ABSTRACT
The first comprehensive account of core debris/concrete interactions appeared in connection with the Reactor Safety Study. The need for improved models of core debris interactions with concrete has been met by several computer codes. This chapter discusses the status of validation of one of these codes, CORCON. The phenomenon that the CORCON code and the other core debris/concrete interactions codes attempt to model is the thermal attack on concrete by an internally heated, chemically reacting, molten mixture of metals and oxides. Two key features of the models that must be validated if confidence is to be placed in the model predictions are the heat transfer from core debris, and heat generation especially that caused by chemical reactions. Heat transfer from core debris during its interactions with concrete can be broadly categorized as axial heat transfer into the concrete, radial heat transfer into the concrete or other materials, and upward heat transfer into the containment atmosphere or overlying water pool.
