Development of a Transient Boiling Transition Analysis Method Based on a Film Flow Model

A new single-channel, transient boiling transition (BT) prediction method based on a film flow model has been developed for a core thermal-hydraulic code. This method could predict onset and location of dryout and rewetting under transient conditions mechanically based on the dryout criterion and with consideration of the spacer effect. The developed method was applied to analysis of steady-state and transient BT experiments using BWR fuel bundle mockups for verification. Comparisons between calculated results and experimental data showed that the developed method tended to predict occurrence of rewetting earlier, however, onset time of BT and maximum rod surface temperature were well predicted within 0.6 s and 20°C, respectively. Moreover, it was confirmed that consideration of the spacer effect on liquid film flow rate on the rod surface was required to predict dryout phenomena accurately under transient conditions.     

Analysis of radiant heat transfer in a BWR fuel assembly

A computer code ‘CIDER’ was developed which analyzes radiant heat transfer in a BWR fuel rod bundle under loss of coolant conditions. In the code, (1) a channel box and fuel rods are considered to be gray bodies, (2) reflection and absorption of radiation beams in the atmosphere is neglected, (3) a fuel rod is approximated by a regular polygonal rod, and (4) radiant heat flux is calculated considering circumferential temperature distribution on each fuel rod surface, which is determined from radial and circumferential heat conduction calculations in a fuel rod. It was found that the conventional model with uniform cladding temperature overestimated heat flux about 30% in a typical situation, or correspondingly underestimated the temperature rises.     

Evaluation of LWR fuel rod behavior under operational transient conditions

To evaluate the effects of fission gas flow and diffusion in the fuel-cladding gap on fuel rod thermal and mechanical behaviors in light water reactor (LWR) fuel rods under operational transient conditions, computer sub-programs which can calculate the gas flow and diffusion have been developed and integrated into the LWR fuel rod performance code BEAF. This integrated code also calculates transient temperature distribution in the fuel-pellet and cladding.The integrated code was applied to an analysis of Inter Ramp Project data, which showed that by taking into account the gas flow and diffusion effects, the calculated cladding damage indices predicted for the failed rods in the ramp test were consistent with iodine-SCC (Stress Corrosion Cracking) failure conditions which were obtained from out-of-reactor pressurized tube experiments with irradiated Zircaloy claddings. This consistency was not seen if the gas flow and diffusion effects were neglected. Evaluation were also made for the BWR 8 × 8 RJ fuel rod temperatures under power ramp conditions.     

Assessment of SAFER03 Code Using ROSA-III Break Area Spectrum Tests on Boiling Water Reactor Loss-of-Coolant Accidents

The SAFER03 computer code has a newly developed evaluation model for the analysis of various boiling water reactor (BWR) loss-of-coolant accidents (LOCAs). Analyses of the ROSA-III break area spectrum tests in a recirculation line were performed using the SAFER03 to assess the predictive capability of the code for a BWR LOCA. The ROSA-III test facility at the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) was constructed to simulate a LOCA in a BWR/6-251 plant with 848 fuel bundles and 24 jet pumps. This paper summarizes the assessment results of SAFER03 which predicted the system responses and key phenomena well and the conservative peak cladding temperature (PCT) for recirculation line break tests with different break areas.     

Simulation tests of BWR non-loca transients using the tbl

In the last decade, a large number of experiments have been performed in order to understand the thermal-hydraulic response in a boiling water reactor (BWR) under postulated loss of coolant accident (LOCA) conditions. These experimental results showed that the core cooling effect under the LOCA conditions was significantly affected by three-dimensional and multi-bundle phenomena after emergency core cooling systems (ECCSs) started. Also, the peak cladding temperature (PCT) during the LOCA was kept below a specific value of the licensing acceptance criteria, 1473 K (1200°C). These key results of the experiments were incorporated into a computer code, SAFER, which was developed for the BWR LOCA/ECCS analyses under the cooperative studies of Hitachi Ltd, Toshiba Co., and General Electric Co. (GE).

