ASTEC V1.3 code SOPHAEROS module validation using the STORM experiments

In most of the severe accident scenarios in light water reactors the deposition and resuspension of aerosols in the primary circuit are the main factors influencing the release of radioactive material into the containment. Due to energetic interactions, e.g. hydrogen burning, or fluid mechanical load – high velocity jets or sudden pressure changes, the deposited aerosols can be resuspended and significantly increase the amount of radioactive material reaching the containment and finally the potential threat of release into the environment (source term). In this paper two aerosol mechanical resuspension models: the semi-empirical Force-Balance (FB) and more mechanistic Rock ‘n’ Roll (RnR) implemented in the SOPHAEROS/ASTEC V1.3 Rev.0 version are validated against the STORM aerosol mechanical resuspension experiments SR09, SR10, SR11, SR12 and SR13 and the modeling weaknesses are identified. In spite of the fact that these models encompass the measurements, it is shown that further improvement of the aerosol resuspension model in the SOPHAEROS module is necessary in order to achieve better predictability of the source term during a severe accident.