Preliminary Performance Test of Mechanical Pump for a Stella-1
In the process of sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) design, it is very important to verify thermo-hydraulic performance of each component in the sodium environment. In KAERI (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute) STELLA (Sodium Integral Effect Test Loop for Safety Simulation and Assessment) project is under a Mid- and Long-term Nuclear R&D Program. The STELLA project is composed of two stages. In the 1st stage the performance for heat exchangers such as DHX (Decay heat exchanger) and AHX (Air heat exchanger) and for PHTS (Primary heat transport system) mechanical pump will be evaluated. The detailed design of each component is based on that of a 600MWe demonstration reactor. Since full-scale components could not be installed in STELLA-1 [1], the model pump is designed to be scaled-down based on the scaling law. Various pump tests have been done in water environment by using model pump. In this study the design features of model pump were described and the scaling parameters were examined. The results of pump performance tests have been also introduced which is essential to perform safety analysis.