Chemistry studies in support of Phebus-FP: multicomponent aerosol behaviour. V. 1

A major programme of integral tests has been completed in the Falcon facility at Winfrith. This two-year programme was designed to study the transport of fission product vapours and aerosols under severe accident conditions. Simulant or trace-irradiated fuel samples were heated up to 2000 deg K together with bulk-reactor materials, and the transport of the released fission products was followed through a pathway that simulated to some degree the upper plenum, hot-leg structures and the containment. Various analytical techniques were used to provide information on the chemical species and physical forms of the release. Mass spectrometry was developed to sample the high-temperature vapours at ambient pressure and determine their chemical forms, on-line gamma-ray spectroscopy was used to distinguish between gas-borne and deposited radionuclides, and speciation samplers (Maypacks) were used to follow the chemical behaviour of iodine within the containment vessel as a function of time. The experiments were designed and analysed with the assistance of modelling specialists to maximize the benefit of this work for the assessment and development of primary circuit and containment codes