Experiments on Gas Mixing and Stratification Driven by Jets and Plumes in Large-Scale, Multi-Compartment Geometries

The present paper discusses experiments carried out to examine mixing of different gases (steam, air) and the evolution their distributions in large-scale, multi compartment geometry imitating nuclear reactor containment compartments. The flow and the mixing process in the experiments are driven by plumes and jets representing source structures with different momentum-to-buoyancy strength. The time evolution of the relevant parameters like gas concentrations, velocities and temperatures are followed using dedicated instrumentation. The data obtained is meant to be used for the validation and development of high-resolution, mainly CFD based, 3D computational tools for nuclear reactor containment safety analysis.