An integral loop test and MARS code analysis for a DVI line break LOCA in the APR1400

The transient thermal-hydraulic phenomena of a DVI (Direct Vessel Injection) line break LOCA (Loss-of-Coolant Accident) in pressurized water reactor, APR1400, were investigated. In order to understand the phenomena during the LOCA transient, a reduced-height and reduced-pressure integral loop test facility, the SNUF (Seoul National University Facility), was constructed with scaling down the prototype. For the appropriate test conditions in the experiment with the SNUF, the energy scaling method was suggested with scaling the coolant mass inventory and the thermal power for the reduced-pressure condition. According to the conditions determined by the method, the experimental study was performed with the SNUF. The experimental results showed that the phenomenon of the downcomer seal clearing played a dominant role in the reduction of the system pressure and the recovery of the coolant level in the core. That phenomenon occurred when the steam incoming from cold legs penetrates the coolant in the upper downcomer toward the broken DVI line. The experimental results were compared with the prototype analysis to estimate the energy scaling method, so that the experiment reasonably simulated the phenomena in the prototype. For the analytical investigation, the experiment was simulated with MARS code to validate the calculation capability of the code, especially for the downcomer seal clearing, which showed good agreement with the results of experiment.     

Commissioning of the ATLAS thermal-hydraulic integral test facility

KAERI recently constructed a new thermal-hydraulic integral test facility for advanced pressurized water reactors (PWRs) – ATLAS. The ATLAS facility has the following characteristics: (a) 1/2-height&length, 1/288-volume, and full pressure simulation of APR1400, (b) maintaining a geometrical similarity with APR1400 including 2(hot legs) × 4(cold legs) reactor coolant loops, direct vessel injection (DVI) of emergency core cooling water, integrated annular downcomer, etc., (c) incorporation of specific design characteristics of OPR1000 such as cold leg injection and low-pressure safety injection pumps, (d) maximum 10% of the scaled nominal core power. The ATLAS will mainly be used to simulate various accident and transient scenarios for evolutionary PWRs, OPR1000 and APR1400: the simulation capability of broad scenarios including the reflood phase of a large-break loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA), small-break LOCA scenarios including DVI line breaks, a steam generator tube rupture, a main steam line break, a feed line break, a mid-loop operation, etc. The ATLAS is now in operation after an extensive series of commissioning tests in 2006.     

Critical crack depth diagram of reactor vessel for pressurized thermal shock

During the operation of a pressurized water reactor, a certain type of transients could induce rapid cooldown of the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) with relatively high or increasing system pressure. This induces a high tensile stress at the inner surface of the RPV, which is called the pressurized thermal shock (PTS). The structural integrity of the RPV during PTS should be evaluated assuming the existence of a flaw at the vessel. For the quantitative evaluation of the vessel failure risk associated with PTS, the probabilistic fracture mechanics (PFM) analysis technique has been widely used. But along with PFM analysis, deterministic analysis is also required to determine the critical time interval in the transient during which mitigating action can be effective. In this study, therefore, the procedure for the deterministic fracture mechanics analysis of RPV during PTS is investigated using the critical crack depth diagram and the computer program to generate it is developed. Four transients of typical PTS, steam generator tube rupture, small break loss of coolant accident and steam line break are analyzed, and their response characteristics such as critical crack depth and critical time interval from the initiation of the transient are investigated.     

Scaling methodology for a reduced-height reduced-pressure integral test facility to investigate direct vessel injection line break SBLOCA

