Porous Structure Analysis of the Packed Beds in a High-Temperature Reactor Pebble Bed Modules Heat Transfer Test Facility

2013 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 022801 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheng Ren ◽  
Xing-Tuan Yang ◽  
Yan-Fei Sun
Author(s):  
Lakshana Huddar ◽  
Brandon Kuhnert ◽  
Ali James Albaaj ◽  
Connie Lee ◽  
Per F. Peterson

Frequency response techniques have been historically used to characterize various reactor parameters. In this paper, we apply these techniques to the Pebble-Bed Fluoride-Salt-Cooled High Temperature Reactor (PB-FHR) in order to extract experimental values for the interfacial convective heat transfer coefficient in the pebble-bed reactor core. A test section is filled with randomly packed copper spheres and a simulant fluid is passed through it. The temperature of the fluid is made to vary at a given frequency, thereby affecting the temperature of the spheres in the test section as well. Using this data the heat transfer coefficient between the surface of the spheres and the fluid can be extracted. The preliminary results from these tests are shown in this paper along with the predicted heat transfer coefficients using the Wakao correlation for heat transfer in packed beds. The experiments were carried out for a range of Reynolds numbers from 250–500 and Prandtl numbers from 20 to 50. The Wakao correlation predicts the experiment fairly well. Generally, the experimental Nusselt numbers were found to exceed the predictions by up to 32%. An analytical solution for the solid and fluid temperatures in the test section is presented, and used to show the optimal frequency of oscillation for this experimental setup. This methodology can be used in the future to better characterize the dynamic response of coolant-boundary structures in the PB-FHR.


2021 ◽  
Vol 151 ◽  
pp. 107983
Author(s):  
Lianjie Wang ◽  
Wei Sun ◽  
Bangyang Xia ◽  
Yang Zou ◽  
Rui Yan

Author(s):  
Linsen Li ◽  
Haomin Yuan ◽  
Kan Wang

This paper introduces a first-principle steady-state coupling methodology using the Monte Carlo Code RMC and the CFD code CFX which can be used for the analysis of small and medium reactors. The RMC code is used for neutronics calculation while CFX is used for Thermal-Hydraulics (T-H) calculation. A Pebble Bed-Advanced High Temperature Reactor (PB-AHTR) core is modeled using this method. The porous media is used in the CFX model to simulate the pebble bed structure in PB-AHTR. This research concludes that the steady-state coupled calculation using RMC and CFX is feasible and can obtain stable results within a few iterations.


Author(s):  
Jan P. van Ravenswaay ◽  
Jacques Holtzhausen ◽  
Jaco van der Merwe ◽  
Kobus Olivier ◽  
Riaan du Bruyn ◽  
...  

The Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) Project is a US-based initiative led by Idaho National Laboratories to demonstrate the viability of using High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor (HTGR) technology for the production of high temperature steam and/or heat for applications such as heavy oil recovery, process steam/cogeneration and hydrogen production. A key part of the NGNP Project is the development of a Component Test Facility (CTF) that will support the development of high temperature gas thermal-hydraulic technologies as applied in heat transport and heat transfer applications in HTGRs. These applications include, but are not limited to, primary and secondary coolants, direct cycle power conversion, co-generation, intermediate, secondary and tertiary heat transfer, demonstration of processes requiring high temperatures as well as testing of NGNP specific control, maintenance and inspection philosophies and techniques. The feasibility of the envisioned CTF as a development and testing platform for components and systems in support of the NGNP was evaluated. For components and systems to be integrated into the NGNP full scale or at least representative size tests need to be conducted at NGNP representative conditions, with regards to pressure, flow rate and temperature. Typical components to be tested in the CTF include heat exchangers, steam generators, circulators, valves and gas piping. The Design Data Needs (DDNs), Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) as well as Design Readiness Levels (DRLs) prepared in the pre-conceptual design of the NGNP Project and the NGNP lifecycle requirements were used as inputs to establish the CTF Functional and Operating Requirements (F&ORs). The existing South African PBMR test facilities were evaluated to determine their current applicability or possible modifications to meet the F&ORs of the CTF. Three concepts were proposed and initial energy balances and layouts were developed. This paper will present the results of this CTF study and the ongoing efforts to establish the CTF.


Author(s):  
Yongyong Wu ◽  
Cheng Ren ◽  
Rui Li ◽  
Xingtuan Yang ◽  
Jiyuan Tu ◽  
...  

The effective thermal diffusivity and conductivity of pebble bed in the high temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) are two vital parameters to determine the operating temperature and power in varisized reactors with the restriction of inherent safety. A high-temperature heat transfer test facility and its inverse method for processing experimental data are presented in this work. The effective thermal diffusivity as well as conductivity of pebble bed will be measured at temperature up to 1600 °C in the under-construction facility with the full-scale in radius. The inverse method gives a global optimal relationship between thermal diffusivity and temperature through those thermocouple values in the pebble bed facility, and the conductivity is obtained by conversion from diffusivity. Furthermore, the robustness and uncertainty analyses are also set forth here to illustrate the validity of the algorithm and the corresponding experiment. A brief experimental result of preliminary low-temperature test is also presented in this work.


Author(s):  
Xinpeng Li ◽  
Sheng Fang

The control room radiological habitability (CRRH) is important for staff safety in a nuclear power plant, which is also a licensing requirement of the High-temperature Reactor Pebble-bed Module (HTR-PM) in China. Meanwhile, the complexity of the dose assessment increases for the multi-reactor site, which put forward higher requirements for building layout. The CRRH is investigated comprehensively for the multi-reactor site at Shidao Bay in this study. For a large-break loss of coolant accident of HTR-PM and CAP1000 in Shidao Bay nuclear power site, this study estimates doses of body, thyroid and skin due to three exposure pathways using NRC-recommended ARCON96 and dose calculation method in RG 1.195. To perform a realistic evaluation, the latest design and site-specific information are utilized as the input parameters, including the unique accidental source term of HTR-PM and the RG1.183-recommended source term of CAP1000, the release and ventilation parameters, the final layout and the meteorological data in a whole year. The evaluation results demonstrate that the individual dose level of staff in the control room is far below the requirement of the regulatory guide, which guarantees the CRRH of HTR-PM. The contribution of primary radionuclides suggests that tellurium and iodine are primary contributors of the inhalation dose of body and thyroid, which is worthy of paying particular attention to the CRRH design in HTR-PM.


2014 ◽  
Vol 64 ◽  
pp. 511-517 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graydon L. Yoder ◽  
Adam Aaron ◽  
Burns Cunningham ◽  
David Fugate ◽  
David Holcomb ◽  
...  

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Rosales ◽  
A. Muñoz ◽  
C. García ◽  
L. García ◽  
C. Brayner ◽  
...  

Very high temperature reactor (VHTR) designs offer promising performance characteristics; they can provide sustainable energy, improved proliferation resistance, inherent safety, and high temperature heat supply. These designs also promise operation to high burnup and large margins to fuel failure with excellent fission product retention via the TRISO fuel design. The pebble bed reactor (PBR) is a design of gas cooled high temperature reactor, candidate for Generation IV of Nuclear Energy Systems. This paper describes the features of a detailed geometric computational model for PBR whole core analysis using the MCNPX code. The validation of the model was carried out using the HTR-10 benchmark. Results were compared with experimental data and calculations of other authors. In addition, sensitivity analysis of several parameters that could have influenced the results and the accuracy of model was made.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document