scholarly journals Experiments to investigate direct containment heating phenomena with scaled models of the Zion Nuclear Power Plant in the Surtsey Test Facility

1994 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.D. Allen ◽  
M.M. Pilch ◽  
T.K. Blanchat ◽  
R.O. Griffith ◽  
R.T. Nichols
Keyword(s):  
Power Plant ◽  
Nuclear Power Plant ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Test Facility ◽  
Direct Containment Heating ◽  
Scaled Models

Onset of Gas Blowthrough During Melt Expulsion From a Hole in a RPV: Numerical Analysis Using the SIMMER Code

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Kretzschmar
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Analysis ◽  
Power Plant ◽  
Nuclear Power Plant ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Severe Accident ◽  
Core Material ◽  
Test Facility ◽  
Computer Codes ◽  
Direct Containment Heating ◽  
Heating Up

In the case of a severe accident in a nuclear power plant there is a residual risk, that the Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV) does not withstand the thermal attack of the molten core material, of which the temperature can be about 3000 K. For the analysis of the processes governing melt dispersal and heating up of the containment atmosphere of a nuclear power plant in the case of such an event, it is important to know the time of the onset of gas blowthrough during the melt expulsion through the hole in the bottom of the RPV. In the test facility DISCO-C (Dispersion of Simulant Corium-Cold) at the FZK /6/, experiments were performed to furnish data for modeling Direct Containment Heating (DCH) processes in computer codes that will be used to extrapolate these results to the reactor case. DISCO-C models the RPV, the Reactor Coolant System (RCS), cavity and the annular subcompartments of a large European reactor in a scale 1:18. The liquid type, the initial liquid mass, the type of the driving gas and the size of the hole were varied in these experiments. We present results for the onset of the gas blowthrough that were reached by numerical analysis with the Multiphase-Code SIMMER. We compare the results with the experimental results from the DISCO-C experiments and with analytical correlations, given by other authors.

Experimental Investigation of Subcooled Choking Flow in a Steam Generator Tube Crack

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hung Nguyen ◽  
Mark Brown ◽  
Shripad T. Revankar ◽  
Jovica Riznic
Keyword(s):  
Power Plant ◽  
Nuclear Power Plant ◽  
Steam Generator ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Test Facility ◽  
Experimental Program ◽  
Steam Generators ◽  
Steam Generator Tube ◽  
Loss Of Coolant ◽  
Steam Generator Tubes

Steam generator tubes have a history of small cracks and even ruptures, which lead to a loss of coolant from the primary side to the secondary side. These tubes have an important role in reactor safety since they serve as one of the barriers between radioactive and non-radioactive materials of a nuclear power plant. A rupture then signifies the loss of the integrity of the tube itself. Therefore, choking flow plays an integral part not only in the engineered safeguards of a nuclear power plant, but also to everyday operation. There is limited data on actual steam generators tube wall cracks. Here experiments were conducted on choked flow of subcooled water through two samples of axial cracks of steam generator tubes taken from US PWR steam generators. The purpose of the experimental program was to develop database on critical flow through actual steam generator tube cracks with subcooled liquid flow at the entrance. The knowledge of this maximum flow rate through a crack in the steam generator tubes of a pressurized water nuclear reactor will allow designers to calculate leak rates and design inventory levels accordingly while limiting losses during loss of coolant accidents. The test facility design is modular so that various steam generator tube cracks can be studied. Two sets of PWR steam generators tubes were studied whose wall thickness is 1.285 mm. Tests were carried out at stagnation pressure up to 6.89 MPa and range of subcoolings 16.2–59°C. Based on these new choking flow data, the applicability of analytical models to highlight the importance of non-equilibrium effects was examined.

Test Facility Design for Integrated Digital Nuclear Reactor Protection System

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huasheng Xiong ◽  
Duo Li ◽  
Liangju Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Power Plant ◽  
Nuclear Power Plant ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Verification And Validation ◽  
Protection System ◽  
Normal Operation ◽  
Test Facility ◽  
Acceptance Test ◽  
Independent Verification ◽  
Reactor Protection System