A scaling methodology for a small-scale integral test facility was investigated in order to analyze thermal-hydraulic phenomena during a DVI (direct vessel injection) line SBLOCA (small break loss-of-coolant accident) in an APR1400 (advanced power reactor 1400 MWe) pressurized water reactor. The test facility SNUF (Seoul National University Facility) was utilized as a reduced-height and reduced-pressure integral test loop. To determine suitable test conditions for simulating the prototype in the SNUF experiment, the energy scaling methodology was propose to scale the coolant mass inventory and the thermal power for a reduced-pressure condition. The energy scaling methodology was validated with a system code (MARS) analysis for an ideally scaled-down SNUF model and that predicted a reasonable transient of pressure and coolant inventory when compared to the prototype model. For the actually constructed SNUF, the effect of scaling distortions in the test facility's thermal power and the loop geometry was analytically investigated. To overcome the limitation of the thermal power supply in the facility, the convective heat transfer between primary and secondary systems at the steam generator U-tubes was excluded and a modified power curve was applied for simulating the core decay heat. From the code analysis results for the actual SNUF model, the application of the modified power curve did not affect the major events occurring during the transient condition. The results revealed that the scaling distortion in the actual SNUF geometry also did not strongly disturb significant thermal-hydraulic phenomena such as the downcomer seal clearing. Thus, with an adoption of the energy scaling methodology, the thermal-hydraulic phenomena observed in the SNUF experiment can be properly utilized in a safety analysis for a DVI line break SBLOCA in the APR1400.     

Experiments at the mixing test facility ROCOM for benchmarking of CFD codes

For the validation of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) codes, experimental data on fluid flow parameters with high resolution in time and space are needed.Rossendorf Coolant Mixing Model (ROCOM) is a test facility for the investigation of coolant mixing in the primary circuit of pressurized water reactors. This facility reproduces the primary circuit of a German KONVOI-type reactor. All important details of the reactor pressure vessel are modelled at a linear scale of 1:5. The facility is characterized by flexible possibilities of operation in a wide variety of flow regimes and boundary conditions. The flow path of the coolant from the cold legs through the downcomer until the inlet into the core is equipped with high-resolution detectors, in particular, wire mesh sensors in the downcomer of the vessel with a mesh of 64 × 32 measurement positions and in the core inlet plane with one measurement position for the entry into each fuel assembly, to enable high-level CFD code validation. Two different types of experiments at the ROCOM test facility have been proposed for this purpose. The first proposal concerns the transport of a slug of hot, under-borated condensate, which has formed in the cold leg after a small break LOCA, towards the reactor core under natural circulation. The propagation of the emergency core cooling water in the test facility under natural circulation or even stagnant flow conditions should be investigated in the second type of experiment. The measured data can contribute significantly to the validation of CFD codes for complex mixing processes with high relevance for nuclear safety.     

LOCA下具有表面裂纹的反应堆压力容器承压热冲击分析

失水事故（LOCA）瞬态下,具有半椭圆形表面裂纹的反应堆压力容器（RPV）承压热冲击（PTS）问题被研究。采用有限元方法计算瞬态过程的热-应力响应;采用影响函数法计算应力强度因子,分别对母材和堆焊层内的应力进行分解,从而解决了由于堆焊层存在造成的应力拟合困难带来的计算偏差。编制了相应的断裂分析程序,对LOCA下RPV的结构完整性进行了分析。结果表明,在研究的LOCA下,整个瞬态过程中RPV应力强度因子均未超过材料断裂韧性,压力容器结构安全。本文研究为RPV在PTS下的结构完整性评估提供理论指导。     

Counterpart Tests of SBLOCA on the Effect of Break Location with the ATLAS: DVI Nozzle versus Cold-Leg Breaks

Results from two integral effect tests were compared to discuss the effect of break location between the direct vessel injection (DVI) nozzle and cold leg during the small-break loss of coolant accident (SBLOCA) scenario. One is the SB-DVI-09 test for a 6-inch (50% break area of a DVI nozzle) DVI line break and the other is the SB-CL-06 test for an equivalent break size of cold leg. Both counterpart tests were performed with the same control logic and initial/boundary conditions except for different break locations of the DVI line and cold leg. Experimental results showed that the maximum heater surface temperature increased more with the broken DVI nozzle (SB-DVI-09) than with the broken cold leg (SB-CL-06) due to the delayed and simultaneous occurrence of the loop seal clearing and the momentary decrease in the collapsed water level in the core region.     

Simple mixing model for pressurized thermal shock applications

The phenomenon of fluid/thermal mixing in the cold leg and downcomer of a Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) has been a critical issue related to the concern of pressurized thermal shock. The question of imperfect mixing arises when the possibility of cold emergency core cooling water contacting the vessel wall during an overcooling transient could produce thermal stresses large enough to initiate a flaw in a radiation embrittled vessel wall. The temperature of the fluid in contact with the vessel wall is crucial to a determination of vessel integrity since temperature affects both the stresses and the material toughness of the vessel material. A simple mixing model is described which was developed as part of the EPRI pressurized thermal shock program for evaluation of reactor vessel integrity.     

