• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.2321-2328
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• 2022

The passive safety system is adopted in an AP1000 nuclear power unit to improve the operation safety of the whole unit. However, due to boron diffusion and periodic sampling, boron dilution occurs in the core makeup tank. The boron replenishment process in the core makeup tank is essential and becomes particularly important. Based on the validated models, this article numerically investigates the influence of the replenishment flow rate and the position on the boron distribution in the core makeup tank. The thermal fatigue phenomenon of the "T" connection caused by replenishment is analyzed. Finally, the replenishment strategy is proposed to benefit both boron mixing in the core makeup tank and eliminating the thermal fatigue of the "T" connection.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.5
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• pp.1890-1901
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• 2022

We have assessed the applicability of the thermal-hydraulic system analysis code, SPACE, to a small modular reactor called SMART. For the assessment, the experimental data from a scale-down integral-test facility, SMART-ITL, were used. It was conformed that the SPACE code unrealistically calculates the safety injection flow rate through the CMT and SIT during a small-break loss-of-coolant experiment. This unrealistic behavior was due to the overprediction of interfacial heat transfer at the steam-water interface in a vertically stratified flow in the tanks. In this study, a special thermal-hydraulic component model has been developed to realistically calculate the interfacial heat transfer when a strong non-equilibrium two-phase flow is formed in the CMT or SIT. Additionally, we developed a special heat structure model, which analytically calculates the heat transfer from the hot steam to the cold tank wall. The combination of two models for the tank are called the special component model. We assessed it using the SMART-ITL passive safety injection system (PSIS) test data. The results showed that the special component model well predicts the transient behaviors of the CMT and SIT.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 1998.10a
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• pp.137-137
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• 1998

• The KSFM Journal of Fluid Machinery
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.50-60
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• 2016

A design methodology of the modeled test facility to conserve an injection performance of a passive safety injection system is proposed. This safety injection system is composed of a core makeup tank and a safety injection tank. Individual tanks are connected with pressure balance line on the top side and injection line on the bottom side. It is important to conserve the scaled initial injection flow rate and total injection time since this system can be operated by small gravity head without any active pumps. Differential pressure distribution of the injection line induced by the gravity head is determined by the vertical length and elevation of each tank. However, the total injection time is adjustable by the flow resistance coefficient of the injection line. The scaling methodology for the tank and flow resistance coefficient is suggested. A key point of this test facility design is a scaling analysis for the flow resistance coefficient. The scaling analysis proposed on this paper is based on the volume scaling law with the same vertical length to the prototype and can be extended to a model with a reduced vertical length. A set of passive injection test were performed for the tanks with the same volume and the different length. The test results on the initial flow rate and total injection time showed the almost same injection characteristics and they were in good agreement with the design values.

• The KSFM Journal of Fluid Machinery
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.104-108
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• 2014

The recent Fukushima nuclear power plant accidents shows that the core make up at high RCS pressure condition is very important to prevent core melting. The core make up flow at high pressure condition should be driven by gravity force or passive forces because the AC-powered safety features are not available during a Station Black Out (SBO) accident. The reactor Coolant System (RCS) mass inventory is continuously decreased by releasing steam through the pressurizer safety valves after reactor trip during a SBO accident. The core will be melted down within 2~3 hours without core make up action by active or passive mode. In the new design concept of a Hybrid Safety Injection Tank (Hybrid SIT) both for low and high RCS pressure conditions, the low pressure nitrogen gas serves as a charging pressure for a LBLOCA injection mode, while the PZR high pressure steam provides an equalizing pressure for a high pressure injection mode such as a SBO accident. After the pressure equalizing process by battery driven initiation valve at a high pressure SBO condition, the Hybrid SIT injection water will be passively injected into the reactor downcomer by gravity head. The SBO simulation by MARS code show that the core makeup injection flow through the Hybrid SIT continued up to the SIT empty condition, and the core heatup is delayed as much.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.165-172
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• 2016

An experimental study of the thermal-hydraulic characteristics of passive safety systems (PSSs) was conducted using a system-integrated modular advanced reactor-integral test loop (SMART-ITL). The present passive safety injection system for the SMART-ITL consists of one train with the core makeup tank (CMT), the safety injection tank, and the automatic depressurization system. The objective of this study is to investigate the injection effect of the PSS on the small-break loss-of-coolant accident (SBLOCA) scenario for a 0.4 inch line break in the safety-injection system (SIS). The steady-state condition was maintained for 746 seconds before the break. When the major parameters of the target value and test results were compared, most of the thermal-hydraulic parameters agreed closely with each other. The water level of the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) was maintained higher than that of the fuel assembly plate during the transient, for the present CMT and safety injection tank (SIT) flow rate conditions. It can be seen that the capability of an emergency core cooling system is sufficient during the transient with SMART passive SISs.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.434-442
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• 2015

The advanced passive pressurized water reactor (PWR) is being constructed in China and the passive residual heat removal (PRHR) system was designed to remove the decay heat. During accident scenarios with increase of heat removal from the primary coolant system, the actuation of the PRHR will enhance the cooldown of the primary coolant system. There is a risk of power excursion during the cooldown of the primary coolant system. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze the thermal hydraulic behavior of the reactor coolant system (RCS) at this condition. The advanced passive PWR model, including major components in the RCS, is built by SCDAP/RELAP5 code. The thermal hydraulic behavior of the core is studied for two typical accident sequences with PRHR actuation to investigate the core cooling capability with conservative assumptions, a main steam line break (MSLB) event and inadvertent opening of a steam generator (SG) safety valve event. The results show that the core is ultimately shut down by the boric acid solution delivered by Core Makeup Tank (CMT) injections. The effects of CMT boric acid concentration and the activation delay time on accident consequences are analyzed for MSLB, which shows that there is no consequential damage to the fuel or reactor coolant system in the selected conditions.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 1996.05b
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• pp.368-373
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• 1996

A simple set of the transition criterion of the condensation regimes and the heat transfer coefficients on the direct contact condensation of the core makeup tank is developed, and implemented in RELAP5/MOD3.1 The condensation regimes are divided into two regimes: supply limit and condensation limit. In mode]ing the transition criterion between two regimes, a large-eddy model developed by Theofanous is used, and the empirical coefficient of the present large-eddy model is close to that of the large-eddy model. It turns out that the modified code better predicts the experimental data, especially the injection flow rate and the water level trend than the original code does.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.124-132
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• 2016

In order to estimate the effect of flow distributors connected to an upper nozzle of CMT(Core Makeup Tank) on the thermal-hydraulic characteristics in the tank, a simplified 2 inch Small Break Loss of Coolant Accident(SBLOCA) was simulated by skipping the decay power and Passive Residual Heat Removal System(PRHRS) actuation. The CMT is a part of safety injection systems in the SMART (System Integrated Modular Advanced Reactor). Each test was performed with reliable boundary conditions. It means that the pressure distribution is provided with repeatable and reproducible behavior during SBLOCA simulations. The maximum flow rates were achieved at around 350 seconds after the initial opening of the isolation valve installed in CMT. After a short period of decreased flow rate, it attained a steady injection flow rate after about 1,250 seconds. This unstable injection period of the CMT coolant is due to the condensation of steam injected into the upper part of CMT. The steady injection flow rate was about 8.4% higher with B-type distributor than that with A-type distributor. The gravity injection during hot condition tests were in good agreement with that during cold condition tests except for the early stages.