In a couple of years, the experimental study of multi-bundle phenomena was extended into the area of off-normal and non-LOCA transients. Thermal-hydraulic responses during boiling transition were studied using the TBL (Two Bundle Loop) test facility with two full-length bundles. The experimental results showed that interaction and feedback effects between the bundles were expected to be unaffected by core cooling during the typical off-normal and non-LOCA transients. Also, the SAFER showed good predictions for hydraulic responses in the bundles and temperature transients of the rod surfaces.     

The stationary boiling front in liquid film cooling of a vertical heated rod

One process of transient rewetting has been experimentally characterized by the advance of a boiling front whose length is small with respect to the rod dimensions and whose rate of advance is nearly constant in time. With suitable coordinate transformations, the rewetting rate has been satisfactorily described by one (or two) dimensional heat conduction in the rod, coupled to the heat removal in the falling film by an average heat transfer coefficient and an assumed maximum temperature at the boiling front. To resolve present uncertainty in the choice of the coupling heat transfer coefficient and the maximum wetting front temperature, experiments were carried out in which detailed temperature profiles were obtained throughout all regions of a stationary boiling front on a vertical rod. Analysis of these experimental data show that for unconfined sputtering on a vertical rod, the maximum temperature at the boiling front is that associated with the point of DNB. This suggests that the boiling front may be modelled by assuming a nucleate boiling process. Based on this concept, one- and two-dimensional heat conduction effects are compared and a simplified one-dimensional model is illustrated and verified.     

LOFT Experiment LP-02-6 Analysis by RELAP5/MOD2 Code with Improved Minimum Film Boiling Temperature

Groeneveld-Stewart's minimum film boiling temperature correlation was incorporated into the RELAP5/MOD2 code in order to explicitly define the minimum film boiling temperature. The transition boiling curve in the code was also modified. The Loss-of-Fluid Test (LOFT) experiment, Experiment LP-02-06 which was a cold-leg double-ended break LOCA experiment with minimum emergency core coolant injection, was analyzed with the modified RELAP5/MOD2 code. The modified RELAP5/MOD2 code well calculated system transients including the rod surface temperature transient. The temporary rewetting of rods in the early phase of blowdown, which had not been predicted by the original RELAP5/MOD2 and other codes, was predicted by the modified RELAP5/MOD2 code.     

Transient and stability analysis of a BWR core with thorium–uranium fuel

The kinetic response of a boiling water reactor (BWR) equilibrium core using thorium as a nuclear material, in an integrated blanket–seed assembly, is presented in this work. Additionally an in-house code was developed to evaluate this core under steady state and transient conditions including a stability analysis. The code has two modules: (a) the time domain module for transient analysis and (b) the frequency domain module for stability analysis. The thermal–hydraulic process is modeled by a set of five equations, considering no homogeneous flow with drift-flux approximation and non-equilibrium thermodynamic. The neutronic process is calculated with a point kinetics model. Typical BWR reactivity effects are considered: void fraction, fuel temperature, moderator temperature and control rod density. Collapsed parameters were included in the code to represent the core using an average fuel channel. For the stability analysis, in the frequency domain, the transfer function is determined by applying Laplace-transforming to the calculated pressure drop perturbations in each of the considered regions where a constant total pressure drop was considered. The transfer function was used to study the system response in the frequency domain when an inlet flow perturbation is applied. The results show that the neutronic behavior of the core with thorium uranium fuel is similar to a UO₂ core, even during transient conditions. The stability and transient analysis show that the thorium–uranium fuel can be operated safely in current BWRs.     

