• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제41권5호
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• pp.677-690
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• 2009

A previous study demonstrated that the two-row fuel assembly has much more favorable neutron-physical and thermal-hydraulic behavior than the conventional one-row fuel assemblies. Based on the newly developed two-row fuel assembly, an SCWR core is proposed and analyzed. The performance of the proposed core is investigated with 3-D coupled neutron-physical and thermal-hydraulic calculations. During the coupling procedure, the thermal-hydraulic behavior is analyzed using a sub-channel analysis code and the neutron-physical performance is computed with a 3-D diffusion code. This paper presents the main results achieved thus far related to the distribution of some neutronic and thermal-hydraulic parameters. It shows that with adjustment of the coolant and moderator mass flow in different assemblies, promising neutron-physical and thermal-hydraulic behavior of the SCWR core is achieved. A sensitivity study of the heat transfer correlation is also performed. Since the pin power in fuel assemblies can be non-uniform, a sub-channel analysis is necessary in order to investigate the detailed distribution of thermal-hydraulic parameters in the hottest fuel assembly. The sub-channel analysis is performed based on the bundle averaged parameters obtained with the core analysis. With the sub-channel analysis approach, more precise evaluation of the hot channel factor and maximum cladding surface temperature can be achieved. The difference in the results obtained with both the sub-channel analysis and the fuel assembly homogenized method confirms the importance of the sub-channel analysis.

• 한국원자력학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국원자력학회 2004년도 추계학술발표회 발표논문집
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• pp.211-212
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• 2004

• 드라이브 ㆍ 컨트롤
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• 제18권2호
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• pp.1-8
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• 2021

In this work, a circuit with a hydraulic power unit is formulated as a means of predicting the behavior of the prefill valve in the future. The behavior of the prefill valve can be examined by the measurements of the configured power unit, and the performance is determined by using hydraulic pumps, relief valves, and hydraulic hoses that make up the power unit. In particular, pressure/flow pulsation generated by hydraulic pumps can cause instability in the prefill valve and cause noise-induced degradation of the overall performance and reliability of the hydraulic system containing the prefill valve. Therefore, to study the behavior and performance of the prefill valve in a relatively accurate manner, the prediction of the characteristics of the hydraulic power unit driving the prefill valve is very important. In this study, the pulsation characteristics of the hydraulic pump were analyzed to theoretically demonstrate its relationship with different settings of the power unit, such as relief valve pressure settings and the presence/absence of the hose.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제52권12호
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• pp.2789-2802
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• 2020

Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) are attracting wide attention due to their outstanding performance, extensive studies have been carried out for lead-based fast reactors (LFRs) that cooled with Lead or Lead-bismuth (LBE), and small modular natural circulation LFR is one of the promising candidates for SMRs and LFRs development. One of the challenges for the design small modular natural circulation LFR is to master the natural circulation thermal-hydraulic performance in the reactor primary circuit, while the natural circulation characteristics is a coupled thermal-hydraulic problem of the core thermal power, the primary loop layout and the operating state of secondary cooling system etc. Thus, accurate predicting the natural circulation LFRs thermal-hydraulic features are highly required for conducting reactor operating condition evaluate and Thermal hydraulic design optimization. In this study, a thermal-hydraulic analysis code is developed for small modular natural circulation LFRs, which is based on several mathematical models for natural circulation originally. A small modular natural circulation LBE cooled fast reactor named URANUS developed by Korea is chosen to assess the code's capability. Comparisons are performed to demonstrate the accuracy of the code by the calculation results of MARS, and the key thermal-hydraulic parameters agree fairly well with the MARS ones. As a typical application case, steady-state analyses were conducted to have an assessment of thermal-hydraulic behavior under nominal condition, and several parameters affecting natural circulation were evaluated. What's more, two characteristics parameters that used to analyze natural circulation LFRs natural circulation capacity were established. The analyses show that the core thermal power, thermal center difference and flow resistance is the main factors affecting the reactor natural circulation. Improving the core thermal power, increasing the thermal center difference and decreasing the flow resistance can significantly increase the reactor mass flow rate. Characteristics parameters can be used to quickly evaluate the natural circulation capacity of natural circulation LFR under normal operating conditions.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제41권10호
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• pp.1263-1274
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• 2009

Several experimental tests to simulate a reflood phase of a cold-leg LBLOCA of the APR1400 have been performed using the ATLAS facility. This paper describes the related experimental results with respect to the thermal-hydraulic behavior in the core and the system-core interactions during the reflood phase of the cold-leg LBLOCA conditions. The present descriptions will be focused on the LB-CL-09, LB-CL-11, LB-CL-14, and LB-CL-15 tests performed using the ATLAS. The LB-CL-09 is an integral effect test with conservative boundary condition; the LB-CL-11 and -14 are integral effect tests with realistic boundary conditions, and the LB-CL-15 is a separated effect test. The objectives of these tests are to investigate the thermal-hydraulic behavior during an entire reflood phase and to provide reliable experimental data for validating the LBLOCA analysis methodology for the APR1400. The initial and boundary conditions were obtained by applying scaling ratios to the MARS simulation results for the LBLOCA scenario of the APR1400. The ECC water flow rate from the safety injection tanks and the decay heat were simulated from the start of the reflood phase. The simulated core power was controlled to be 1.2 times that of the ANS-73 decay heat curve for LB-CL-09 and 1.02 times that of the ANS-79 decay curve for LB-CL-11, -14, and -15. The simulated ECC water flow rate from the high pressure safety injection pump was 0.32 kg/s. The present experimental data showed that the cladding temperature behavior is closely related to the collapsed water level in the core and the downcomer.

