• Journal of Energy Engineering
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.27-35
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• 2018

The passive containment cooling system (PCCS) has been designed to remove the released decay heat during the accident by means of the condensation heat transfer phenomenon to guarantee the safety of the nuclear power plant. The heat removal performance of the PCCS is mainly governed by the condensation heat transfer of the steam-air mixture. In this study, the heat removal performance of the PCCS was evaluated by using the MARS-KS code with a new empirical correlation for steam condensation in the presence of a noncondensable gas. A new empirical correlation implemented into the MARS-KS code was developed as a function of parameters that affect the condensation heat transfer coefficient, such as the pressure, the wall subcooling, the noncondensable gas mass fraction and the aspect ratio of the condenser tube. The empirical correlation was applied to the MARS-KS code to replace the default Colburn-Hougen model. The various thermal-hydraulic parameters during the operation of the PCCS follonwing a large-break loss-of-coolant-accident were analyzed. The transient pressure behavior inside the containment from the MARS-KS with the empirical correlation was compared with calculated with the Colburn-Hougen model.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.18-27
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• 2021

This study aims to develop an improved evaluation technology for assessing CANDU-6 safety. For this purpose, the multiple steam generator tube rupture (mSGTR) followed by an unmitigated station blackout (SBO) in a CANDU-6 plant was selected as a hypothetical event scenario and the analysis model to evaluate the plant responses was envisioned into the MARS-KS input model. The model includes logic models for controlling the pressure and inventory of the primary heat transport system (PHTS) decreasing due to the u-tubes' rupture, as well as the main features of PHTS with a simplified model for the horizontal fuel channels, the secondary heat transport system including the shell side of steam generators, feedwater and main steam line, and moderator system. A steady state condition was successfully achieved to confirm the stable convergence of the key parameters. Until the turbine trip, the fuel channels were adequately cooled by forced circulation of coolant and supply of main feedwater. However, due to the continuous reduction of PHTS pressure and inventory, the reactor and turbine were shut down and the thermal-hydraulic behaviors between intact and broken loops got asymmetric. Furthermore, as the conditions of low-flow coolant and high void fraction in the broken loop persisted, leading to degradation of decay heat removal, it was evaluated that the peak cladding temperature (PCT) exceeded the limit criteria for ensuring nuclear fuel integrity. This study is expected to provide the technical bases to the accident management strategy for transient conditions with multiple events.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.103-110
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• 2019

The domestic innovative power reactor named iPOWER will employ the passive molten corium cooling system(PMCCS) to cool down and stabilize the core melt in the severe accident. The final design concept of the PMCCS is yet to be determined, but the in-vessel retention through external reactor vessel cooling has been also considered as a viable strategy to cope with the severe accident. In this study, the two-phase natural circulation flow established between the reactor vessel and the insulation was simulated using a thermal-hydraulic system code, MARS-KS. The flow path of cooling water was modeled with one-dimensional nodes, and the boundary condition of the heat load from the molten core was defined to estimate the naturally-driven flow rate. The evolution of major thermal-hydraulic parameters were also evaluated, including the temperature and the level of cooling water, the void fraction around the lower head of the reactor vessel, and the heat transfer mode on its external surface.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.109-116
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• 2023

This study presents a CRUD modelling to simulate the thermal resistance behavior of CRUD, deposited on the surface of a cladding tube of a fuel assembly. When heat produced from fuels transfers to a coolant through a cladding tube, the CRUD acting as an additional thermal resistance is expressed as two layers, i.e., a solid oxide layer and an imaginary fluid layer, which are added to the experimental tube's heat structure of the MARS-KS input data. The validation calculation for the experiments performed in UNIST-DISNY facility showed that the center and surface temperatures of the cladding tube increased as the porosity and the steam amount inside pores of the CRUD got higher. In addition, the temperature gradient in the imaginary fluid layer was calculated to be larger than that in the solid oxide part, indicating that the steam amount inside the layer acted more largely as thermal resistance. It was also evaluated through sensitivity calculations that the cladding tube temperature was more sensitive to the CRUD porosity and the steam amount in pores than to the inlet flow rate of the coolant.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.74-80
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• 2021

Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) has been operating an integral effects test facility, the Advanced Thermal-Hydraulic Test Loop for Accident Simulation (ATLAS), according to APR1400 for transient experimental and design basis accident simulation. Moreover, based on the experimental data, the domestic standard problem (DSP) program has been conducted in Korea to validate system codes. Recently, through DSP-05, the performance of the passive auxiliary feedwater system (PAFS) in the event of multiple steam generator tube rupture (MSGTR) has been analyzed. However, some errors exist in the reference input model distributed for DSP-05. Furthermore, the calculation results of the heat loss correlation for the secondary system presented in the technical report of the reference indicate that a large difference is present in heat loss from the target value. Thus, in this study, the reference model is corrected using the geometric information from the design report and drawings of ATLAS. Additionally, a new heat loss correlation is suggested by fitting the results of the heat loss tests. Herein, MSGTR-PAFS accident analysis is performed using MARS-KS 1.5 with the improved model. The steady-state calculation results do not significantly differ from the experimental values, and the overall physical behavior of the transient state is properly predicted. Particularly, the predicted operating time of PAFS is similar to the experimental results obtained by the modified model. Furthermore, the operating time of PAFS varies according to the heat loss of the secondary system, and the sensitivity analysis results for the heat loss of the secondary system are presented.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.11-21
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• 2020

This study aims to develop and advance the evaluation technology for assessing PHWR safety. For this purpose, the complete loss of AC power or station blackout (SBO) was selected as a target accident scenario and the analysis model to evaluate the plant responses was envisioned into the MARS-KS input model. The model includes the main features of the primary heat transport system with a simplified model for the horizontal fuel channels, the secondary heat transport system including the shell side of steam generators, feedwater and main steam line, and moderator system. A steady state condition was achieved successfully by running the present model to check out the stable convergence of the key parameters. Subsequently, through the SBO transient analyses two cases with and without the coolant leakage via the PHTS pumps were simulated and the behaviors of the major parameters were compared. The sensitivity analysis on the amount of the coolant leakage by varying its flow area was also performed to investigate the effect on the system responses. It is expected that the results of the present study will contribute to upgrading the evaluation technology of the detailed thermal hydraulic analysis on the SBO transient of the operating PHWRs.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.96-108
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• 2015

A passive containment cooling system has been designed to remove the heat inside a containment during accidents without external power supply. In this work, the PCCS was introduced in the APR1400 plant to replace the containment spray system and, then, the thermal-hydraulic performance of the PCCS was analyzed using the system thermal-hydraulic computer code, MARS. A double-ended cold-leg break accident, which is known to induce the maximum pressure in the containment, is simulated, where the thermal hydraulics of the PCCS, the reactor coolant system, and the containment are simultaneously simulated. The results of the calculations showed that the PCCS can replace the existing spray system and that the containment building and its internal structure also play a very important role for the heat removal during the accident. Some sensitivity calculations were carried out to evaluate the model uncertainty and the effects of design parameters. The limitations of the PCCS are also discussed.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.37-42
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• 2022

An influence analysis on multiple steam generator tube rupture (mSGTR) followed by an unmitigated station blackout is performed to compare the plant responses according to the number of ruptured u-tubes under the assumption of a total of 10 ruptured u-tubes. In all calculation cases, the transient behaviour of major thermal-hydraulic parameters, such as the discharge flow rate through the ruptured u-tubes, reactor header pressure, and void fraction in the fuel channels is found to be overall similar to that of the base case having a single SG with 10 u-tubes ruptured. Additionally, as the conditions of low-flow coolant with high void fraction in the broken loop continued, causing the degradation of decay heat removal, the peak cladding temperature (PCT) would be expected to exceed the limit criteria for ensuring nuclear fuel integrity. However, despite the same total number of ruptured u-tubes, because of the different connection configuration between the SG and pressurizer, a difference is foud in time between the pressurizer low-level signal and reactor header low-pressure signal, affecting the time to trip the reactor and to reach the PCT limit. The present study is expected to provide the technical basis for the accident management strategy for mSGTR transient conditions of CANDU-6 plants.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.64-70
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• 2017

The concept of Hybrid Safety Injection Tank (Hybrid SIT) proposed by the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) has been introduced for the purpose of application to the Advanced Power Reactor Plus (APR+). In this study, the SBO situation of the APR+ was analyzed by using the MARS-KS code in order to evaluate whether the operation of the Hybrid SIT has an effect on the cooling performance of the Reactor Coolant System (RCS). According to the analysis, when the actuation valve on the pressure balancing line (PBL) is opened, the Hybrid SIT's pressure rises rapidly, forming equilibrium with the RCS pressure; subsequently, a flow is injected from the Hybrid SIT into the reactor vessel through the direct vessel injection (DVI) line. The analysis showed that it is possible to keep the core temperature below melting temperature during the operation of a Hybrid SIT.