• 제목/요약/키워드: external vessel cooling

검색결과 57건 처리시간 0.031초

Structural assessment of reactor pressure vessel under multi-layered corium formation conditions

  • Kim, Tae Hyun;Kim, Seung Hyun;Chang, Yoon-Suk
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • 제47권3호
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    • pp.351-361
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    • 2015
  • External reactor vessel cooling (ERVC) for in-vessel retention (IVR) has been considered one of the most useful strategies to mitigate severe accidents. However, reliability of this common idea is weakened because many studies were focused on critical heat flux whereas there were diverse uncertainties in structural behaviors as well as thermal-hydraulic phenomena. In the present study, several key factors related to molten corium behaviors and thermal characteristics were examined under multi-layered corium formation conditions. Thereafter, systematic finite element analyses and subsequent damage evaluation with varying parameters were performed on a representative reactor pressure vessel (RPV) to figure out the possibility of high temperature induced failures. From the sensitivity analyses, it was proven that the reactor cavity should be flooded up to the top of the metal layer at least for successful accomplishment of the IVR-ERVC strategy. The thermal flux due to corium formation and the relocation time were also identified as crucial parameters. Moreover, three-layered corium formation conditions led to higher maximum von Mises stress values and consequently shorter creep rupture times as well as higher damage factors of the RPV than those obtained from two-layered conditions.

자연순환 루프에서 이상유동 특성에 관한 예비실험 연구 (Preliminary Experimental Study on the Two-phase Flow Characteristics in a Natural Circulation Loop)

  • 김재철;하광순;박래준;홍성완;김상백
    • 한국전산유체공학회:학술대회논문집
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    • 한국전산유체공학회 2008년도 춘계학술대회논문집
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    • pp.308-311
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    • 2008
  • As a severe accident mitigation strategy in a nuclear power plant, ERVC(External Reactor Vessel Cooling) has been proposed. Under ERVC conditions, where a molten corium is relocated in a reactor vessel lower head, a natural circulation two-phase flow is driven in the annular gap between the reactor vessel wall and its insulation. This flow should be sufficient to remove the decay heat of the molten corium and maintain the integrity of the reactor vessel. Preliminary experimental study was performed to estimate the natural circulation two-phase flow. The experimental facility which is one dimensional, the half height, and the 1/238 channel area of APR1400, was prepared and the experiments were carried out to estimate the natural circulation two-phase flow with varying the parameters of the coolant inlet area, the heat rate, and the coolant inlet subcooling. In results, the periodic circulation flow was observed and the characteristics were varied from the experimental parameters. The frequency of the natural circulation flow rate increased as the wall heat flux increased.

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