Discussion on model validation

DR FINCK, Paper 27

In France, the first sodium water reaction calculations date back to the conception of the Phénix breeder reactor in the late 1960s.

The Phénix steam generators consisted of seven heat exchange tubes containing water, which were enclosed in a larger tube. This whole system remained quasi-monodimensional as far as the effects of sodium water reaction were concerned. Furthermore, the outer shell was designed to withstand the internal pressure of the water tubes, thus allowing for a very large margin when calculating sodium water reaction effects.

The computer codes which were used at that time were consequently quite simple. They consisted of an implicit one-dimensional acoustic wave propagation model, which did not need to take into account such effects as fluid-structure interaction.