3D simulation of a 500 kg UO₂ melt in a cold crucible induction furnace

E. Sauvage¹ , P. Brun¹ , J. Lacombe¹ , L. Aufore²

¹ CEA Marcoule, DEN, DTCD, SCDV, LDPV, F-30207, Bagnols-sur-Cze
² CEA Cadarache, DEN, DTN, SMTA, F-13115, St Paul-les-Durance

Abstract
In the field of severe accident studies for nuclear generation reactors 2, 3 and 4, the Plinius-2 project aims to build a new facility to perform experiments of corium interactions tests at a large scale until 2020. In this context, the project in collaboration with ECM Technology has to define and build a furnace able to melt up to 500 kg of simulated corium of various compositions (mix of UO₂, ZrO₂, steel or concrete). The work presented in this article is a 3D dimensional simulation of a large load of UO₂ melts in a cold crucible, including turbulence modelling, induction heating and stirring. Solidification of the oxide near the cold wall of the crucible is taken into account as well as the heat radiation transfer at the free surface. Tables 1, Figs 3, Refs 10.