CFD simulation of Fortum PTS experiment

Detailed simulation of the thermal stresses of the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) wall in case of pressurized thermal shock (PTS) requires the simulation of the thermal mixing of cold high-pressure safety injection (HPI) water injected to the cold leg and flowing further to the downcomer. The simulation of the complex mixing phenomena including, e.g., stratification in the cold leg and buoyancy driven plume in the downcomer is a great challenge for CFD methods and requires careful validation of the used modelling methods.The selected experiment of Fortum mixing test facility modelling the Loviisa VVER-440 NPP has been used for the validation of CFD methods for thermal mixing phenomena related to PTS. The experimental data includes local temperature values measured in the cold leg and downcomer. Conclusions have been made on the applicability of used CFD method to thermal mixing simulations in case with stratification in the cold leg and buoyant plume in the downcomer.     

Numerical analysis and visualization experiment on behavior of borated water during MSLB with RCP running mode in an advanced reactor

The core bypass phenomenon of borated water injected through direct vessel injection (DVI) nozzles in APR1400 (Advanced Power Reactor 1400MWe) during main steam line break (MSLB) accidents with a reactor coolant pump (RCP) running mode has been simulated using a two-channel and one-dimensional system analysis model code (MARS), and a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code (FLUENT). A visualization experiment has also been performed using a scaled-down model of the APR1400. The MARS analysis has predicted a serious core bypass phenomenon of borated water, while the CFD analysis has shown results opposite to the MARS results. The CFD analysis has shown that the flow pattern in the downcomer is fully three-dimensional and that vortex flow structures are formed near the cold legs so that the borated water might pass without difficulty into the high flow region of the cold legs and flow well into the lower downcomer. The visualization experiment has shown that the borated water flows well to the lower plenum, as in the CFD analysis. Both the CFD analysis and visualization experiment have proved that a serious core bypass phenomenon of borated water might not happen in the APR1400. These results are quite different from those predicted by MARS.     

承压热冲击下压水堆压力容器壁面换热特性的数值模拟研究

为了研究压水堆因安注冷水直接注入反应堆压力容器下降环腔而导致的承压热冲击（PTS）热工水力问题，基于1∶10比例模型，应用计算流体力学商用软件FLUENT5．4进行了紊流流动换热的数值模拟分析，同时进行了常压传热实验研究。针对下降环腔折算流速0．5m/s，安注流速10m/s的典型工况，研究了压力容器下降环腔的壁面换热特性。通过分析下降环腔内的流动及混合特性，从流动机理上解释了压力容器内壁上准重接触点附近换热强烈的现象，并指出壁面换热强弱与近壁流体紊流脉动动能密切相关，为热冲击分析提供参考。     

Experiments on slug mixing under natural circulation conditions at the ROCOM test facility using high-resolution measurement techniques and numerical modeling

ROCOM is a four-loop test facility used for the investigation of coolant mixing in the primary circuit of pressurized water reactors. Recently, a new sensor was developed for an improved visualisation and quantification of the coolant mixing in the downcomer. This new sensor array spans a dense measuring grid and covers nearly the whole downcomer. In the presented work, special emphasis was given to the comparison of the data of this sensor with the results of calculations using the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code ANSYS CFX. A coolant mixing experiment during natural circulation conditions has been conducted. The underlying scenario of this experiment is based on a boron dilution scenario following a SBLOCA event. The corresponding CFD code solution has been obtained using the Best Practice Guidelines. All main effects observed in the measurement are described by the calculation. The detailed comparison reveals that the calculation underestimates the coolant mixing inside the reactor pressure vessel.The measurement data, boundary conditions of the experiment and facility geometry can be made available to other CFD code users for benchmarking.     

