The main objectives of VALIDATIO are to first characterize the chemical reactions of Lead-Lithium (PbLi), water, and non-condensable gases, under conditions similar to those expected for the European water cooled lead lithium (WCLL) breeding blanket (BB) under accident conditions and the creation of an experimental database for SIMMER code validation by interacting with the researchers of the University of Pisa, Department of Civil and Industrial Engineering (DICI), my host organization and performing series of experiments at the existing experimental facility LIFUS5/Mod3 (Brasimone, Italy) where I will have a secondment period of total 5-6 months. This last part of the work is very challenging since reaction characteristics of Lead-Lithium, water and non-condensable is highly sensitive to thermodynamic conditions of the medium (pressure, temperature, velocity, etc.))and based on obtained experimental data perform the verification and validation of SIMMER code, modification in code for irregularities found in the validation process and perform the safety analysis of WCLL-BB.
The University of Pisa has implemented some of the necessary modifications in the SIMMER code to make the code capable of accurately predicting the accident scenario. Some of these changes relate to the incorporation of the chemical reaction between PbLi eutectic alloy and water. However, the code requires much more verification, validation, and maybe further modifications. The problem is very challenging since the available experimental data for code validation is extremely limited. Only very little useful information is available in the literature; therefore, a dedicated experimental campaign is always highly advantageous for code validation and verification under the accident scenario. This issue is also complicated since the interaction of fluids results in multi-component, multi-phase flow, which is very hard to model.
Objectives and overview of the action:
SO1. To develop an experimental database for SIMMER code validation to be used for safety analysis of European WCLL-BB by performing a series of experiments at the experimental facility LIFUS5/Mod3 (Brasimone, Italy) as part of the secondment period aimed at firstly characterizing the chemical reactions of Lead-Lithium water and non-condensable gases;
SO2. To demonstrate the accuracy and consistency of the SIMMER III code proceeding to its validation and verification, while performing the safety analysis of WCLL breeding blanket;
SO3.To modify SIMMER III code for irregularity in the code model to predict accurate chemical interaction properties of Lead-Lithium, water, and non-condensable gases, so that it would provide better results in the safety analysis of European WCLL-BB. These irregularities can be found during the verification and validation process by comparing the code numerical results and experimental values. That can require the implementation of more accurate models concerning the chemical interaction between Lead Lithium and water;
SO4. Enhancing the safety analysis of European WCLL-BB by accurately predicting the chemical interaction properties of Lead-Lithium, water, and non-condensable gases numerically in order to demonstrate the safety concerns (which would be used as a reference for other countries like India to perform their TBM design safety analysis).
