densities of aerosol aggregates are far lower than their material densities as expected by the well-known fractal theory of aggregates. In the context of codes, this has significant bearing in providing a mechanistic basis for the input density parameter used in estimating the aerosol evolution characteristics. The data generated under the quiescent and turbulent conditions and the information on aggregate densities are now being subjected to the validation of the aerosol behaviour codes. (author)