1. Improvement in understanding of natural circulation phenomena in water cooled nuclear power plants
- Author
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Jong-Ho Choi, N. Aksan, and John Cleveland
- Subjects
Nuclear and High Energy Physics ,Passive systems ,Engineering ,business.industry ,Mechanical Engineering ,Member states ,Water cooled ,Nuclear engineering ,Stratification (water) ,Mechanical engineering ,Nuclear power ,Natural circulation ,Nuclear Energy and Engineering ,Heat exchanger ,General Materials Science ,Safety, Risk, Reliability and Quality ,business ,Waste Management and Disposal ,Closed loop - Abstract
The IAEA has organized a coordinated research project (CRP) on “Natural Circulation Phenomena, Modelling, and Reliability of Passive Systems That Utilize Natural Circulation.” Specific objectives of CRP were to (i) establish the status of knowledge: reactor start-up and operation, passive system initiation and operation, flow stability, 3-D effects, and scaling laws, (ii) investigate phenomena influencing reliability of passive natural circulation systems, (iii) review experimental databases for the phenomena, (iv) examine the ability of computer codes to predict natural circulation and related phenomena, and (v) apply methodologies for examining the reliability of passive systems. Sixteen institutes from 13 IAEA Member States have participated in this CRP. Twenty reference advanced water cooled reactor designs including evolutionary and innovative designs were selected to examine the use of natural circulation and passive systems in their designs. Twelve phenomena influencing natural circulation were identified and characterized: (1) behaviour in large pools of liquid, (2) effect of non-condensable gases on condensation heat transfer, (3) condensation on the containment structures, (4) behaviour of containment emergency systems, (5) thermo-fluid dynamics and pressure drops in various geometrical configurations, (6) natural circulation in closed loop, (7) steam liquid interaction, (8) gravity driven cooling and accumulator behaviour, (9) liquid temperature stratification, (10) behaviour of emergency heat exchangers and isolation condensers, (11) stratification and mixing of boron, and (12) core make-up tank behaviour. This paper summarizes the achievements within the CRP for the first five phenomena (1–5). more...
- Published
- 2011
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