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http://dx.doi.org/10.5855/ENERGY.2014.23.4.095

Preliminary Thermal-Hydraulic Analysis of the CANDU Reactor Moderator Tank using the CUPID Code  

Choi, Su Ryong (School of Mechanical Engineering, Pusan National University)
Lee, Jae Ryong (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute(KAERI))
Kim, Hyoung Tae (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute(KAERI))
Yoon, Han Young (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute(KAERI))
Jeong, Jae Jun (School of Mechanical Engineering, Pusan National University)
Publication Information
Journal of Energy Engineering / v.23, no.4, 2014 , pp. 95-105 More about this Journal
Abstract
The CUPID code has been developed for a transient, three-dimensional, two-phase flow analysis at a component scale. It has been validated against a wide range of two-phase flow experiments. Especially, to assess its applicability to single- and two-phase flow analyses in the Calandria vessel of a CANDU nuclear reactor, it was validated using the experimental data of the 1/4-scaled facility of a Calandria vessel at the STERN laboratory. In this study, a preliminary thermal-hydraulic analysis of the CANDU reactor moderator tank using the CUPID code is carried out, which is based on the results of the previous studies. The complicated internal structure of the Calandria vessel and the inlet nozzle was modeled in a simplified manner by using a porous media approach. One of the most important factors in the analysis was found to be the modeling of the tank inlet nozzle. A calculation with a simple inlet nozzle modeling resulted in thermal stratification by buoyance, leading to a boiling from the top of the Calandria tank. This is not realistic at all and may occur due to the lack of inlet flow momentum. To improve this, a new nozzle modeling was used, which can preserve both mass flow and momentum flow at the inlet nozzle. This resulted in a realistic temperature distribution in the tank. In conclusion, it was shown that the CUPID code is applicable to thermal-hydraulic analysis of the CANDU reactor moderator tank using the cost-effective porous media approach and that the inlet nozzle modeling is very important for the flow analysis in the tank.
Keywords
CANDU moderator tank; temperature distribution; CUPID; porous media approach; inlet nozzle modeling;
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Times Cited By KSCI : 2  (Citation Analysis)
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