PTS瞬态流动与换热数值模拟研究

为了研究压水堆因“直接安注”冷水注入压力容器下降环腔而导致的承压热冲击（PTS）热工水力问题,基于1:10比例模型,应用计算流体力学软件FLUENT5.4进行了紊流流动换热的数值模拟分析,同时进行了常压瞬态传热实验研究。针对下降环腔折算流速0.5 m/s,安注流速10m/s的典型工况,研究了安注水开启后下降环腔内的瞬态流动换热特性,数值模拟与实验结果吻合良好。考察了压力容器安注接管出口区环形焊缝区及堆芯段筒体中子强辐照区所承受的热冲击状况,基于稳态流动研究了下降环腔内流体混合特性及流动机理,为热冲击分析提供参考。     

Investigation of Break Location Effects on Thermal-Hydraulics during Intermediate Break Loss-of-Coolant Accident Experiments at ROSA-III

The rig of safety assessment (ROSA)-III facility is a volumetrically scaled (1/424) boiling water reactor (BWR/6) system with an electrically heated core designed for integral loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) and emergency core cooling system (ECCS) tests. Break location effects on thermal-hydraulics during intermediate LOCAs were investigated by using four experiments at the ROSA-III, the 15 and 25% main recirculation pump suction line break (MRPS-B) experiments, the 21% single-ended jet pump drive line break (JPD-B) experiment and the 15% main steam line break (MSL-B) experiment. Water injection from the high pressure core spray (HPCS) was not used in any of the experiments. Failure of ECCS actuation by the high containment pressure was also assumed in the tests.

In the MRPS-B experiments, the discharge flow turned from low quality fluid to high quality fluid when the downcomer water level dropped to the main recirculation line outlet elevation, which suppressed coolant loss from the vessel and the core. In the JPD-B experiment, the jet pump drive nozzle was covered with low quality fluid and low quality fluid discharge continued even after the downcomer water level reached the jet pump suction elevation. Low quality fluid discharge ceased after the ADS actuation. It suggestes that the JPD-B LOCA has the possibility of causing larger and more severe core dryout and cladding temperature excursion than the MRPS-B LOCA. The MSL-B LOCA was characterized by mixture level swell in the downcomer and the core. The core mixture level swell resulted in the much later core dryout initiation than that in the MRPS-B LOCA, however, ECCS actuation was also delayed because of slow downcomer water level drop.     

Pressurized water reactor core instrument tube ruptures: experimental simulation at the ROSA-IV lstf

A small-break loss-of-coolant accident (SBLOCA) initiated by the rupture of pressurized water reactor (PWR) core instrument tubes was simulated using the ROSA-IV Large Scale Test Facility (LSTF). The experimental results were characterized by a single-phase liquid discharge continuing for a long period until the pressure vessel coolant inventory was significantly depleted. This experiment was analyzed using three advanced LOCA analysis codes, RELAP5/MOD2, TRACPF1/MOD1 and CATHARE-1, to assess the predictive abilities of these codes. Although all these codes simulated the experimental results qualitatively, discrepancies were found between the predictions and data regarding the break flowrate, spatial distribution of coolant in the primary system and core rod temperature responses.     

Downcomer boiling phenomena during the reflood phase of a large-break LOCA for the APR1400

Downcomer boiling phenomena in a conventional pressurized water reactor has an important effect on the transient behavior of a postulated large-break LOCA (LBLOCA), because it can degrade the hydraulic head of the coolant in the downcomer and consequently affect the reflood flow rate for a core cooling. To investigate the thermal hydraulic behavior in the downcomer region, a test program for a downcomer boiling (DOBO) is being progressed for the reflood phase of a postulated LBLOCA. Test facility was designed as a one side heated rectangular channel which adopts a full-pressure, full-height, and full-size downcomer-gap approach, but with the circumferential length reduced 47.08-fold. The test was performed by dividing it into two-phases: (I) visual observation and acquisition of the global two-phase flow parameters and (II(a)) measurement of the local bubble flow parameters on the measuring planes along five elevations. In the present paper, the test results of Phase-I and a part of Phase-II(a) were introduced.     

