• Journal of the Korean Society of Visualization
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.23-34
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• 2020

Two-phase flow and heat transfer characteristics during the reflood phase of a single heated rod in the KHU reflood experimental facility were examined. Two-phase flow behavior during the reflooding experiment was carefully visualized along with transient temperature measurement at a point inside the heated rod. By numerically solving one-dimensional inverse heat conduction equation using the measured temperature data, time-resolved wall heat flux and temperature histories at the interface of the heated rod and coolant were obtained. Once water coolant was injected into the test section from the bottom to reflood the heated rod of >700℃, vast vapor bubbles and droplets were generated near the reflood front and dispersed flow film boiling consisted of continuous vapor flow and tiny liquid droplets appeared in the upper part. Following the dispersed flow film boiling, inverted annular/slug/churn flow film boiling regimes were sequentially observed and the wall temperature gradually decreased. When so-called minimum film boiling temperature reached, the stable vapor film between the heated rod and coolant was suddenly collapsed, resulting in the quenching transition from film boiling into nucleate boiling. The moving speed of the quench front measured in the present study showed a good agreement with prediction by a correlation in literature. The obtained results revealed that typical two-phase flow and heat transfer behaviors during the reflood phase of overheated fuel rods in light water nuclear reactors are well reproduced in the KHU facility. Thus, the verified reflood experimental facility can be used to explore the effects of other affecting parameters, such as CRUD, on the reflood heat transfer behaviors in practical nuclear reactors.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 1997.05a
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• pp.409-414
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• 1997

Reflood model in RELAP5/MOD3.1 are modified to improve the unrealistic prediction results of the model. In the new method, the modified Zuber pool boiling critical heat flux (CHF) correlation is adopted. The reflood drop size is characterized by the use of We=1.5 and the minimum drop size of 0.0007 m for $p^{*}\;{\leq}\;0.025$. To describe the wall to vapor heat transfer at low pressure and low flow condition, the Webb-Chen correlation is utilized . The suggested method has been verified through the simulations of the Lehigh University rod bundle reflood tests. Through sensitivity study it is shown that the effect of drag coefficients is dominant in the reflood model. It is proved that the present modifications result in much more improved quench behavior and accurate wan and vapor temperature predictions.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.265-276
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• 1994

Several improvements to the RELAP5/MOD3 reflood model hate been made. These improvement were made to correct deficiencies in the reflood model identified by the assessment of the RELAP5/MOD3 code against FLECHT-SEASET experiments. The improvements consist of modification of reflood wall heat transfer package and adjusting the droplet size in dispersed flow regime. The time smoothing of wall vaporization and level tracking of transition flow are also added to eliminate the pressure spikes and level oscillation during reflood process. Assessment of the improved model against FLECHT-SEASET experimental data and application of LBLOCA analysis for plant shows that the deficiencies have been corrected.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.41 no.10
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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.

• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.1182-1193
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• 2005

The capability of TRAC-M code to predict downcomer boiling effect during reflood phase in postulated PWR LOCA is evaluated using the results of downcomer effective water head and Cylindrical Core Test Facility (CCTF) experiments, which were performed at JAERI. With a full height downcomer simulator, effective water head experiment was carried out to investigate the applicability of the TRAC-M best estimate LOCA code to evaluate the effective water head with superheated wall temperature in downcomer. In order to clarify the effect of the initial superheat of the downcomer wall on the system and the core cooling behaviors during the reflood phase, two sets of analysis were also performed with a CCTF. Results show that TRAC­M code tends to under-predict downcomer effective water head and core differential pressure. However, the code results show a good agreement with the experimental results in downcomer temperature, heat flux and pressure. Finally, both experiment and calculation showed that the downcomer water head with the superheated downcomer wall is lower than that of the saturated wall temperature.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.257-270
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• 2011

