{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/110146"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/110146","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Numerical Simulation of Corium Jet Fragmentation","abstract":"Severe accident studies have become important for understanding the environmental impact of nuclear power following the Three Mile Island (TMI) accident. Severe accident phenomena are interdisciplinary since they can include the interaction of molten corium with reactor structures and water, and the transport and release of fission products that carry vapors and aerosols. During an accident, molten corium may fall in the form of a jet into a water pool. The fragmentation of the corium jet is a critical process concerning Fuel-Coolant Interactions (FCI). A steam explosion could occur depending on jet fragmentation and dispersion in the water. A 2-D in-house CFD MATLAB script has been developed by employing the Volume of Fluid Method (VOF) to simulate jet fragmentation in a water pool. This research is the first study to use the Multidimensional Universal Limiter for Explicit Solution (MULES) algorithm to capture the interface behavior in the jet breakup process. The effect of the compression constant, the mesh sensitivity, and the face correction loop on the MULES are investigated in this thesis. Moreover, the effects of the jet inlet velocity and jet diameter on the jet breakup length are numerically studied using the newly developed code. The simulation results compared well with the experimental results and another numerical study found in the literature.","abstract_html":"Severe accident studies have become important for understanding the environmental impact of nuclear power following the Three Mile Island (TMI) accident. Severe accident phenomena are interdisciplinary since they can include the interaction of molten corium with reactor structures and water, and the transport and release of fission products that carry vapors and aerosols. During an accident, molten corium may fall in the form of a jet into a water pool. The fragmentation of the corium jet is a critical process concerning Fuel-Coolant Interactions (FCI). A steam explosion could occur depending on jet fragmentation and dispersion in the water. A 2-D in-house CFD MATLAB script has been developed by employing the Volume of Fluid Method (VOF) to simulate jet fragmentation in a water pool. This research is the first study to use the Multidimensional Universal Limiter for Explicit Solution (MULES) algorithm to capture the interface behavior in the jet breakup process. The effect of the compression constant, the mesh sensitivity, and the face correction loop on the MULES are investigated in this thesis. Moreover, the effects of the jet inlet velocity and jet diameter on the jet breakup length are numerically studied using the newly developed code. The simulation results compared well with the experimental results and another numerical study found in the literature.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Akin, Yunus Eren"],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Master of Science","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":"Nuclear Engineering","degree_department":"Mechanical Engineering","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Liu, Yang"],"committee_members":["Pacheco Duarte, Juliana","Pierson, Mark Alan"],"year":2022,"date_issued":"2022-05-23","date_published":"2022-05-23","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:20:00Z","subjects":["Jet breakup","MULES"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:34676"],"render_values":[{"text":"vt_gsexam:34676","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10919/110146","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Liu, Yang"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Pacheco Duarte, Juliana","Pierson, Mark Alan"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Mechanical Engineering"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Akin, Yunus Eren"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2022-05-24T08:00:11Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2022-05-24T08:00:11Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2022-05-23"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Nuclear Engineering"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Jet breakup","MULES"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:34676"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/110146"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Severe accident studies have become important for understanding the environmental impact of nuclear power following the Three Mile Island (TMI) accident. Severe accident phenomena are interdisciplinary since they can include the interaction of molten corium with reactor structures and water, and the transport and release of fission products that carry vapors and aerosols. During an accident, molten corium may fall in the form of a jet into a water pool. The fragmentation of the corium jet is a critical process concerning Fuel-Coolant Interactions (FCI). A steam explosion could occur depending on jet fragmentation and dispersion in the water. A 2-D in-house CFD MATLAB script has been developed by employing the Volume of Fluid Method (VOF) to simulate jet fragmentation in a water pool. This research is the first study to use the Multidimensional Universal Limiter for Explicit Solution (MULES) algorithm to capture the interface behavior in the jet breakup process. The effect of the compression constant, the mesh sensitivity, and the face correction loop on the MULES are investigated in this thesis. Moreover, the effects of the jet inlet velocity and jet diameter on the jet breakup length are numerically studied using the newly developed code. The simulation results compared well with the experimental results and another numerical study found in the literature."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstractgeneral","label":"General Abstract","values":["After the TMI accident, many countries have started experimental and numerical studies to investigate and predict the accident's possible outcomes. During a severe accident, the molten corium may drop into a water pool in the form of a jet. The jet contacts the water, fragments into droplets and disperses in the pool, which could then cause a steam explosion. A possible molten corium-water interaction is simulated using a 2-D in-house CFD code written in MATLAB in this study. Interface tracking is one of the most critical processes in multi-phase flow simulation, and the MULES algorithm is used to capture the interface in this study. It is the first study to use the MULES algorithm to investigate jet breakup behavior. The simulation results compared well with experimental data and other numerical studies."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"dc:format.medium","label":"Dc Format Medium","values":["ETD"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Numerical Simulation of Corium Jet Fragmentation"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.committeechair":["Liu, Yang"],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Pacheco Duarte, Juliana","Pierson, Mark Alan"],"dc:contributor.department":["Mechanical Engineering"],"dc:creator":["Akin, Yunus Eren"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2022-05-24T08:00:11Z"],"dc:date.available":["2022-05-24T08:00:11Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2022-05-23"],"dc:description.abstract":["Severe accident studies have become important for understanding the environmental impact of nuclear power following the Three Mile Island (TMI) accident. Severe accident phenomena are interdisciplinary since they can include the interaction of molten corium with reactor structures and water, and the transport and release of fission products that carry vapors and aerosols. During an accident, molten corium may fall in the form of a jet into a water pool. The fragmentation of the corium jet is a critical process concerning Fuel-Coolant Interactions (FCI). A steam explosion could occur depending on jet fragmentation and dispersion in the water. A 2-D in-house CFD MATLAB script has been developed by employing the Volume of Fluid Method (VOF) to simulate jet fragmentation in a water pool. This research is the first study to use the Multidimensional Universal Limiter for Explicit Solution (MULES) algorithm to capture the interface behavior in the jet breakup process. The effect of the compression constant, the mesh sensitivity, and the face correction loop on the MULES are investigated in this thesis. Moreover, the effects of the jet inlet velocity and jet diameter on the jet breakup length are numerically studied using the newly developed code. The simulation results compared well with the experimental results and another numerical study found in the literature."],"dc:description.abstractgeneral":["After the TMI accident, many countries have started experimental and numerical studies to investigate and predict the accident's possible outcomes. During a severe accident, the molten corium may drop into a water pool in the form of a jet. The jet contacts the water, fragments into droplets and disperses in the pool, which could then cause a steam explosion. A possible molten corium-water interaction is simulated using a 2-D in-house CFD code written in MATLAB in this study. Interface tracking is one of the most critical processes in multi-phase flow simulation, and the MULES algorithm is used to capture the interface in this study. It is the first study to use the MULES algorithm to investigate jet breakup behavior. The simulation results compared well with experimental data and other numerical studies."],"dc:description.degree":["Master of Science"],"dc:format.medium":["ETD"],"dc:identifier.other":["vt_gsexam:34676"],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/110146"],"dc:language.iso":["en"],"dc:publisher":["Virginia Tech"],"dc:rights":["In Copyright"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"dc:subject":["Jet breakup","MULES"],"dc:title":["Numerical Simulation of Corium Jet Fragmentation"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Nuclear Engineering"],"thesis:degree_level":["masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science"],"thesis:institution_name":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:20:00Z"}