Fundamental Experiments on Local Hydrogen Behaviors Under Severe Accident Conditions in a Rectangular Subcompartment of Nuclear Power Plant

During severe accidents in nuclear power plant (NPP), the limit of local hydrogen concentration is regulated to ensure the integrity of containment. In this study hydrogen mixing experiments were conducted to investigate the hydrogen concentration distribution in a subcompartment of NPP. The mixing compartment is a vertical rectangular type with the dimension of 1×1×1.5 m³. The helium gas was used as a simulant of hydrogen. The goals of this study are to understand local hydrogen mixing phenomena and to examine the effects of the wall condensing, of the existence of obstacle and of the containment spray operation on local hydrogen concentration in NPP. Experimental results showed that the hydrogen might be locally accumulated in the subcompartment and the local hydrogen concentration could instantaneously rise during the spray operation.