A set of reflood tests has been performed using ATLAS, which is a thermal-hydraulic integral effect test facility for the pressurized water reactors of APR1400 and OPR1000. Several important phenomena were observed during the ATLAS LBLOCA reflood tests, including core quenching, down-comer boiling, ECC bypass, and steam binding. The present paper discusses those four topics based on the LB-CL-11 test, which is a best-estimate simulation of the LBLOCA reflood phase for APR1400 using ATLAS. Both homogeneous bottom quenching and inhomogeneous top quenching were observed for a uniform radial power profile during the LB-CL-11 test. From the observation of the down-comer boiling phenomena during the LB-CL-11 test, it was found that the measured void fraction in the lower down-comer region was relatively smaller than that estimated from the RELAP5 code, which predicted an unrealistically higher void generation and magnified the downcomer boiling effect for APR1400. The direct ECC bypass was the dominant ECC bypass mechanism throughout the test even though sweep-out occurred during the earlier period. The ECC bypass fractions were between 0.2 and 0.6 during the later test period. The steam binding phenomena was observed, and its effect on the collapsed water levels of the core and down-comer was discussed.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.7-14
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• 1986

To predict the fuel clad temperature during the reflooding phase of a LOCA, one may need a knowledge of reflood heat tranfer mechanism in a rod bundle. For this purpose reflooding experiments have been carried out with an electrically heated 3*3 rod bundle. Using the method for the determination of local heat transfer coefficient from the measured wall temperature the parametric effects of coolant flow rate, initial wall temperature, coolant subcooling and heat generation rate on the propagation of rewetting front were investigated. Prediction of the wall temperature histories for these experiments was discussed using REFLUX code with modification of the rewetting temperature correlation. Through this modification, better agreement between experiment and prediction was obtained.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.66-80
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• 1991

The LOFT intermediate break experiment L5-1, which simulates 12 inch diameter ECC line break in a typical PWR, has been analyzed using the reactor thermal/hydraulic analysis code RELAP5/MOD2, Cycle 36.04. The base calculation, which modeled the core with single flow channel and two heat structures without using the options of reflood and gap conductance model, has been successfully completed and compared with experimental data. Sensitivity studies were carried out to investigate the effects of nodalization at reactor vessel and core modeling on major thermal hydraulic parameters, especially on peak cladding temperature(PCT). These sensitivity items are : single flow channel and single heat structure (Case A), two flow channel and two heat structures (Case B), reflood option added (Case C) and both reflood and gap conductance options added (Case D). The code, RELAP5/MOD2 Cycle 36.04 with the base modeling, predicted the key parameters of LOFT IBLOCA Test L5-1 better than Cases A,B,C and D. Thus, it is concluded that the single flow channel modeling for core is better than the two flow channel modeling and two heat structure is also better than single heat structure modeling to predict PCT at the central fuel rods. It is, therefore, recommended to use the reflood option and not to use gap conductance option for this L5-1 type IBLOCA.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.315-326
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• 2001

Direct ECC bypass phenomena that occur in a reactor vessel downcomer with a Direct Vessel Injection (DVI) system during the reflood phase of a Large Break Loss-of-Coolant Accident (LBLOCA) are experimentally investigated using a transparent l/7.5 scaled down test facility of the Upper Plenum Test Facility (UPTF). A series of separate effect tests are peformed in order to investigate the mechanisms of direct ECC bypass and to find out its scaling parameters. Various flow regimes and phasic distribution in downcomer are identified and mapped, and the fraction of direct ECC bypass is measured under a wide range of air and water injection conditions. From the counterpart test of the UPTF Test 21-D, the dimensionless gas velocity ( $j^{*}$$_{g,eff}$) is derived experimentally, which is believed to be a major scaling parameter for the fraction of direct ECC bypass. And it is found out that the direct ECC bypass is greatly affected by the spreading width of ECC water film and the geometric configuration of the downcomer.r.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.421-432
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• 2002

As one of the advanced design features of the APR1400, direct vessel injection (DVI) system is being considered instead of conventional cold leg injection (CLI) system. It is known that the DVI system greatly enhances the reliability of the emergency core cooling (ECC) system. However, there is still a dispute on its performance in terms of water delivery to the reactor core during the reflood phase of a large-break loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA). Thus, experimental validation is under progress. In this paper, test results of direct ECC bypass performed in the steam-water test facility tailed MIDAS (Multi-dimensional Investigation in Downcomer Annulus Simulation) are presented. The test condition is determined, based on the preliminary analysis of TRAC code, by applying the ‘modified linear scaling method’with the l/4.93 length scale . From the tests, ECC direct bypass fraction, steam condensation rate and information on the flow distribution in the upper annulus downcomer region are obtained.