Aditya Karanam
Reactor Safety Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, India
Bhuvaneshwar Gera
Reactor Safety Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centres, Trombay, Mumbai-400085, India
Vishnu Verma
Reactor Safety Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centres, Trombay, Mumbai-400085, India
Jayanta Chattopadhyay
Reactor Safety Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centres, Trombay, Mumbai-400085, India
Management of hydrogen in nuclear reactors during severe accidents is an important research area from reactor safety point of view. For effective placement of mitigating devices, it is required to assess hydrogen distribution in the containment for severe accident conditions. The distribution of hydrogen depends on multiple parameters such as containment volume, release rate and location, initial conditions in the domain and rate of steam condensation. In the present work, hydrogen distribution in the Indian PHWR containments of different volumes has been studied using CFD. The presence of steam has not been considered, thereby providing an upper bounding estimate on the local hydrogen concentration. The present analysis provides a basis for predicting hydrogen distribution patterns during severe accident scenarios and is required to satisfy the prescribed regulatory criteria.