Modelling 'Type B' ejecta formation reveals reactor Unit 1 conditions during the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster.

ABSTRACT: For the first time, a model was developed to simulate the cooling of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant reactor Unit 1-derived, 'Type B' radiocaesium bearing microparticles, distributed into the environment during the 2011 nuclear meltdown. By establishing an analogy between 'Type B' CsMP and volcanic pyroclasts, the presented model simulates the rapid cooling of an effervescent silicate melt fragment upon atmospheric release. The model successfully reproduced the bi-modal distribution of internal void diameters observed in 'Type B' CsMP, however, discrepancies resulted primarily due to the neglection of surface tension and internal void coalescence. The model was subsequently utilised to estimate the temperature within reactor Unit 1 in the instant preceding the hydrogen explosion-

SUBMITTER: Carno LAS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9988873 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature