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Development of a porous body model for decay heat removal studies in a pool type sodium cooled fast reactor

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Abstract

In this paper, the primary heat transport circuit of a pool type fast breeder reactor has been analyzed to demonstrate its decay heat removal capability without exceeding design safety limits even under complete power failure condition leading to natural convection flow in the system. A three dimensional model of large sodium pool (~12 m diameter) and complex inter-wrapper flow path through narrow gaps (3.4 mm) between a large number of heat generating subassemblies is simplified to a semi-3D porous body model which is computationally less intensive. The proposed semi-3D model has been validated against the detailed three dimensional model. The analysis has been carried out using the general purpose CFD code STAR-CD. The predicted results demonstrate that the decay heat removal system is conducive for natural convection and can remove the heat, keeping all the important temperatures within design safety limits.

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Abbreviations

C1ε :

Model constant in turbulence equation

C2ε :

Model constant in turbulence equation

Cμ :

Model constant in turbulence equation

Cp :

Specific heat (J/kgK)

Eu:

Euler number, \( \frac{\Updelta P}{{\rho v^{2} /2}} \)

k:

Turbulent kinetic energy (m2/s)

K eff :

Effective thermal conductivity (W/mK)

K:

Thermal conductivity (W/mK)

N:

Number of rows

Nu:

Nusselt number, \( \frac{{hD_{h} }}{{K_{f} }} \)

P:

Pressure (N/m2)

Pe:

Peclet number, \( \frac{{\mu C_{p} }}{K} \)

Pi :

Instantaneous power

Pk :

Production of turbulent kinetic energy

Po :

Initial steady state reactor core power (MW)

Prε :

Prandtl number for rate of dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy

Prk :

Prandtl number for turbulent kinetic energy

R:

Local radius (m)

Re:

Reynolds number

Se :

Heat source in energy equation (W/m3)

Su :

Momentum source in x momentum equation (N/m3)

Sv :

Momentum source in y momentum equation (N/m3)

Sw :

Momentum source in z momentum equation (N/m3)

SSP:

Initial steady state storage subassembly power (kW)

t:

Time (S)

T:

Temperature (K)

THP :

Hot pool temperature (K)

u:

Velocity in x direction (m/s)

u′:

Fluctuating velocity component (m/s)

U:

Overall heat transfer coefficient (W/m2/K)

Umod :

Modified overall heat transfer coefficient (W/m2/K)

v:

Velocity in y direction (m/s)

w:

Velocity in z direction (m/s)

ΔP:

Pressure drop (N/m2)

ΔR:

Radial width of the subassembly row (m)

ε:

Dissipation rate of turbulent kinetic energy (m2/s3)

μ:

Fluid viscosity (N s/m2)

μ eff :

Effective viscosity (N s/m2)

μt :

Turbulent viscosity (N s/m2)

ρ:

Density (kg/m3)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Thermal Hydraulics Section, Nuclear and Safety Engineering Group, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, CDO Building, Kalpakkam, 603102, Tamilnadu, India

    U. Partha Sarathy & K. Velusamy

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, Chennai, 600036, India

    T. Sundararajan & C. Balaji

Authors
  1. U. Partha Sarathy
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  2. T. Sundararajan
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  3. C. Balaji
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  4. K. Velusamy
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Correspondence to U. Partha Sarathy.

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Partha Sarathy, U., Sundararajan, T., Balaji, C. et al. Development of a porous body model for decay heat removal studies in a pool type sodium cooled fast reactor. Int J Adv Eng Sci Appl Math 4, 202–216 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12572-012-0073-z

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