Nuclear Engineering and Technology

Korean Nuclear Society (한국원자력학회)
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Strategic analysis on sizing of flooding valve for successful accident management of small modular reactor

  • Hyo Jun An (Department of Nuclear Engineering, Hanyang University) ;
  • Jae Hyung Park (Department of Nuclear Engineering, Hanyang University) ;
  • Chang Hyun Song (Department of Nuclear Engineering, Hanyang University) ;
  • Jeong Ik Lee (Department of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) ;
  • Yonghee Kim (Department of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) ;
  • Sung Joong Kim (Department of Nuclear Engineering, Hanyang University)
  • Received : 2023.06.27
  • Accepted : 2023.11.12
  • Published : 2024.03.25
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Abstract

In contrast to all-time flooded small modular reactor (SMR) systems, an in-kind flooding safety system (FSS) has been proposed as a passive safety system applicable to small modular reactors (SMRs) that adopt a metal containment vessel (MCV). Under transient conditions, the FSS can provide emergency cooling to dry reactor cavities and sustain long-term coolability using re-acquired evaporated steam in the reactor building on demand. When designing an FSS, the effect of the flooding flow area is vital as it affects the overall accident sequence and safety. Therefore, in this study, a MELCOR model of a reference SMR is developed and numerical analysis is performed under postulated accident scenarios. Without flooding, the MCV pressure of the reactor module exceeds the design pressure before core damage. To prevent core damage, an emergency flooding strategy is devised using various flow path parameters and requirements to ensure an adequate emergency coolant supply before the core damage is investigated. The results indicate that a flow area exceeding 0.02 m2 is required in the FSS to prevent MCV overpressure and core damage. This study is the first to report a strategic analysis for appropriately sizing an FSS flooding valve applicable to innovative SMRs.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This study was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), grant funded by the Korean Government (MSIT) (No. NRF-2022M2D2A1A02061334 and NRF-2021M2D2A2076382).

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