Reactor protection system is one of the most important safety systems in nuclear power plant and shall be designed with very high reliability. Digital computer-based Reactor Protection System (RPS) takes great advantages over its conventional counterpart based on analog technique and faces the issues how to effectively demonstrate and confirm the completeness and correctness of the software that performs reactor safety functions in the same time. It is commonly accepted that the essential way to solve safety software issues in a digital RPS is to pass a strict and independent Verification and Validation (V&V) process, in which integrated RPS testing play an important role to form a part of the overall system validation. Integrated RPS testing must be carried out rigorously before the system is delivered to nuclear power plant. The integrated testing are often combined with the factory acceptance test (FAT) to form a single testing activity, during which the RPS is excited by emulated static and dynamic input signals. The integration testing should simulate normal operation, anticipated operational occurrences and accident conditions, as well as anticipated faults on the inputs to the DRPS such as sensors out of range or ambiguous input readings. All safety function requirements of digital RPS should be confirmed by representative testing. The design and development of a test facility to carry out the integrated RPS testing are covered in this paper, which is merged in the research on a digital RPS engineering prototype for a nuclear power plant. The test facility is based on PXI platform and LabVIEW software development environment and its architecture design also takes into account the test functions future extensions such as hardware upgrades and software modules enhancement. The test facility provides the digital RPS with redundant, synchronized and multi-channel emulated signals that are produced to emulate all protection signals from 1E class sensors and transmitters with time varied value within their possible ranges, which would put integrated RPS testing into practice to confirm the digital RPS has fully met its predefined safety functionality requirements. The designed test facility can provide an independent verification and validation process for the research of digital RPS with scientific methods and authentic data to evaluate the RPS performance thoroughly and effectively, such as measuring threshold precision and trip response time, analyzing system statistical reliability and so on.

Design and Test of a Small Turbine-Compressor Set for a Nuclear Application

1962 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. H. S. Burton ◽  
T. E. H. Beck
Keyword(s):  
Power Plant ◽  
Nuclear Power Plant ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Mechanical Design ◽  
Aerodynamic Performance ◽  
Test Facility ◽  
Design Problems ◽  
Open Cycle

This paper describes the design of a turbine-compressor set in the 400–500 kw power range for use in the ML-1 mobile nuclear power plant. The specification and design problems are discussed in terms of mechanical design and aerodynamic performance. The open-cycle test facility is also described and the results of open-cycle testing are surveyed.

RCIC Turbo-Pump Scaling Through CFD and Model Testing for the Texas A&M University NHTS Facility

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad A. Hawila ◽  
Karen Vierow Kirkland
Keyword(s):  
Power Plant ◽  
Nuclear Power Plant ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Test Facility ◽  
Scaling Analysis ◽  
Cfd Analysis ◽  
Full Size ◽  
Scaling Parameters ◽  
Station Blackout ◽  
The U.S

One of the requirements for licensing a nuclear power plant in the U.S is the capability to survive and recover from a station blackout according to the U.S Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC). Station blackout is the loss of all off-site and onsite power simultaneously. Therefore, experimental test facilities are being constructed and operated to test the performance of the related safety systems in a nuclear power plant. Design and construction of a test facility creates the need to perform scaling analysis to ensure proper representation of key components and phenomena of interest. One of the main outcomes of the scaling analysis is the quantitative estimation of the Similarity Level (SL), which requires derivation of dimensionless scaling parameters and prediction of appropriate input values for the scaling parameters. To study the performance of the Reactor Core Isolation Cooling (RCIC) system, the Nuclear Heat Transfer Systems (NHTS) Laboratory at Texas A&M University has constructed and is operating a RCIC test facility. This paper presents the scaling analysis with reference to a full-size RCIC system and the RCIC system turbine was used as the main component for scaling. The input parameters for dimensionless scaling parameters were obtained through experimental measurements and CFD analysis. The CFD analysis is for the ZS-1 RCIC system turbine model. The STAR-CCM+ CFD code was used in this study to create and run simulations for steady state normal and abnormal operating conditions for the NHTS-developed CAD models. The input for the dimensionless scaling parameters was estimated. Input parameters were collected both experimentally and from CFD simulations and inserted into these equations. As a result, a high degree of similarity was confirmed, with a minimum of 82% between the NHTS and full-size RCIC systems. The 82% represents the amount of transfer properties conserved between the two systems. Consequently, this high similarity level allows the NHTS RCIC system to be used to study the behavior of the full-size RCIC system under Beyond Design Bases Accident (BDBA) conditions. Future work is to study and model other components of the RCIC system such as the suppression chamber to estimate similarity levels and study their effects on behavior of the system under BDBA.

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