• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제54권4호
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• pp.1495-1507
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• 2022

The improvement of thermal-hydraulic analysis techniques is essential to ensure the safety and reliability of nuclear power plants. The one-dimensional two-fluid model has been adopted in state-of-the-art thermal-hydraulic system codes. Current constitutive equations used in the system codes reach a mature level. Some exceptions are the partition method of wall friction in the momentum equation of the two-fluid model and the interfacial drag force model for a horizontal two-phase flow. This study is focused on deriving the partition method of wall friction in the momentum equation of the two-fluid model and modeling the interfacial drag force model for a horizontal bubbly flow. The one-dimensional momentum equation in the two-fluid model is derived from the local momentum equation. The derived one-dimensional momentum equation demonstrates that total wall friction should be apportioned to gas and liquid phases based on the phasic volume fraction, which is the same as that used in the SPACE code. The constitutive equations for the interfacial drag force are also identified. Based on the assessments, the Rassame-Hibiki correlation, Hibiki-Ishii correlation, Ishii-Zuber correlation, and Rassame-Hibiki correlation are recommended for computing the distribution parameter, interfacial area concentration, drag coefficient, and relative velocity covariance of a horizontal bubbly flow, respectively.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제55권7호
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• pp.2438-2446
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• 2023

To cool down a nuclear reactor core and prevent the fuel damage without a pump-driven active component during any anticipated accident, the passive emergency core cooling system (PECCS) was designed and adopted in an advanced light water reactor, i-POWER. In this study, for a validation of the cooling capability of PECCS, thermal-hydraulic integral effect tests were performed with the ATLAS facility by simulating intermediate and small break loss-of-coolant accidents (IBLOCA and SBLOCA). The test result showed that PECCS could effectively depressurize the reactor coolant system by supplying the safety injection water from the safety injection tanks (SITs). The result pointed out that the safety injection from IRWST should have been activated earlier to inhibit the excessive core heat-up. The sequence of the PECCS injection and the major thermal hydraulic transient during the SBLOCA transient was similar to the result of the IBLOCA test with the equivalent PECCS condition. The test data can be used to evaluate the capability of thermal hydraulic safety analysis codes in predicting IBLOCA and SBLOCA transients under an operation of passive safety system.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제55권11호
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• pp.4048-4056
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• 2023

The feasibility of using the Monte Carlo code MCS to generate multigroup cross sections for nodal diffusion simulations RAST-F of liquid metal fast reactors is investigated in this paper. The performance of the MCS/RAST-F code system is assessed using steady-state simulations of the ANTS-100e core. The results show good agreement between MCS/RAST-F and MCS reference solutions, with a keff difference of less than 77 pcm and root-mean-square differences in radial and axial power of less than 0.5% and 0.25%, respectively. Furthermore, the MCS/RAST-F reactivity feedback coefficients are within three standard deviations of the MCS coefficients. To validate the internal thermal-hydraulic (TH) feedback capability in RAST-F code, the coupled neutronic/TH1D simulation of ANTS-100e is performed using the case matrix obtained from MCS branch calculations. The results are compared to those obtained using the MARS-LBE system code and show good agreement with relative temperature differences in fuel and coolant of less than 0.8%. This study demonstrates that the MCS/RAST-F code system can produce accurate results for core steady-state neutronic calculations and for coupled neutronic/TH simulations.

• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
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• 제17권9호
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• pp.1380-1387
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• 2003

When a cold HPSI (High pressure Safety Injection) fluid associated with an overcooling transient, such as SGTR (Steam Generator Tube Rupture), MSLB (Main Steam Line Break) etc., enters the cold legs of a stagnated primary coolant loop, thermal stratification phenomena will arise due to incomplete mixing. If the stratified flow enters the downcomer of the reactor pressure vessel, severe thermal stresses are created in a radiation embrittled vessel wall by local overcooling. As general thermal-hydraulic system analysis codes cannot properly predict the thermal stratification phenomena, RG 1.154 requires that a detailed thermal-mixing analysis of PTS (pressurized Thermal Shock) evaluation be performed. Also. previous PTS studies have assumed that the thermal stratification phenomena generated in the stagnated loop side of a partially stagnated primary coolant loop are neutralized in the vessel downcomer by the strong flow from the unstagnated loop. On the basis of these reasons, this paper focuses on the development of a 3-dimensional thermal-mixing analysis model using PHOENICS code which can be applied to both partial and total loop stagnated cases. In addition, this paper verifies the fact that, for partial loop stagnated cases, the cold plume generated in the vessel downcomer due to the thermal stratification phenomena of the stagnated loop is almost neutralized by the strong flow of the unstagnated loop but is not fully eliminated.