Effect of thermal radiation on rewetting of top spray emergency coolant

A general physical model for top spray rewetting during an emrgency core cooling (ECC) transient is proposed which takes into account thermal radiation in the dry region. The model is employed to study the effect of thermal radiation on rewetting a single rod and a 3 × 3 rod bundle up to 2100°F. The results show that rewetting in a bundle is slower than for an isolated rod, due to reduced thermal radiation heat transfer in the dry region. Also, there is a definite correlation between the decreased radiation heat flux Δq_R and the corresponding decrease in rewetting velocity Δu. Values of Δu are not significant unless Δq_R is larger than 6000 Btu/hr ft², where Δq_R cannot exceed a value of 6000 Btu/hr ft² below a temperature of 1100°F, even in the most adverse conditions. Hence, it is concluded that radiant heat transfer does not significantly affect rewetting velocities up to an initial rod temperature of 1100°F. Beyond this temperature, the rewetting velocities change by more than 1.5% and hence radiation must be included in the model for top spray rewetting.     

Assessment of the interchannel mixing model with a subchannel analysis code for BWR and PWR conditions

The influence of the interchannel mixing model employed in a traditional subchannel analysis code was investigated in this study, specifically on the analysis of the enthalpy distribution and critical heat flux (CHF) in rod bundles in BWR and PWR conditions. The equal-volume-exchange turbulent mixing and void drift model (EVVD) was embodied to the COBRA-IV-I code. An optimized model of the void drift coefficient has been devised in this study as the result of the assessment with the two-phase flow distribution data for the general electric (GE) 9-rod and Ispra 16-rod test bundles. The influence of the subchannel analysis model on the analysis of CHF was examined by evaluating the CHF test data in rod bundles representing PWR and BWR conditions. The CHFR margins of typical light water nuclear reactor (LWR) cores were evaluated by considering the influence on the local parameter CHF correlation and the hot channel analysis result. It appeared that the interchannel mixing model has an important effect upon the analysis of CHFR margin for BWR conditions.     

Critical Power Characteristics in 37-rod Tight Lattice Bundles under Transient Conditions

Critical power characteristics in the postulated abnormal transient processes that may be possibly met in the operation of Innovative Water Reactor for Flexible Fuel Cycle (FLWR) were investigated for the design of the FLWR core. Transient Boiling Transition (BT) tests were carried out using two sets of 37-rod tight lattice rod bundles (rod diameter: 13 mm; rod clearance: 1.3 mm or 1.0 mm) at Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) under the conditions covering the FLWR operating condition (P_ex = 7:2 MPa, T_in = 556 K) for mass velocity G = 400-800 kg/(m² s). For the postulated power increase and flow decrease transients, no obvious change of the critical power against the steady one was observed. The traditional quasi-steady characteristic was confirmed to be working for the postulated power increase and flow decrease transients. The experiments were analyzed with TRAC-BF1 code, where the JAEA newest critical power correlation for the tight lattice rod bundles was implemented for the BT judgment. The TRAC-BF1 code showed good prediction for the occurrence or the non occurrence of the BT and for the exact BT starting time. The traditional quasi-steady state prediction of the BT in transient process was confirmed to be applicable for the postulated abnormal transient processes in the tight lattice rod bundles.     

Analytical study on effects of BWR fuel spacer on droplet deposition

In a boiling water nuclear reactor (BWR), liquid film dryout may occur on a fuel rod surface when the fuel assembly power exceeds the critical power. The spacers supporting fuel rods affect on the thermal-hydraulic performance of the fuel assembly. The spacer is designed to enhance critical power significantly. If spacer effects for two-phase flow could be estimated analytically, the cost and time for the development of the advanced BWR fuel would be certainly decreased. The final goal of this study is to be able to analytically predict the critical power of a new BWR fuel assembly without any thermal-hydraulic tests. Initially, we developed the finite element code to estimate spacer effects on the droplet deposition. Then, using the developed code, the spacer effects were estimated for various spacer geometries in a plane channel and one subchannel of BWR fuel bundle. The estimated results of the spacer effects showed a possibility to analytically predict the critical power of a BWR fuel assembly.     

Transient Cooling Process of Fuel Rod in Reactivity Initiated Accident

Out-of-pile experiments were performed with Zircaloy-4 rods in subcooled water environment to study the basic phenomena occurring in the transient cooling process undergone by a fuel rod during a reactivity-initiated accident (RIA) affecting a light water reactor (LWR). The experimental results show that the cooling process of the fuel rod during an RIA can be divided into three phases separated by the quenching temperature T_q and the rewetting temperature T_q .

