Simulation of hydrogen mitigation in catalytic recombiner: Part-I: Surface chemistry modelling

This paper aims at accurate modelling of a Passive Catalytic Recombiner used for hydrogen mitigation in the nuclear power plant containments. In order to assess the performance of the recombiner through numerical simulations, it is required to accurately predict the catalytic reactions. There are various detailed reaction mechanisms available in the literature for prediction of hydrogen-oxygen reaction over a platinum surface. While a single step reaction rate expression is always sought in order to obtain numerical predictions economically, a detailed reaction mechanism that includes several elementary reactions and intermediate species is likely to produce more accurate predictions. The paper compares the solution from two of competing models, one a single step reaction and the other a multiple reaction model. A new single step rate expression is also derived from the detailed mechanism after simplifying it for the present problem. The paper also considers the diffusion controlled model that assumes rapid reaction rates for which the surface chemistry is not required at all. In order to find the best suited approach to model the surface chemistry, CFD simulations were performed with FLUENT code using available experimental data from the literature. The current study reports comparison up to 4% H₂ mole fraction in dry air with catalyst temperature varying from 300 K to 800 K. It is demonstrated that the new single step model is able to satisfactorily predict the data as well as the detailed chemistry model. The diffusion controlled model is shown to over-predict the data.     

Fluid dynamic analysis of a catalytic recombiner to remove hydrogen

Catalytic reacting surfaces in recombiners are a reliable way to remove hydrogen as well as other burnable gases like CO in a passive way from the containment atmosphere of a nuclear power plant (NPP) during an accident. Industrial mature designs are ready to be installed in large dry containments to act as a mitigation measure preferably in the case of severe accidents. Experiments have been carried out to study manifold aspects of recombiners like the efficiency of hydrogen removal, start-up conditions, poisoning, oxygen starvation, steam and water impact and others. Mostly the global behaviour of a given device in a larger environment has been investigated in order to demonstrate the effectiveness and to facilitate the derivation of simplified models for long-term severe accident analyses. There are a number of reasons to look inside a recombiner to understand the interaction of chemistry and flow. This can help in understanding the dependencies of non-measurable variables (e.g. reaction rate), of local surface temperatures and more. It also offers possibilities to increase the chemical efficiency by optimising the geometry properly. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) codes are available to be used as development tools to include the specifics of catalytic surface reactions. The present paper describes the use of the code system CFX (CFX 4.1 Flow Solver User Guide. 1995, Computational Fluid Dynamics Services, AEA Technology plc, Oxfordshire, UK) for creating a recombiner model. Finally its comparison with existing test data is discussed.     

Analysis of hydrogen risk mitigation with passive autocatalytic recombiner system in CPR1000 NPP during a hypothetical station blackout

Hydrogen safety has attracted extensive concern in severe accident analysis especially after the Fukushima accident. In this study, a similar station blackout as happened in Fukushima accident is simulated for CPR1000 nuclear power plant (NPP) model, with the computational fluid dynamic code GASFLOW. The hydrogen risk is analyzed with the assessment of efficiency of passive autocatalytic recombiner (PAR) system. The numerical results show that the CPR1000 containment may be damaged by global flame acceleration (FA) and local detonation caused by hydrogen combustion if no hydrogen mitigation system (HMS) is applied. A new condensation model is developed and validated in this study for the consideration of natural circulation flow pattern and presence of non-condensable gases. The new condensation model is more conservative in hydrogen risk evaluation than the current model in some compartments, giving earlier starting time of deflagration to detonation transition (DDT). The results also indicate that the PAR system installed in CPR1000 could prevent the occurrence of the FA and DDT. Therefore, HMS such as PAR system is suggested to be applied in NPPs to avoid the radioactive leak caused by containment failure.     

CFD evaluation of hydrogen risk mitigation measures in a VVER-440/213 containment

In the PHARE project “Hydrogen Management for the VVER440/213” (HU2002/000-632-04-01), CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) calculations using GASFLOW, FLUENT and CFX were performed for the Paks NPP (Nuclear Power Plant), modelling a defined severe accident scenario which involves the release of hydrogen. The purpose of this work is to demonstrate that CFD codes can be used to model gas movement inside a containment during a severe accident. With growing experience in performing such analyses, the results encourage the use of CFD in assessing the risk of losing containment integrity as a result of hydrogen deflagrations. As an effective mitigation measure in such a situation, the implementation of catalytic recombiners is planned in the Paks NPP. In order to support these plans both unmitigated and recombiner-mitigated simulations were performed. These are described and selected results are compared. The codes CFX and FLUENT needed refinement to their models of wall and bulk steam condensation in order to be able to fully simulate the severe accident under consideration.Several CFD codes were used in parallel to model the same accident scenario in order to reduce uncertainties in the results.Previously it was considered impractical to use CFD codes to simulate a full containment subject to a severe accident extending over many hours. This was because of the expected prohibitive computing times and missing physical capabilities of the codes. This work demonstrates that, because of developments in the capabilities of CFD codes and improvements in computer power, these calculations have now become feasible.     

Analysis of hydrogen depletion using a scaled passive autocatalytic recombiner

Hydrogen depletion tests of a scaled passive autocatalytic recombiner (PAR) were performed in the Surtsey test vessel Germany) at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL). The experiments were used to determine the hydrogen depletion rate of a PAR in the presence of steam and also to evaluate the effect of scale (number of cartridges) on the PAR performance at both low and high hydrogen concentrations.     

Benchmark Simulation of Turbulent Flow through a Staggered Tube Bundle to Support CFD as a Reactor Design Tool. Part I: SRANS CFD Simulation

Time-invariant and time-variant numerical simulations of flow through a staggered tube bundle array, idealizing the lower plenum (LP) subsystem configuration of a very high temperature reactor (VHTR), were performed. In Part I, the CFD prediction of fully periodic isothermal tube-bundle flow using steady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (SRANS) equations with common turbulence models was investigated at a Reynolds number (Re) of 1.8 × 10⁴, based on the tube diameter and inlet velocity. Three first-order turbulence models, standard k-ε turbulence, renormalized group (RNG) k-ε, and shear stress transport (SST) k-ω models, and a second-order turbulence model, Reynolds stress model (RSM), were considered. A comparison of CFD simulations and experiment results was made at five locations along (x, y) coordinates. The SRANS simulation showed that no universal model predicted the turbulent Reynolds stresses, and generally, the results were marginal to poor. This is because these models cannot accurately model the periodic, spatiotemporal nature of the complex wake flow structure.     

Benchmark Simulation of Turbulent Flow through a Staggered Tube Bundle to Support CFD as a Reactor Design Tool. Part II: URANS CFD Simulation

In Part II, we described the unsteady flow simulation and proposed a modification of a traditional turbulence flow model. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of an isothermal, fully periodic flow across a tube bundle using unsteady Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) equations, with turbulence models such as the Reynolds stress model (RSM) were investigated at a Reynolds number of 1.8 × 10⁴, based on the tube diameter and inlet velocity. As noted in Part I, CFD simulation and experimental results were compared at five positions along (x; y) coordinates. The steady RANS simulation showed that four diverse turbulence models were efficient for predicting the Reynolds stresses, and generally, SRANS results were marginal to poor, using a consistent evaluation terminology. In the URANS simulation, we modeled the turbulent flow field in a manner similar to the approach used for large eddy simulation (LES). The time-dependent URANS results showed that the simulation reproduces the dynamic stability as characterized by transverse oscillatory flow structures in the near-wake region. In particular, the inclusion of terms accounting for the time scales associated with the production range and dissipation rate of turbulence generates unsteady statistics of the mean and fluctuation flow. In spite of this, the model implemented produces better agreement with a benchmark data set and is thus recommended.     

Simulation of hydrogen distribution and effect of Engineering Safety Features (ESFs) on its mitigation in a WWER-1000 containment

In this study, thermal–hydraulic parameters inside the containment of a WWER-1000/v446 nuclear power plant are simulated in a double-ended cold leg accident for short and long times(by using CONTAIN 2.0 and MELCOR 1.8.6 codes), and the effect of the spray system as an engineering safety feature on parameters mitigation is analyzed with the former code. Along with the development of the accident from design basis accident to beyond design basis accident,the Zircaloy–steam reaction becomes the source of in-vessel hydrogen generation. Hydrogen distribution inside the containment is simulated for a long time(using CONTAIN and MELCOR), and the effect of recombiners on its mitigation is analyzed(using MELCOR). Thermal–hydraulic parameters and hydrogen distribution profiles are presented as the outcome of the investigation. By activating the spray system, the peak points of pressure and temperature occur in the short time and remain below the maximum design values along the accident time. It is also shown that recombiners have a reliable effect on reducing the hydrogen concentration below flame propagation limit in the accident localization area. The parameters predicted by CONTAIN and MELCOR are in good agreement with the final safety analysis report. The noted discrepancies are discussed and explained.     

