Numerical simulation of hydrogen release process upon interaction between zirconium melt and water

The process of hydrogen generation upon interaction between a zirconium melt and water is studied. An oxidation model for zirconium liquid droplets in a water–steam medium was developed. The model was incorporated into the VAPEX computational code developed for calculation of interactions between core material melts and water during a severe accident at nuclear power plants equipped with pressurized water reactors. The modified VAPEX code was used to analyze the ZREX experiments on molten zirconium–water interactions. It was shown that the VAPEX code satisfactorily predicts the amount of the hydrogen generated during such an interaction.