It is also noted from the experimental results that with increasing degree of subcooling, T_q tends to rise to levels far exceeding the maximum liquid superheat temperature of water; T_q , on the other hand, is little affected by the cooling water temperature, and remains close to that of the maximum superheat temperature.

Numerical calculations indicate conclusively that radial heat transfer to coolant water is the dominant factor that governs the transient cooling process in an RIA affecting the cold start-up of a BWR, rather than the axial heat conduction through rod which is considered to be the basic mechanism of cooling that governs the reflooding process during a LOCA.     

Core Heat Transfer Coefficients Immediately Downstream of the Rewetting Front during Anticipated Operational Occurrences for BWRs

A heat transfer coefficient (HTC) model was developed for the prediction of post-boiling transition (post-BT) behavior that might occur during anticipated operational occurrences (AOOs) for boiling water reactors (BWRs). The model development was based on measurements of heat transfer coefficient, liquid droplet deposition rate, and droplet concentration in our experiments conducted at high pressure. The model focused on the heat transfer near the rewetting front where the cooling by droplet deposition significantly affects the propagation behavior of a liquid film. The correlation by Sugawara was validated for the prediction of the deposition by using the experimental data. The model was also expressed as a function of the distance from the rewetting front to use in analytical models for the rewetting propagation. Both expressions of the present model successfully predicted our experimental data simulating the BWR thermal-hydraulic conditions.     

Liquid film behavior and heat-transfer mechanism near the rewetting front in a single rod air–water system

ABSTRACT

The rewetting front propagation may occur when the fuel rod is cooled by the liquid film flow after it is dried out under accident conditions for boiling water reactor cores. Our previous study has revealed the importance of precursory cooling, defined as a rapid cooling just before the rewetting, which has a significant effect on the propagation velocity. To understand the mechanism of the precursory cooling, we conducted heat-transfer experiments using a single heater rod contained inside the transparent glass pipe to measure heat-transfer behavior with simultaneous observation using a high-speed camera. The results showed characteristic effects of the wall temperature on the liquid film flow and liquid droplets formation at the rewetting front, i.e. sputtering. Even when the liquid film flows in rivulets under adiabatic condition, horizontally uniformed rewetting front was observed with increasing wall temperature due to enhanced flow resistance by sputtering. This sputtering effect was also confirmed from observations of the liquid film thickness, which increased with approaching the rewetting front. Heat-transfer coefficients were predicted roughly well with a single-phase heat-transfer correlation with entrance effects, suggesting that the thinner thermal boundary layer downstream of the rewetting front may be one of the precursory cooling mechanisms.     

Simulation of an hypothetical out-of-phase instability case in boiling water reactor by RELAP5/PARCS coupled codes

A very complex type of power instability occurring in boiling water reactor (BWR) consists of out-of-phase regional oscillations, in which normally subcritical neutronic modes are excited by thermal-hydraulic feedback mechanisms. The out-of-phase mode of oscillation is a very challenging type of instability and its study is relevant because of the safety implications related to the capability to promptly detect any such inadvertent occurrence by in-core neutron detectors, thus triggering the necessary countermeasures in terms of selected rod insertion or even reactor shutdown. In this work, simulations of out-of-phase instabilities in a BWR obtained by assuming an hypothetical continuous control rod bank withdrawal are being presented. The RELAP5/Mod3.3 thermal-hydraulic system code coupled with the PARCS/2.4 3D neutron kinetic code has been used to simulate the instability phenomenon. Data from a real BWR nuclear power plant (NPP) have been used as reference conditions and reactor parameters. Simulated neutronic power signals from local power range monitors (LPRM) have been used to detect and study the local power oscillations. The decay ratio (DR) and the natural frequency (NF) of the power oscillations (typical parameters used to evaluate the instabilities) have been used in the analysis. The results are discussed also making use of two-dimensional plots depicting relative core power distribution during the transient, in order to clearly illustrate the out-of-phase behavior.     

