Preparatory studies for modelling steam condensation on soluble aerosols

Of the fission products which would be released from the core of an LWR in the event of a severe accident, only the noble gases and possibly some of the iodine (depending on chemical form) are likely not to be in the form of aerosols when they reach the containment building atmosphere. Therefore in order to predict the extent of fission product retention on containment building internal structures, one needs to have a good understanding of aerosol deposition processes and of the factors which affect them. Following a severe accident in an LWR, a major component of the containment atmosphere will be steam. If the thermodynamic conditions allow condensation of this steam, this condensation is most likely to occur on the aerosol particles. A major component of the aerosol formed during the in-vessel release following a severe reactor accident will be fission product caesium. It is believed that much of this will enter the containment in the form of the hydroxide which has a great affinity for water, so particle growth due to steam condensation is likely to be a very important mechanism for retaining radioactive caesium within the containment builing. The author provides a systematic review of the basic chemical and physical issues which must be addressed if the phenomena are to be modelled accurately, and gives recommendations on how computer models of condensation onto soluble aerosols should be constructed. He proposes also to perform a systematic review of the existing literature and to perform small-scale thermodynamic experiments wherever important gaps in the data base are discovered