• 대한기계학회:학술대회논문집
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• 대한기계학회 2001년도 춘계학술대회논문집D
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• pp.915-920
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• 2001

A spent fuel problem has prevented the nuclear power from claiming to be a completely clean energy source. The nuclear transmutation technology to incinerate the long lived radioactive nuclides and produce energy during the incineration process is believed to be one or the best solutions. HYPER(Hybrid Power Extraction Reactor) is the accelerator driven transmutation system which is being developed by KAERI(Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute). Some major feature of HYPER have been developed and employed. On-power fueling concepts are employed to keep system power constant with minimum variation of accelerator power. A hollow cylinder-type metal fuel is designed for the on-line refueling concept. Lead-bismuth(Pb-Bi) is adopted as a coolant and Spallation target material. HYPER is a subcritical reactor which needs an external neutron source. 1GeV proton beam is irradiated to Lead-bismuth(Pb-Bi) target inside HYPER, and spallation neutrons are produced. When proton beams are irradiated, much heat is also deposited in the Pb-Bi target and beam window which separates Pb-Bi and accelerator vacuum. Therfore, an effective cooling is needed for HYPER target. In this paper, we performed the thermal-hydraulic analysis of HYPER target using FLUENT code, and also calculated thermal and mechanical stress of the beam window using ANSYS code.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제56권2호
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• pp.762-769
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• 2024

The TMSR-SF0 simulator is an integral effect thermal-hydraulic experimental system for the development of thorium molten salt reactor (TMSR) program in China. The simulator has two heat transport loops with liquid FLiNaK. In literature, the 95% level confidence uncertainties of the thermophysical properties of FLiNaK are recommended, and the uncertainties of density, heat capacity, thermal conductivity and viscosity are ±2%, ±10, ±10% and ±10% respectively. In order to investigate the effects of thermophysical properties uncertainties on the molten salt heat transport system, the uncertainty and sensitivity analysis of the heat transfer characteristics of the simulator system are carried out on a RELAP5 model. The uncertainties of thermophysical properties are incorporated in simulation model and the Monte Carlo sampling method is used to propagate the input uncertainties through the model. The simulation results indicate that the uncertainty propagated to core outlet temperature is about ±10 ℃ with a confidence level of 95% in a steady-state operation condition. The result should be noted in the design, operation and code validation of molten salt reactor. In addition, more experimental data is necessary for quantifying the uncertainty of thermophysical properties of molten salts.

• 한국원자력학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국원자력학회 1996년도 추계학술발표회논문집(1)
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• pp.403-408
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• 1996

The subchannel analysis was performed to verify the behavior of hot channel characteristics and obtain the information to support the core thermal-hydraulic behavior at post-trip steam line break with low flow condition. During this postulated accident, buoyancy-induced cross flow occurs, and the coupled nuclear and thermal-hydraulic interactions become important. The code predictions with TORC are in good agreement with the test data. Under such conditions, the mass flow increase in the hot channel by buoyancy-induced cross flow depends on the parameter $GR^{*}\;/\;Re^2$, and buoyancy effect becomes more noticeable as $GR^{*}\;/\;Re^2$ increases.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제31권1호
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• pp.88-103
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• 1999

The purposes of this study are to understand the severe accident phenomena, to establish the simulation method for the experimental test, and to assess the current models in MELCOR for future improvement. This paper presents the results of the PHEBUS FPT1 post test analysis using MELCOR computer code, version 1.8.4. The entire PHEBUS facility has been modeled; the core, the primary circuit including the steam generator, and the containment vessel. Both the thermal hydraulic and the fission product behavior have been investigated. The code simulation results of the thermal hydraulic behavior show good agreement with the experimental data, The fission product release and transport are calculated using the CORSOR models in MELCOR code and the results will be compared with the experiment when the experimental data are available.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제31권1호
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• pp.104-115
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• 1999

The turbulent mixing rate is a very important variable in the thermal-hydraulic design of nuclear reactors. In this study, the turbulent mixing rate the fluid flows through rod bundles is estimated with the scale analysis on the flow pulsation phenomenon. Based upon the assumption that the turbulent mixing is composed of molecular motion, isotropic turbulent motion (turbulent motion without the flow pulsation), and How pulsation, the scale relation for the mixing is derived as a function of P/D, Re, and Pr. The derived scale relation is compared with published experimental results and shows good agreements. Since the scale relation is applicable to various Prandtl number fluid flows, it is expected to be useful for the thermal-hydraulic analysis of liquid metal coolant reactors as well as of moderate Prandtl number coolant reactors.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제51권2호
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• pp.394-401
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• 2019

The failure of steam generators (SGs) due to corrosion is one of the most important problems in power plants. Impurities usually accumulate in the hot sides of SG and form deposits on the SG surfaces. In this paper, the sensitivity analysis of the accumulation of water impurities in the heat exchangers of nuclear power plants is presented. The convection-diffusion equation of the liquid phase on the heated surfaces is derived and then solved by the finite volume method. Also, the effects of the thermal-hydraulic parameters in the form of dimensionless numbers, such as $Pe_q$, $Pe_u$, $k_q$(relative solubility of impurity between the steam and water) on the impurities concentration are studied.