This paper presents a one-dimensional steady-state model of heat and water vapor transport just beneath an ablating concrete surface. In the model an evaporation front separates a dry porous region through which water vapor flows to the ablation front from a semi-infinite region that is partially wet with evaporable water. The predicted water vapor pressures at the evaporation front are quite high and could conceivably cause the concrete to spall. The model is quantitatively compatible with spallation events observed during tests involving the pouring of molten steel onto concrete and is capable of explaining the disparate results obtained in two rather extensive test series on the penetration of induction heated metallic pools into concrete.

Issue Section:
Technical Notes
Keywords:
Ablation, Decomposition, Heat Transfer, Porous Media, Vaporization, heat transfer, mass transfer, concrete, evaporation, flow through porous media, vapour pressure, steel, nuclear spallation, liquid metals
Topics:
Ablation (Vaporization technology), Concretes, Heat, Water, Evaporation, Temperature, Spallation (Nuclear physics), Pressure, Steel, Flow (Dynamics), Heat transfer, Mass transfer
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Copyright © 2004
 by ASME
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