• 한국원자력학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국원자력학회 1998년도 춘계학술발표회논문집(1)
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• pp.641-646
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• 1998

In order to enhance the dynamic and interactive simulation capability of a system thermal hydraulic code for nuclear power plant, applicability of flow network models in SINDA/FLUIN $T^{™}$ has been tested by modeling feedwater system and coupling to DSNP which is one of a system thermal hydraulic simulation code for a pressurized heavy water reactor. The feedwater system is selected since it is one of the most important balance of plant systems with a potential to greatly affect the behavior of nuclear steam supply system. The flow network model of this feedwater system consists of condenser, condensate pumps, low and high pressure heaters, deaerator, feedwater pumps, and control valves. This complicated flow network is modeled and coupled to DSNP and it is tested for several normal and abnormal transient conditions such turbine load maneuvering, turbine trip, and loss of class IV power. The results show reasonable behavior of the coupled code and also gives a good dynamic and interactive simulation capabilities for the several mild transient conditions. It has been found that coupling system thermal hydraulic code with a flow network code is a proper way of upgrading simulation capability of DSNP to mature nuclear plant analyzer (NPA).

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제35권5호
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• pp.426-441
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• 2003

A reactor inlet header break experiment, B9401, performed in the RD-14M multi channel test facility was analyzed using RELAP5/MOD3.2 and RELAP5/CANDU[1]. The RELAP5 has been developed for the use in the analysis of the transient behavior of the pressurized water reactor. A recent study showed that the RELAP5 could be feasible even for the simulation of the thermal hydraulic behavior of CANDU reactors. However, some deficiencies in the prediction of fuel sheath temperature and transient behavior in athe headers were identified in the RELAP5 assessments. The RELAP5/CANDU has been developing to resolve the deficiencies in the RELAP5 and to improve the predictability of the thermal-hydraulic behaviors of the CANDU reactors. In the RELAP5/CANDU, critical heat flux model, horizontal flow regime map, heat transfer model in horizontal channel, etc. were modified or added to the RELAP5/MOD3.2. This study aims to identify the applicability of both codes, in particular, in the multi-channel simulation of the CANDU reactors. The RELAP5/MOD3.2 and the RELAP5/CANDU analyses demonstrate the code's capability to predict reasonably the major phenomena occurred during the transient. The thermal-hydraulic behaviors of both codes are almost identical, however, the RELAP5/CANDU predicts better the heater sheath temperature than the RELAP5/MOD3.2. Pressure differences between headers govern the flow characteristics through the heated sections, particularly after the ECI. In determining header pressure, there are many uncertainties arisen from the complicated effects including steady state pressure distribution. Therefore, it would be concluded that further works are required to reduce these uncertainties, and consequently predict appropriately thermal-hydraulic behaviors in the reactor coolant system during LOCA analyses.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제55권9호
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• pp.3320-3325
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• 2023

The scaled water-cooled Reactor Cavity Cooling System (RCCS) experimental facility reproduces a passive safety feature to be implemented in Generation IV nuclear reactors. It keeps the reactor cavity and other internal structures in operational conditions by removing heat leakage from the reactor pressure vessel. The present work uses Flownex one-dimensional thermal-fluid code to model the facility and predict the experimental thermal-hydraulic behavior. Two representative steady-state cases defined by the bulk volumetric flow rate are simulated (Re = 2,409 and Re = 11,524). Results of the cavity outlet temperature, risers' temperature profile, and volumetric flow split in the cooling panel are also compared with the experimental data and RELAP system code simulations. The comparisons are in reasonable agreement with the previous studies, demonstrating the ability of Flownex to simulate the RCCS behavior. It is found that the low Re case of 2,409, temperature and flow split are evenly distributed across the risers. On the contrary, there's an asymmetry trend in both temperature and flow split distributions for the high Re case of 11,524.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제40권3호
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• pp.199-212
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• 2008

A small-break loss of coolant accident (SB-LOCA) test with a break size equivalent to a 3-inch cold leg break of the APR1400 was carried out as the first transient integral effect test using the ATLAS (Advanced Thermal-hydraulic Test Loop for Accident Simulation). This was the first integral effect test to investigate the integral performance of the test facility and to verify its simulation capability for one of the design-basis accidents. Reasonably good thermal hydraulic data was obtained so that an integral performance of the fluid sub-systems was identified and control performance of the ATLAS was confirmed under real thermal hydraulic conditions. Based on the measured data, a post-test calculation was carried out using the best-estimate thermal hydraulic safety analysis code, MARS 3.1, and the similarity between the expected and actual data was investigated. On the whole, the post-test calculation reasonably predicts the major thermal hydraulic parameters measured during the SB-LOCA test. The obtained data will be used to enhance the simulation capability of the ATLAS and to improve an input model of the ATLAS for simulation of other target scenarios.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제39권4호
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• pp.299-312
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• 2007

The program on thermal-hydraulic evaluation by testing and analysis (THETA) for the development and licensing of the new design features in the APR1400 (Advanced Power Reactor-1400) is briefly introduced with a presentation on the research motivation and typical results of the separate effect tests and analyses of the major design features. The first part deals with multi-dimensional phenomena related to the safety analysis of the APR1400. One research area is related to the multidimensional behavior of the safety injection (SI) water in a reactor pressure vessel downcomer that uses a direct vessel injection type of SI system. The other area is associated with the condensation of steam jets and the resultant thermal mixing in a water pool; these phenomena are relevant to the depressurization of a reactor coolant system (RCS). The second part describes our efforts to develop new components for safety enhancements, such as a fluidic device as a passive SI flow controller and a sparger to depressurize the RCS. This work contributes to an understanding of the new thermal-hydraulic phenomena that are relevant to advanced reactor system designs; it also improves the prediction capabilities of analysis tools for multi-dimensional flow behavior, especially in complicated geometries.