Investigation of Hydrodynamic Loads Associated With Pyrotechnic Valve Actuation

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher E. Henry ◽  
Jaehyok Lim ◽  
Basar Ozar
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Cooling System ◽  
High Reliability ◽  
Injection System ◽  
Vertical Force ◽  
Hydrodynamic Loads ◽  
System Pressure ◽  
Parallel Configuration ◽  
Core Cooling ◽  
Valve Actuation

Pyrotechnic-actuated valves are utilized for various applications requiring remote actuation with high reliability. One such application is passive safety injection (SI) within the emergency core cooling system (ECCS) within the Generation III+ advanced commercial nuclear power plant designs. The pyrotechnic (explosive) actuation within the valve internals, which opens the valve for water flow, creates a vertical force that must be supported by the surrounding piping restraints. This is a well-known phenomenon that is accommodated in the design. However, there exists also a subsequent, lesser-known axial (horizontal) force that must be accommodated also. A RELAP5/MOD3.3 (patch03) code [1] model for the pyrotechnic valve and the broader injection system was configured to analyze the extent of this water hammer. Typically, the pyrotechnic actuation occurs at relatively low reactor coolant system pressure since the injection itself will eventually be a passive gravity-driven feed. However, even at this low actuation pressure, the RELAP5 analysis demonstrates that the hydrodynamic loads can be substantial. Furthermore, the analysis shows that staggered actuation of a two-valve parallel configuration can exacerbate and magnify the load, compared to a single valve actuation.

scholarly journals Evaluation of Passive Safety Injection System Performance Under Large Break LOCA for Qinshan PWR

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuesong Wang ◽  
Lin Sun ◽  
Meiru Liu ◽  
Genglei Xia
Keyword(s):  
System Performance ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Cold Water ◽  
Injection System ◽  
Passive Safety ◽  
Primary System ◽  
System Pressure ◽  
Pressure Medium ◽  
Safety Parameters ◽  
Core Cooling

In this work, a brand new passive safety injection system has been designed for the ocean-based Qinshan Phase I nuclear power plant to update and replace the traditional active ones. The passive safety injection system is made up of high pressure, medium pressure, lower pressure safety injection system, and a two-stage automatic depressurization system. To evaluate the safety injection system performance, double-ended cold leg large break LOCA has been analyzed by best-estimated safety analysis RELAP5 code. The main operation and safety parameters such as primary system pressure, safe injection mass flow rates, core water level, and peak cladding temperature have been presented. The results conclude that the safety injection system can act as similar to that of the AP1000, which can assure sufficient core cooling and keep the reactor covered by the cold water under the most severe LBLOCA condition.

Experiments and Analytical Simulation Work on an Innovative Steam-Injector-Driven Passive Core Injection Cooling System

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michitsugu Mori ◽  
Tadashi Narabayashi ◽  
Shuichi Ohmori ◽  
Fumitoshi Watanabe
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Nuclear Power Plants ◽  
High Pressures ◽  
Cooling System ◽  
Steam Pressure ◽  
Injection System ◽  
The Core ◽  
Coolant Injection ◽  
Core Cooling

A Steam Injector (SI) is a simple, compact, passive pump which also functions as a high-performance direct-contact compact heater. We are developing this innovative concept by applying the SI system to core injection systems in Emergency Core Cooling Systems (ECCS) to further improve the safety of nuclear power plants. Passive ECCS in nuclear power plants would be inherently very safe and would prevent serious accidents by keeping the core covered with water (Severe Accident-Free Concept). The Passive Core Coolant Injection System driven by a high-efficiency SI is one that, in an accident such as a loss of coolant accident (LOCA), attains a higher discharge pressure than the supply steam pressure used to inject water into the reactor by operating the SI using water stored in the pool as the water supply source and steam contained in the reactor as the source of pressurization energy. The passive SI equipment would replace large, rotating machines such as pumps and motors, so eliminating the possibility of such equipment failing. In this Si-driven Passive Core Coolant Injection System (SI-PCIS), redundancy will be provided to ensure that the water and steam supply valves to the SI open reliably, and when the valves open, the SI will automatically start to inject water into the core to keep the core covered with water. The SI used in SI-PCIS works for a range of steam pressure conditions, from atmosphere pressure through to high pressures, as confirmed by analytical simulations which were done based on comprehensive experimental data obtained using reduced scale SI. We did further simulations and evaluations of the core cooling and coolant injection performance of SI-PCIS in BWR using RETRAN-3D code, developed using EPRI and other utilities, for the case of small LOCA. Reactors equipped with passive safety systems — the gravity-driven core cooling/injection system (GDCS) and depressurization valves (DPV) — would inevitably end up having large LOCA, even if they are initially small LOCA, as depressurization valves are forcibly opened in order to inject coolant from the GDCS pool to the GDCS water head at up to ∼0.2MPa. On the other hand, our simulation demonstrated that SI-PCIS could prevent large LOCA occurring in reactors by having by coolant discharged into the core in the event of small LOCA or when DPV unexpectedly open.

