• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.193-204
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• 1999

Performance of a variable-speed, roller-type vane compressor was evaluated at low evaporating temperature. First, an experimental investigation was conducted to examine the performance variation as functions of both outdoor temperature and rotating speed. For this purpose, a typical heat pump was implemented as a test apparatus to measure mass flow rate and power input. Secondly, computational investigations corresponding to the heat pump test conditions were performed to predict compressor performance using ORNL Map-Based compressor model. Results obtained from the heat-pump experiments showed that both mass flow rate and power consumption were sensitively dependent on both evaporating temperature and compressor speed as was predicted from the computational results. From the comparisons of both experimental and computational results, it was well recognized that the ORNL model was subjected to larger error in the accuracy of prediction as outdoor temperature decreased. When the outdoor temperature was above $-5^{\cire}C$, errors of predicted values corresponding to both mass flow rate and power consumption were estimated as $\pm$10% and $\pm$ 15%, respectively. Finally, it is suggested that the ORNL model needs to be re-evaluated if compressor map data tested below $-5^{\cire}C$(in evaporating temperature) are available.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.797-806
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• 2009

The Multichannel Analyzer for Transient and steady-state in Rod Array - Liquid Metal Reactor for Flow Blockage analysis (MATRA-LMR-FB) code for the analysis of a subchannel blockage has been developed and evaluated through several experiments. The current version of the code is improved here by the implementation of a distributed resistance model which accurately considers the effect of flow resistance on wire spacers, by the addition of a turbulent mixing model, and by the application of a hybrid scheme for low flow regions. Validation calculations for the MATRA-LMR-FB code were performed for Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) 19-pin tests with wire spacers and Karlsruhe 169-pin tests with grid spacers. The analysis of the ORNL 19-pin tests conducted using the code reveals that the code has sufficient predictive accuracy, within a range of 5 $^{\circ}C$, for the experimental data with a blockage. As for the results of the analyses, the standard deviation for the Karlsruhe 169-pin tests, 0.316, was larger than the standard deviation for the ORNL 19-pin tests, 0.047.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.887-895
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• 2017

Preliminary results of the dynamic analysis of a two-fluid molten-salt breeder reactor (MSBR) system are presented. Based on an earlier work on the preliminary dynamic model of the concept, the model presented here is nonlinear and has been revised to accurately reflect the design exemplified in ORNL-4528. A brief overview of the model followed by results from simulations performed to validate the model is presented. Simulations illustrate stable behavior of the reactor dynamics and temperature feedback effects to reactivity excursions. Stable and smooth changes at various nodal temperatures are also observed. Control strategies for molten-salt reactor operation are discussed, followed by an illustration of the open-loop load-following capability of the molten-salt breeder reactor system. It is observed that the molten-salt breeder reactor system exhibits "self-regulating" behavior, minimizing the need for external controller action for load-following maneuvers.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.339-348
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• 1999

A computer model was developed in order to predict the temperature distribution and the performance of the vertical tube-in-tube ground coil heat exchanger. This model has been validated by experimental results conducted by ORNL. The heat exchanger performance with the variation of the length is calculated and compared. As results, the heat exchanger performance is proportional to the length but the performance per unit length decreases. The minimum performance of 70m - PVC heat exchanger during cyclic operation for a week is obtained 20,054kJ/h for cooling operation and 13,915kJ/h for heating operation. And minimum temperature difference is $4.64^{\circ}C$ for cooling operation and $2.64^{\circ}C$ for heating operation. In each case, it is noted that the temperature difference between the pipe and the far-field occurs within 0.8m from the heat exchanger.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.1125-1134
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• 2024

This paper presents a validation study of the subchannel analysis code SLTHEN used for the core thermal-hydraulic design of the Prototype Gen-IV sodium-cooled fast reactor (PGSFR). To assess the performance of the ENERGY model of SLTHEN, four liquid metal heating experiments conducted by ORNL, WARD, and KIT with hexagonal assemblies of wire-wrapped rod bundles were analyzed. These experiments were performed with 19-and 61-pin bundles and varying power distributions of axial and radial peaking factors up to 1.4 and 3.0, respectively. The coolant subchannel temperatures measured at different axial locations were compared with the SLTHEN predictions with the Novendstern, Chiu-Rohsenow-Todreas (CRT), and Cheng-Todreas (CT) correlations for flow split and mixing in wire-wrapped pin bundles. The results showed that the SLTHEN predicts the measured subchannel temperatures reasonably well with root-mean-square errors of ~10 % and maximum errors of ~20 %. It was also observed that the CRT and CT correlations consistently outperform the Novendstern correlation.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.23-30
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• 2008

The neutron kinetic analysis methods for the molten-salt reactors are quite different from those for conventional solid-fuel reactors, which do not take into account the flowing-fuel-induced neutronics effects. Therefore, for dynamics and safety analyses of the molten-salt reactor systems, the conventional kinetics codes would not be appropriate to accurately predict its transient behaviors. A point-kinetics with flowing- fuel model has been used to assess the fluid-fuel reactor system safety, but recognized as not to be sufficient to simulate spatial distributions of delayed-neutron precursors and neutron populations during transients for given detail reactor models. In order to meet this requirement, AMBIKIND, a 2-group, 2-dimensional neutron kinetics code suitable for the molten-salt reactor systems was developed. This paper explains the code's theoretical and numerical descriptions and, as a part of its verification, includes some simulation results of MSRE stability experiments. Even though the present reactor model does not include the recirculation effect of the fuel-salt through the reactor system, the AMBIKIN2D code should be able to predict the power and phase shift at various power levels and reactivity insertions with better accuracy.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.85-98
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• 1987

To analyze the aerosol dynamics in severe accidents of LMFBR, a new computer code entitled MCAD (Multicomponent Aerosol Dynamics) has been developed. The code can treat two component aerosol system using relative collision probability of each particles as sequences of accident scenarios. Coagulation and removal mechanisms incorporating Brownian diffusion and gravitational sedimentation are included in this model. In order to see the effect of particle geometry, the code makes use of the concept of density correction factor and shape factors. The code is verified using the experimental result of NSPP-300 series and compared to other code. At present, it fits the result of experiment well and agrees to the existing code. The input variables included are very uncertain. Hence, it requires uncertainty and sensitivity analysis as a supplement to code development. In this analysis, 14 variables are selected to analyze. The input variables are compounded by experimental design method and Latin hypercube sampling. Their results are applied to Response surface method to see the degree of regression. The stepwise regression method gives an insight to which variables are significant as time elapse and their reasonable ranges. Using Monte Carlo Method to the regression model of LHS, the confidence level of the results of MCAD and their variables is improved.