Explosive Research at TD

Using the open-source library OpenFOAM, a new CFD combustion solver has been developed at TD in the framework of two research projects funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi). It aims at the prediction of large-scale hydrogen explosions like in the Fukushima-Daiichi reactor accident. The method is supposed to advance the state-of-the-art in nuclear safety analysis which is currently based on empirical combustion regime transition criteria. A paper demonstrating the application to a Konvoi-type pressurized water reactor was published lately: “Josef Hasslberger, Peter Katzy, Lorenz R. Boeck and Thomas Sattelmayer, Massively Parallelized Simulation of Deflagration-to-Detonation Transition in a Konvoi-Type Pressurized Water Reactor, 24th International Conference on Nuclear Engineering, Charlotte, USA, June 27 – 30, 2016”. In a joint project with KEPCO E & C, the manufacturer of South Korea’s new pressurized water reactor APR1400, the method is now being implemented in nuclear industry. A two-month stay of TD researcher Josef Hasslberger at KEPCO’s premises in Gimcheon (South Korea) assured not only intense professional collaboration but also involved worthwhile cultural exchange ;-)