Experiments and Analytical Simulation on Steam Injector Driven Passive Core Injection System for Innovative-Simplified Nuclear Power Plant

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuichi Ohmori ◽  
Tadashi Narabayashi ◽  
Michitsugu Mori ◽  
Fumitoshi Watanabe
Keyword(s):  
Power Plant ◽  
Nuclear Power Plant ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
High Pressures ◽  
High Efficiency ◽  
Cooling System ◽  
Steam Pressure ◽  
Injection System ◽  
The Core ◽  
Core Cooling

A steam injector (SI) is a simple, compact and passive pump and also acts as a high-performance direct-contact compact heater. We are developing an innovative idea by applying SI system for core injection system in emergency core cooling systems (ECCS) to further improve the safety of nuclear power plants. The passive core injection system (PCIS) driven by high-efficiency SI is a system that, in an accident such as a LOCA (loss of coolant accident), attains discharge pressure higher than the supply steam pressure to inject water into the reactor by operating the SI, by supplying water from a pool in a containment vessel and the steam from a reactor pressure vessel (RPV). The SI, passive equipment, is used to replace large rotating machines such as pumps and motors, eliminating the failure probabilities of such active equipment. When the water and steam supply valves open, the SI-driven PCIS (SI-PCIS) will automatically start to inject water into the core to keep the core covered with water. The SI-PCIS works for the range of steam pressure conditions from atmosphere pressure through high pressures, in which the analytical simulations of SI were carried out based on the plenty amount of experimental data using reduced scale SI. We further simulated and evaluated the core cooling and water injection performance of SI-PCIS in BWR using RETRAN-3D code for the case of small LOCA. A reactor, such as ESBWR, equipped with the passive safety system by gravity-driven cooling system (GDCS) and the depressurization valves (DPVs) should be inevitable to lead to large LOCA even for the case of small LOCA by forcibly opening the DPVs to inject water from the GDCS pool due to that the GDCS water head is up to ∼0.2MPa. On the contrary, our simulation exhibited that SI-PCIS could save the reactors from leading to large LOCA by discharge of the water into a core for the cases of small LOCA or DPV unexpectedly open. In addition, we conducted the analytical simulations of SI, which grew in size for the actual nuclear power plant. A part of this report are fruits of research which is carried out by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), Toshiba corporation, and seven universities in Japan, funded from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) of Japan as the national public research-funded program.

Precautions at Fukushima That Would Have Suppressed the Accident Severity

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenji Iino ◽  
Ritsuo Yoshioka ◽  
Masao Fuchigami ◽  
Masayuki Nakao
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Cooling System ◽  
Water Injection ◽  
Reactor Core ◽  
Radioactive Material ◽  
Injection System ◽  
Tsunami Waves ◽  
Ac Power ◽  
Pressure Water ◽  
High Pressure Coolant

Abstract The Great East Japan Earthquake on Mar. 11, 2011 triggered huge tsunami waves that attacked Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (Fukushima-1). Units 1, 3, and 4 had hydrogen explosions. Units 1–3 had core meltdowns and released a large amount of radioactive material. Published investigation reports did not explain how the severity of the accident could have been prevented. We formed a study group to find: (A) Was the earthquake-induced huge tsunami predictable at Fukushima-1? (B) If it was predictable, what preparations at Fukushima-1 could have avoided the severity of the accident? Our conclusions were: (a) The tsunami that hit Fukushima-1 was predictable, and (b) the severity could have been avoided if the plant had prepared a set of equipment, and most of all, had exercised actions to take against such tsunami. Necessary preparation included: (1) a number of direct current (DC) batteries, (2) portable underwater pumps, (3) portable alternating current (AC) generators with sufficient gasoline supply, (4) high voltage AC power trucks, and (5) drills against extended loss of all electric power and seawater pumps. This set applied only to this specific accident. A thorough preparation would have added (6) portable compressors, (7) watertight modification to reactor core isolation cooling system (RCIC) and high pressure coolant injection system (HPCI) control and instrumentation, and (8) fire engines for alternate low pressure water injection. Item (5), i.e., to study plans and carry out exercises against the tsunami would have identified all other necessary preparations.

