• Journal of the Korean Society of Visualization
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.18-24
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• 2014

The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) has a scaled-down moderator test program to simulate the CANDU6 moderator circulation phenomena during steady state operation and accident conditions. In the present work a preliminary experiment using a 1/8 scaled-down moderator tank has been performed to identify the potential problems of the flow visualization and measurement in the scaled-down moderator test facility. With a transparent moderator tank model, a velocity field is measured with a Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) technique under an isothermal state. The flow patterns from the inlet nozzles to the top region of the tank are investigated using PIV for a 1/8 scale moderator tank.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Visualization
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.30-36
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• 2012

We are planning to construct a scaled-down moderator facility to simulate the CANDU-6 moderator circulation phenomena during steady state operating and accident conditions. In the present work a preliminary experiment using a 1/40 scaled-down moderator tank has been performed to investigate the anticipated problems of the flow visualization and measurement in the planning scaled-down moderator facility. We shortly describe CFD analysis result for the 1/40 scaled-down test model and the flow measurement techniques used for this test facility under isothermal flow conditions. The Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) method is used to visualize and measure the velocity field of water in a transparent Plexiglas tank. Planar Laser Induced Fluorescence (PLIF) technique is used to evaluate the feasibility of temperature field measurement in the range of $20-40^{\circ}C$ of water temperature using an one-color method.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.95-105
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• 2014

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.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.30 no.9 s.252
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• pp.825-833
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• 2006

To investigate the moderator coolability for CANDU-6 reactors, a test facility (HU-KINS) has been manufactured as a 1/8 scaled-down of a calandria tank. In the design of the test facility, a scaling law was developed in such a way to consider the thermal-hydraulic characteristics of a CANDU-6 moderator. The proposed scaling law takes into consideration of the energy conservation, the dynamic similitude such as dimensionless numbers, Archimedes number (Ar) and Reynolds number (Re), and thermal-hydraulic properties similitude. Using this proposed scaling law, the thermal-hydraulic scaling analyses of similar test facilities such as the SPEL (1/10 scale) and the STERN (1/4 scale), have been identified. As a result, in the case of the SPEL, while the energy conservation is well defined, the similarities of Ar and the heat density are not well considered. As for the similarity of the STERN, while both the energy conservation and the characteristics of Ar are well defined, the heat density is not. In the meanwhile, the HU-KINS test facility with 1/8 length scaled-down is well similitude in compliance with all similarities of the energy conservation, the fluid dynamics and thermal-hydraulic properties. To verify the adequacy of the similarities in terms of thermal-hydraulics, a computational fluid dynamic (CFD) analysis has been conducted using the CFX-5 code. As the results of the CFD analyses, the predicted flow patterns and variation of axial properties inside the calandria tank are well consistant with those of previous studies performed with FLUENT and this implies that the present scaling method is acceptable.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.589-596
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• 2013

In a pressurized heavy water reactor, following loss of the primary coolant, severe core damage would begin with the depletion of the liquid moderator, exposing the top row of internally-voided fuel channels to steam cooling conditions on the inside and outside. The uncovered fuel channels would heat up, deform and disassemble into core debris. Large inventories of water passively reduce the rate of progression of the accident, prolonging the time for complete loss of engineered heat sinks. The efficacy of available backup and ultimate heat sinks, available in a CANDU 6 reactor, in mitigating the consequences of a prolonged station blackout scenario was analysed using the MAAP4-CANDU code. The analysis indicated that the steam generator secondary side water inventory is the most effective heat sink during the accident. Additional heat sinks such as the primary coolant, moderator, calandria vault water and end shield water are also able to remove decay heat; however, a gradually increasing mismatch between heat generation and heat removal occurs over the course of the postulated event. This mismatch is equivalent to an additional water inventory estimated to be 350,000 kg at the time of calandria vessel failure. In the Enhanced CANDU 6 reactor ~2,040,000 kg of water in the reserve water tank is available for prolonged emergencies requiring heat sinks.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 2005.10a
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• pp.602-603
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• 2005