Improvements in a CFD code for analysis of hydrogen behaviour within containments

The use of CFD codes for the analysis of the hydrogen behaviour within NPP containments during severe accidents has been increasing during last years. In this paper, the adaptation of a commercial multi-purpose code to this kind of problem is explained, i.e. by the implementation of models for several transport and physical phenomena like: steam condensation onto walls in presence of non-condensable gases, heat conduction, fog and rain formation, material properties and criteria for assessing the hydrogen combustion regime expected. The code has been validated against several experiments in order to verify its capacity to simulate the following phenomena: plumes, mixing, stratification and condensation. Moreover, two tests in an integral large enough experimental facility have been simulated, showing that the well-mixed and stratified conditions of the test were reproduced by the code. Finally, an example of a plant application demonstrates the ability of the code in this kind of problems.     

蒸汽发生器干燥器CFD模拟分析

为了研究蒸汽发生器干燥器的负荷分布特性,采用计算流体动力学(CFD)软件ANSYS CFX12.1,对CPR1000蒸汽发生器干燥器进行单相流场分析,得到其流场分布,对干燥器的负荷不均匀性及分离性能进行了评估分析。此外,通过与无均汽网模型的计算结果进行对比,分析均汽网对于干燥器负荷分布及分离性能的重要性,并提出了均汽网设计的改进方法。     

CFD simulations of hydrogen combustion in a simplified EPR containment with CFX and REACFLOW

The prediction of over-pressures and temperatures that are generated by hydrogen explosions in case of a severe nuclear accident is a crucial stage of the safety analysis of the containment. The investigation presented in this paper is a continuation of the numerical studies of validation and benchmarking that were carried out in the European co-sponsored project HYCOM. In the present work, numerical simulations of hydrogen deflagrations within a simplified, real-scale European Pressure Reactor (EPR) containment have been performed with two CFD codes, CFX4 and REACFLOW. The analysis has been focused not only on overpressure peaks and pressure oscillations, but also on pressure differences between the two sides of the same wall of internal compartments. Different geometrical configurations have been considered in term of presence of vents between internal compartments and in term of vents number, size and position. Single and multiple ignition points have also been taken into account. The paper describes the main results of the investigation and it is a demonstration of how CFD modelling can provide significant indications for real-scale safety applications within the limits of uncertainty of the accident scenarios.     

转盘柱中存留分数的CFD模拟研究

转盘柱中分散相存留分数是影响其设计放大的重要因素。本工作通过计算流体力学(CFD)软件对转盘柱中水-煤油两相流水力学性能进行模拟计算。两相逆流操作,水是连续相,煤油为分散相。求得了流场分布和分散相存留分数分布,并研究了两相表观流速以及转盘转速对存留分数的影响,模拟结果与已发表的文献实验数据吻合较好。CFD模拟为减少水力学实验和进一步研究转盘柱水力学性能和传质打下了基础。     

核电站安全壳内氢气扩散和燃烧的分析程序GASFLOW及其应用

介绍了由美国洛斯阿拉莫斯实验室(LANL)和德国卡尔斯鲁厄研究中心(FzK)共同开发的三维计算流体力学程序GASFLOW的基本数学物理模型和数值计算方法。该程序主要用于分析核电站严重事故下安全壳内氢气、水蒸气扩散分布和燃烧。列举了该程序在德国Konvio型压水堆氢气安全分析中的应用。     

Analysis of steam and hydrogen distributions with PAR mitigation in NPP containments

The 3-D-field code, GASFLOW is a joint development of Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe and Los Alamos National Laboratory for the simulation of steam/hydrogen distribution and combustion in complex nuclear reactor containment geometries. GASFLOW gives a solution of the compressible 3-D Navier–Stokes equations and has been validated by analysing experiments that simulate the relevant aspects and integral sequences of such accidents. The 3-D GASFLOW simulations cover significant problem times and define a new state-of-the art in containment simulations that goes beyond the current simulation technique with lumped-parameter models. The newly released and validated version, GASFLOW 2.1 has been applied in mechanistic 3-D analyzes of steam/hydrogen distributions under severe accident conditions with mitigation involving a large number of catalytic recombiners at various locations in two types of PWR containments of German design. This contribution describes the developed 3-D containment models, the applied concept of recombiner positioning, and it discusses the calculated results in relation to the applied source term, which was the same in both containments. The investigated scenario was a hypothetical core melt accident beyond the design limit from a large-break loss of coolant accident (LOCA) at a low release location for steam and hydrogen from a rupture of the surge line to the pressurizer (surge-line LOCA). It covers the in-vessel phase only with 7000 s problem time. The contribution identifies the principal mechanisms that determine the hydrogen mixing in these two containments, and it shows generic differences to similar simulations performed with lumped-parameter codes that represent the containment by control volumes interconnected through 1-D flow paths. The analyzed mitigation concept with catalytic recombiners of the Siemens and NIS type is an effective measure to prevent the formation of burnable mixtures during the ongoing slow deinertization process after the hydrogen release and has recently been applied in backfitting the operational German Konvoi-type PWR plants with passive autocatalytic recombiners (PAR).     