锆-4在冷却水中的骤冷沸腾传热实验研究

为了研究锆-4在冷却水中的骤冷行为与沸腾传热特性,本文采用可视化方法,并测量了锆-4在骤冷过程中的温度变化。基于一维导热反问题求解,计算得到锆-4表面的热流密度和温度。在骤冷过程中锆-4会依次经历膜态沸腾、过渡沸腾、核态沸腾以及单相对流换热4个阶段,并且分析了轴向高度和冷却水过冷度对骤冷行为以及沸腾传热的影响。结果表明,随着过冷度的增大,骤冷时间减小,最小膜态沸腾温度增大,并且核态沸腾与过渡沸腾传热受加热表面局部特性影响显著,并建立了锆-4表面最小膜态沸腾温度的关系式,对反应堆的安全分析具有重要的意义。      

Computation accuracy and efficiency of a power series analytic method for two- and three- space-dependent transient problems

The establishment of solutions to large-scale three-dimensional (3-D) reactor benchmark problems is needed to serve as standards for the verification of design codes and for the detailed error analysis of calculational methods. A number of partially and fully inserted control rods, represented by absorber added to certain subassemblies, cause a strong nonseparable power distribution. In addition, the existence of a very large thermal flux peak in the reflector makes this a very difficult and challenging problem to solve.PWS code has been developed to include a numerical solution for the time-dependent neutron diffusion equations for the nuclear reactor analysis. The new technique employs a new parameter (α) which can reduce the rapid increase in magnitude of the power series coefficients. These coefficients, in turn, are determined by back substitutions in the non-linear canonical diffusion equations and treating terms of the same degree to obtain a modified recurrence relation which is valid for any type of the stiff non-linear kinetic diffusion equations.The validity of the algorithm was tested with three kinds of well-known two-group benchmark problems. The first one is the two-dimensional TWIGL seed-blanket reactor kinetics problem. The second is the two- and three-dimensional LAR BWR benchmark problem simulating a rod drop accident of a BWR core. The third is the three-dimensional LMW LRA transient problem which simulates an operational transient involving rod movements. The obtained results with the proposed PWS code are compared with those provided by other reference codes, indicating an overall agreement and excellent performance.     

Void fraction estimation within rod bundles based on three-fluid model and comparison with x-ray CT void data

An interfacial shear stress equation in the dispersed-annular two-phase flow regime has been developed, which is based on a three-fluid model consisting of a liquid film on a rod, vapor and entrained liquid associated with a vapor flow. It is an extension of J.G.M. Andersen's procedure that provides a two-fluid interfacial shear stress equation using the drift flux parameters C₀ and V_gj. This interfacial shear stress equation can take into account a phase and velocity distribution through an equivalence between the drift flux parameters and the interfacial shear stress.

Using the three-fluid subchannel analysis code TEMPO with the three-fluid interfacial shear stress model, the capability of a three-fluid calculation using the drift flux parameters C₀ and V_gj that reproduce a measured void fraction is demonstrated. A comparison was made with advanced X-ray computed tomography (CT) void fraction data within a 4×4 rod bundle in diabatic 1 MPa pressure conditions. The three-fluid velocity field was estimated to be in good agreement with the experimental result of a void fraction.     

An analytical model for the analysis of BWR/4 long-term cooling with either intact or broken jet pump seals

An analytical model for the long-term emergency core cooling (ECC) of a boiling water nuclear reactor (BWR) has been developed. This one dimensional drift-flux model, is an extension of a previous study by Lahey and Kamath [1]. It considers both subcooled and bulk boiling in the core, allows the drift-flux parameters, C₀ and V_gj, to be functions of void fraction (α), and can accommodate both broken and intact jet pump seals. The results of this analytical model compare well with data from simulated full scale BWR fuel rod bundles, and experiments in the PCE facility at RPI.It has been found that the unlikely failure of jet pump seals can have a detrimental effect on the long term cooling capabilities of a BWR/4.