Development of Technologies on Innovative Simplified Nuclear Power Plant Using High-Efficiency Steam Injectors: Part 10—Application to a Small District-Heating Reactor

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tadashi Narabayashi ◽  
Yoichiro Shimazu ◽  
Toshihiko Murase ◽  
Masatoshi Nagai ◽  
Michitsugu Mori ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Power Plant ◽  
Direct Contact ◽  
Cooling System ◽  
High Reliability ◽  
District Heating ◽  
Water Jet ◽  
Hot Water ◽  
Feed Water ◽  
District Heating System ◽  
Core Cooling

A steam injector (SI) is a simple, compact and passive pump and also acts as a high-performance direct-contact compact heater. This provides SI with capability to use as a passive ECCS pump and also as a direct-contact feedwater heater that heats up feedwater by using extracted steam from the turbine. In order to develop a high reliability passive ECCS pump and a compact feedwater heater, it is necessary to quantify the characteristics between physical properties of the flow field. We carried out experiments to observe the internal behavior of the water jet as well as measure the velocity of steam jet using a laser Doppler velocimetry. Its performance depends on the phenomena of steam condensation onto the water jet surface and heat transfer in the water jet due to turbulence on to the phase-interface. The analysis was also conducted by using a CFD code with the separate two-phase flow models. With regard to the simplified feed-water system, size of four-stage SI system is almost the same as the model SI that had done the steam and water test that pressures were same as that of current ABWR. The authors also conducted the hot water supply system test in the snow for a district heating. With regard to the SI core cooling system, the performance tests results showed that the low-pressure SI core cooling system will decrease the PCT to almost the same as the saturation temperature of the steam pressure in a pressure vessel. As it is compact equipment, SI is expected to bring about great simplification and materials-saving effects, while its simple structure ensures high reliability of its operation, thereby greatly contributing to the simplification of the power plant for not only an ABWR power plant but also a small PWR/ BWR for district heating system.

Modeling of Thermal Hydraulics Features of Top Water Reflood Experiment PARAMETER-SF3 Using SOCRAT/V2 Code

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arcadii E. Kisselev ◽  
Valerii F. Strizhov ◽  
Alexander D. Vasiliev ◽  
Vladimir I. Nalivayev ◽  
Nikolay Ya. Parshin
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Cooling System ◽  
Severe Accident ◽  
Numerical Code ◽  
Thermal Hydraulics ◽  
Vver Fuel ◽  
Design Basis ◽  
Best Estimate ◽  
Core Cooling

The PARAMETER-SF3 test conditions simulated a severe LOCA (Loss of Coolant Accident) nuclear power plant sequence in which the overheated up to 1700÷2300K core would be reflooded from the top and the bottom in occasion of ECCS (Emergency Core Cooling System) recovery. The test was successfully conducted at the NPO “LUTCH”, Podolsk, Russia, in October 31, 2008, and was the third of four experiments of series PARAMETER-SF. PARAMETER facility of NPO “LUTCH”, Podolsk, is designed for studies of the VVER fuel assemblies behavior under conditions simulating design basis, beyond design basis and severe accidents. The test bundle was made up of 19 fuel rod simulators with a length of approximately 3.12 m (heated rod simulators) and 2.92 m (unheated rod simulator). Heating was carried out electrically using 4-mm-diameter tantalum heating elements installed in the center of the rods and surrounded by annular UO2 pellets. The rod cladding was identical to that used in VVERs: Zr1%Nb, 9.13 mm outside diameter, 0.7 mm wall thickness. After the maximum cladding temperature of about 1900K was reached in the bundle during PARAMETER-SF3 test, the top flooding was initiated. The thermal hydraulic and SFD (Severe Fuel Damage) best estimate numerical complex SOCRAT/V2 was used for the calculation of PARAMETER-SF3 experiment. The counter-current flow limitation (CCFL) model was implemented to best estimate numerical code SOCRAT/V2 developed for modeling thermal hydraulics and severe accident phenomena in a reactor. Thermal hydraulics in PARAMETER-SF3 experiment played very important role and its adequate modeling is important for the thermal analysis. The results obtained by the complex SOCRAT/V2 were compared with experimental data concerning different aspects of thermal hydraulics behavior including the CCFL phenomenon during the reflood. The temperature experimental data were found to be in a good agreement with calculated results. It is indicative of the adequacy of modeling the complicated thermo-hydraulic behavior in the PARAMETER-SF3 test.