Simulation of hydrogen deflagration and detonation in a BWR reactor building

A systematic study was carried out to investigate the hydrogen behaviour in a BWR reactor building during a severe accident. BWR core contains a large amount of Zircaloy and the containment is relatively small. Because containment leakage cannot be totally excluded, hydrogen can build up in the reactor building, where the atmosphere is normal air. The objective of the work was to investigate, whether hydrogen can form flammable and detonable mixtures in the reactor building, evaluate the possibility of onset of detonation and assess the pressure loads under detonation conditions. The safety concern is, whether the hydrogen in the reactor building can detonate and whether the external detonation can jeopardize the containment integrity. The analysis indicated that the possibility of flame acceleration and deflagration-to-detonation transition (DDT) in the reactor building could not be ruled out in case of a 20 mm² leakage from the containment. The detonation analyses indicated that maximum pressure spike of about 7 MPa was observed in the reactor building room selected for the analysis.     

Formulation and application of a three-dimensional structural model for upper internal structures

A finite element structural model is developed for the upper internals which is capable of treating material nonlinearities and geometric nonlinearities arising from large displacements when subjected to dynamic loads. This structural model can be used either by itself or in an interactive mode with a hydrodynamics code. The upper internal structures which are located above the core and below the head cover may play a significant role in the hydrodynamics of an energy excursion by mitigating its response.The upper internal structure (UIS) is essentially a massive, perforated rigid body which is connected to the reactor head by support columns with a cylindrical cross section. The major response of interest is the buckling of these support columns which results from the compressive forces they sustain when the upper internals are loaded vertically upward by dynamic loads. In addition to buckling, these columns sustain plastic deformations and changes in cross section making geometric and material nonlinearities accountable. For the case of substantial change in the shape of the column cross section, it will be more convenient to treat the behaviour of the elements stiffness in terms of moment-curvature relations which account for the changes in flexural rigidity with change in cross section.Two factors considered of importance in developing the model are: (1) whether an imperfection is necessary in the initial mesh of the columns to trigger buckling and to what extent does the magnitude of the imperfection effect the results; (2) whether the buckling pattern is symmetric or asymmetric.It was established by these studies that elastic buckling is not affected by the magnitude of the imperfection; for plastic buckling, the results are more sensitive to the magnitude. The studies also showed that the UIS mass is sufficiently large so that it cannot be laterally displaced. By checking the deformed shape, it was observed that the column always attempts to reach the symmetric buckling mode. Even if the asymmetric shape is triggered, it is always at a load higher than that required to trigger a symmetric response. The behavior of the model has also been compared with the SRI tests simulating highly energetic CDAs. The model predicts the magnitude of the axial deflection quite well.     

Formulation of a new intergranular creep damage model for austenitic stainless steels

The aim of this study is to propose a physically based intergranular creep damage model for numerical simulations on extrapolated situations. A continuum damage formulation is proposed to evaluate nucleation, growth and coalescence of intergranular creep cavities. Nucleation is based on an empirical law where void fraction growth rate is proportional to the creep strain rate. Void growth rate includes the contribution of: viscoplastic strain rate of surrounding grains (Gurson), and vacancy diffusion along grain boundaries (Hull and Rimmer). Void coalescence is based on a mechanical fracture criterion, where the competition between damage softening and viscoplastic hardening is considered. The identification procedure needs only the results of uniaxial creep tensile tests with a range of time to rupture that enables a sufficient diffusion contribution. The constraint effect is taken into account in the formulation of the model and does not need a specific identification. To illustrate the capacity of the proposed model, applications are presented for an austenitic stainless steel tested at 600 °C. It appears that the constraint effect assessment is in good agreement with experimental results, when we compare time to rupture and intergranular damage localisation on notched specimens, or crack initiation time and crack growth rate on fatigue pre-cracked specimens.     

基于CFD的蒸汽发生器U型管内回流现象数值分析

反应堆一回路系统在自然循环条件下,蒸汽发生器（SG）部分U型管内可能会出现回流现象,利用计算流体动力学（CFD）方法,对某非能动三代反应堆蒸汽发生器U型管内流体的流动传热特性进行数值模拟分析。选取6组不同管长的U型管,对比分析U型管内单相流体的流动传热特性。基于数值仿真结果,得出6组U型管质量流量-进出口压降曲线,并?T分析了U型管长度和一次侧进口流体温度与二次侧壁面温度温差（?T）对流体回流的影响。研究结果表明,当?T一定时,随着进出口压降的降低,长管内更容易发生回流。当U型管长度一定时,?T越小越容易发生回流。