The Role of Vapor Bubble Dynamics During Energetic Power Excursions in Fast Reactor Core Disruptive Accidents

1985 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 173-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erhard A. Fischer ◽  
Werner Maschek
2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-21
Author(s):  
Gennady G. Kulikov ◽  
Anatoly N. Shmelev ◽  
Vladimir A. Apse ◽  
Evgeny G. Kulikov

The purpose of the present study is the justification of the possibility of improving fast reactor safety by surrounding reactor cores with reflectors made of material with special neutron physics properties. Such properties of 208Pb lead isotope as heavy atomic weight, small neutron absorption cross section, and high inelastic scattering threshold result in certain peculiarities in neutron kinetics of the fast reactor equipped with 208Pb reflector, which can significantly enhance reactor safety. The reflector will also make possible generation of additional delayed neutrons characterized by the “dead” time. This will improve the resistibility of the fission chain reaction to stepwise reactivity excursions and exclude prompt supercriticality. Let us note that generation of additional delayed neutrons can be shaped by reactor designers. The relevance of the study amounts to the fact that generation of additional delayed neutrons in the reflector will make it possible mitigating the consequences of a reactivity accident even if the introduced reactivity exceeds the effective fraction of delayed neutrons. At the same time, the role of the fraction of delayed neutrons as the maximum permissible reactivity for reactor safety is depreciated. Scientific originality of the study pertains to the fact that the problem of yield of additional neutrons with properties close to normal delayed neutrons, has not been posed before. The authors suggest a new method for enhancing safety of fast reactors by increasing the fraction of delayed neutrons due to the time delay of prompt neutrons during their transfer in the reflector. In order to benefit from the expected advantages, the following combination is acceptable: lead enriched by 208Pb is used as a neutron reflector while natural lead or other material (sodium, etc.) is used as a coolant in the reactor core.


1992 ◽  
Vol 134 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-58
Author(s):  
Y.W. Chang ◽  
D.T. Eggen ◽  
A. Imazu ◽  
M. Livolant

1998 ◽  
Vol 271-273 ◽  
pp. 530-533 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Yamawaki ◽  
H Suwarno ◽  
T Yamamoto ◽  
T Sanda ◽  
K Fujimura ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  

Kerntechnik ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 86 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-49
Author(s):  
N. V. Maslov ◽  
E. I. Grishanin ◽  
P. N. Alekseev

Abstract This paper presents results of calculation studies of the viability of coated particles in the conditions of the reactor core on fast neutrons with sodium cooling, justifying the development of the concept of the reactor BN with microspherical fuel. Traditional rod fuel assemblies with pellet MOX fuel in the core of a fast sodium reactor are directly replaced by fuel assemblies with micro-spherical mixed (U,Pu)C-fuel. Due to the fact that the micro-spherical (U, Pu)C fuel has a developed heat removal surface and that the design solution for the fuel assembly with coated particles is horizontal cooling of the microspherical fuel, the core has additional possibilities of increasing inherent (passive) safety and improve the competitiveness of BN type of reactors. It is obvious from obtained results that the microspherical (U, Pu)C fuel is limited with the maximal burn-up depth of ∼11% of heavy atoms in conditions of the sodium-cooled fast reactor core at the conservative approach; it gives the possibility of reaching stated thermal-hydraulic and neutron-physical characteristics. Such a tolerant fuel makes it less likely that fission products will enter the primary circuit in case of accidents with loss of coolant and the introduction of positive reactivity, since the coating of microspherical fuel withstands higher temperatures than the steel shell of traditional rod-type fuel elements.


Author(s):  
Xiaopeng Qu ◽  
Huihe Qiu

The effect of acoustic field on the dynamics of micro thermal bubble is investigated in this paper. The micro thermal bubbles were generated by a micro heater which was fabricated by standard Micro-Electro-Mechanical-System (MEMS) technology and integrated into a mini chamber. The acoustic field formed in the mini chamber was generated by a piezoelectric plate which was adhered on the top side of the chamber’s wall. The dynamics and related heat transfer induced by the micro heater generated vapor bubble with and without the existing of acoustic field were characterized by a high speed photograph system and a micro temperature sensor. Through the experiments, it was found that in two different conditions, the temperature changing induced by the micro heater generated vapor bubble was significantly different. From the analysis of the high speed photograph results, the acoustic force induced micro thermal bubble movements, such as forcibly removing, collapsing and sweeping, were the main effects of acoustic enhanced boiling heat transfer. The experimental results and theoretical analysis were helpful for understanding of the mechanisms of acoustic enhanced boiling heat transfer and development of novel micro cooling devices.


2016 ◽  
Vol 800 ◽  
pp. 180-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pablo Peñas-López ◽  
Miguel A. Parrales ◽  
Javier Rodríguez-Rodríguez ◽  
Devaraj van der Meer

The term ‘history effect’ refers to the contribution of any past mass transfer events between a gas bubble and its liquid surroundings towards the current diffusion-driven growth or dissolution dynamics of that same bubble. The history effect arises from the (non-instantaneous) development of the dissolved gas concentration boundary layer in the liquid in response to changes in the concentration at the bubble interface caused, for instance, by variations of the ambient pressure in time. Essentially, the history effect amounts to the acknowledgement that at any given time the mass flux across the bubble is conditioned by the preceding time history of the concentration at the bubble boundary. Considering the canonical problem of an isolated spherical bubble at rest, we show that the contribution of the history effect in the current interfacial concentration gradient is fully contained within a memory integral of the interface concentration. Retaining this integral term, we formulate a governing differential equation for the bubble dynamics, analogous to the well-known Epstein–Plesset solution. Our equation does not make use of the quasi-static radius approximation. An analytical solution is presented for the case of multiple step-like jumps in pressure. The nature and relevance of the history effect is then assessed through illustrative examples. Finally, we investigate the role of the history effect in rectified diffusion for a bubble that pulsates under harmonic pressure forcing in the non-inertial, isothermal regime.


Author(s):  
Jing Chen ◽  
Dalin Zhang ◽  
Suizheng Qiu ◽  
Kui Zhang ◽  
Mingjun Wang ◽  
...  

As the first developmental step of the sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) in China, the pool-type China Experimental Fast Reactor (CEFR) is equipped with the openings and inter-wrapper space in the core, which act as an important part of the decay heat removal system. The accurate prediction of coolant flow in the reactor core calls for complete three-dimensional calculations. In the present study, an investigation of thermal-hydraulic behaviors in a 180° full core model similar to that of CEFR was carried out using commercial Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software. The actual geometries of the peripheral core baffle, fluid channels and narrow inter-wrapper gap were built up, and numerous subassemblies (SAs) were modeled as the porous medium with appropriate resistance and radial power distribution. First, the three-dimensional flow and temperature distributions in the full core under normal operating condition are obtained and quantitatively analyzed. And then the effect of inter-wrapper flow (IWF) on heat transfer performance is evaluated. In addition, the detailed flow path and direction in local inter-wrapper space including the internal and outlet regions are captured. This work can provide some valuable understanding of the core thermal-hydraulic phenomena for the research and design of SFRs.


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