A quantitative methodology for reactor vessel pressurized thermal shock decision making

The recent operating experience of the Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) Industry has focused increasing attention on the issue of reactor vessel pressurized thermal shock (PTS). Previous reactor vessel integrity concerns have led to changes in vessel and plant system design and to operating procedures, and increased attention to the PTS issue is causing consideration of further modifications. Events such as excess feedwater, loss of normal feedwater, and steam generator tube rupture have led to significant primary system cooldowns. Each of these cooldown transients occurred concurrently with a relatively high primary system pressure. Consideration of these and other postulated cooldown events has drawn attention to the impact of operator action and control system effects on reactor vessel PTS.A methodology, which couples event sequence analysis with probabilistic fracture mechanics analyses, was developed to identify those events that are of primary concern for reactor vessel integrity. Operating experience is utilized to aid in defining the appropriate event sequences and event frequencies of occurrence for the evaluation.Once the specific event sequences of concern are identified, detailed thermal-hydraulic and structural evaluations can be performed to determine the conditions required to minimize the extension of postulated flaws or enhance flaw arrest in the reactor vessel. This paper addresses key aspects of the thermal-hydraulic and fracture mechanics analyses of the reactor vessel. The effects of incomplete mixing of safety injection flow in the primary cold leg and vessel downcomer and the application of warm prestressing are emphasized. The results of these analyses are being used to define further modifications in vessel and plant system design and to operating procedures.Previous design considerations that have evolved as a result of reactor vessel integrity evaluations are mentioned. These include the development of realistic design analysis tools and selection of plant system modifications. Modifications that are being developed or are under consideration are also mentioned. These include vessel fluence reductions, additional modifications to operating procedures, increased use of probabilistic event sequence and fracture mechanics analysis methods, enhanced material fracture toughness, and reductions in the severity or frequency of occurrence of dominant reactor vessel PTS transients.     

高压安注条件下冷管段和环腔流体混合特性的数值分析

压水堆高压安注条件下冷热流体混合会导致承压热冲击现象,影响压力容器的使用寿命。本文基于ROCOM实验装置的实验数据,使用CFD方法对高压安注条件下有密度差的冷热流体混合现象进行了模拟,并对模拟结果进行了验证与分析。结果表明,在冷管段和下降段环腔中流体混合的主导因素分别为强迫流动混合和浮升力驱动混合。在仅有1条冷管段注入的情况下,进入下腔室的流体会再次回流至环腔,从而对冷却剂的混合特性产生影响。     

Analysis of H.B. Robinson unit-2 pressurized thermal shock transients

The paper describes analyses performed with the Reactor Excursion and Leak Analysis Package 5 (RELAP5) computer code to investigate pressurized thermal shock transients for the H.B. Robinson pressurized water reactor. The computer models and their application to 180 transients are described. Reactor vessel downcomer temperature and pressure histories for five transient groups are presented.     

Boron dilution transients during natural circulation flow in PWR—Experiments and CFD simulations

Coolant mixing in the cold leg, downcomer and the lower plenum of pressurized water reactors is an important phenomenon mitigating the reactivity insertion into the core. Therefore, mixing of the de-borated slugs with the ambient coolant in the reactor pressure vessel was investigated at the four loops 1:5 scaled Rossendorf coolant mixing model (ROCOM) mixing test facility. In particular thermal hydraulics analyses have shown, that weakly borated condensate can accumulate in the pump loop seal of those loops, which do not receive a safety injection. After refilling of the primary circuit, natural circulation in the stagnant loops can re-establish simultaneously and the de-borated slugs are shifted towards the reactor pressure vessel (RPV).In the ROCOM experiments, the length of the flow ramp and the initial density difference between the slugs and the ambient coolant was varied. From the test matrix experiments with 0 resp. 2% density difference between the de-borated slugs and the ambient coolant were used to validate the CFD software ANSYS CFX. To model the effects of turbulence on the mean flow a higher order Reynolds stress turbulence model was employed and a mesh consisting of 6.4 million hybrid elements was utilized. Only the experiments and CFD calculations with modeled density differences show stratification in the downcomer. Depending on the degree of density differences the less dense slugs flow around the core barrel at the top of the downcomer. At the opposite side, the lower borated coolant is entrained by the colder safety injection water and transported to the core. The validation proves that ANSYS CFX is able to simulate appropriately the flow field and mixing effects of coolant with different densities.