Hybrid heat pipe based passive in-core cooling system for advanced nuclear power plant

2015 ◽  
Vol 90 ◽  
pp. 609-618 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yeong Shin Jeong ◽  
Kyung Mo Kim ◽  
In Guk Kim ◽  
In Cheol Bang
Keyword(s):  
Power Plant ◽  
Nuclear Power Plant ◽  
Heat Pipe ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Cooling System ◽  
Core Cooling

Passive Safety Systems of Advanced Nuclear Power Plant: AP1000

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guohua Yan ◽  
Chen Ye
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Human Error ◽  
Cooling System ◽  
Heat Removal ◽  
Injection System ◽  
Passive Safety ◽  
Human Errors ◽  
Power Sources ◽  
Passive Safety Systems ◽  
Safety Systems

In the entire history of commercial nuclear power so far, only two major accidents leading to damage of reactor core have taken place. One is Three Mile Island (TMT) accident (1979), which is caused by a series of human error, and the other is Chernobyl accident (1986), which is due to the combined reason of design defects and human errors. After TMI and Chernobyl accidents, in order to reduce manpower in operation and maintenance and influence of human errors on reactor safety, consideration is given to utilization of passive safety systems. According to the IAEA definition, passive safety systems are based on natural forces, such as convection and gravity, and stored energy, making safety functions less dependent on active systems and operators’ action. Recently, the technology of passive safety has been adopted in many reactor designs, such as AP1000, developed by Westinghouse and EP1000 developed by European vendor, and so on. AP1000 as the first so-called Generation III+ has received the final design approval from US NRC in September 2004, and now being under construction in Sanmen, China. In this paper, the major passive safety systems of AP1000, including passive safety injection system, automatic depressurization system passive residual heat removal system and passive containment cooling system, are described and their responses to a break loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) are given. Just due to these passive systems’ adoption, the nuclear plant can be able to require no operator action and offsite or onsite AC power sources for at least 72h when one accident occurs, and the core melt and large release frequencies are significantly below the requirement of operating plants and the NRC safety goals.

Application of Thermal Hydraulic Code SOCRAT/V2 to Top Water Reflood Experiment PARAMETER-SF3

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander D. Vasiliev
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Cooling System ◽  
Severe Accident ◽  
Numerical Code ◽  
Thermal Hydraulics ◽  
Vver Fuel ◽  
Design Basis ◽  
Best Estimate ◽  
Core Cooling

The PARAMETER-SF3 test conditions simulated a severe LOCA (Loss of Coolant Accident) nuclear power plant sequence in which the overheated up to 1700–2300K core would be reflooded from the top and the bottom in occasion of ECCS (Emergency Core Cooling System) recovery. The test was successfully conducted at the NPO “LUTCH”, Podolsk, Russia, in October 31, 2008, and was the third of four experiments of series PARAMETER-SF. PARAMETER facility of NPO “LUTCH”, Podolsk, is designed for studies of the VVER fuel assemblies behavior under conditions simulating design basis, beyond design basis and severe accidents. The test bundle was made up of 19 fuel rod simulators with a length of approximately 3.12 m (heated rod simulators) and 2.92 m (unheated rod simulator). Heating was carried out electrically using 4-mm-diameter tantalum heating elements installed in the center of the rods and surrounded by annular UO2 pellets. The rod cladding was identical to that used in VVERs: Zr1%Nb, 9.13 mm outside diameter, 0.7 mm wall thickness. After the maximum cladding temperature of about 1900K was reached in the bundle during PARAMETER-SF3 test, the top flooding was initiated. The thermal hydraulic and SFD (Severe Fuel Damage) best estimate numerical complex SOCRAT/V2 was used for the calculation of PARAMETER-SF3 experiment. The counter-current flow limitation (CCFL) model was implemented to best estimate numerical code SOCRAT/V2 developed for modeling thermal hydraulics and severe accident phenomena in a reactor. Thermal hydraulics in PARAMETER-SF3 experiment played very important role and its adequate modeling is important for the thermal analysis. The results obtained by the complex SOCRAT/V2 were compared with experimental data concerning different aspects of thermal hydraulics behavior including the CCFL phenomenon during the reflood. The temperature experimental data were found to be in a good agreement with calculated results. It is indicative of the adequacy of modeling the complicated thermo-hydraulic behavior in the PARAMETER-SF3 test.

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