Research Outline
We are developing elemental models to clarify the mechanisms leading to melting, migration, and debris formation of core materials in situations beyond reactor design events (severe accidents) and to upgrade simulation codes to evaluate reactor safety. We are clarifying phase stability (equilibrium thermodynamics), kinetics (mass transfer theory), and chemical reaction barriers (quantum chemistry) in the melting reactions of core materials (nuclear fuel, neutron absorbers, and cladding tubes) and structural materials (stainless steel and nickel alloys) at high temperatures and in corrosive and oxidizing atmospheres, and developing methods to incorporate these into plant simulation programs. We are developing methods to incorporate them into plant simulation programs.