Bounding Acoustic Load Development for Boiling Water Reactor Shroud and Shroud Supports

As part of the license basis of a nuclear boiling water reactor pressure vessel, a sudden loss of coolant accident (LOCA) event needs to be analyzed. One of the loads that results from this event is a sudden depressurization of the recirculation line. This leads to an acoustic wave that propagates through the reactor coolant and impacts several structures inside the reactor pressure vessel (RPV). The authors have previously published a PVP paper (PVP2015-45769) which provides a survey of LOCA acoustic loads on boiling water reactor core shrouds. Acoustic loads are required for structural evaluation of core shrouds; therefore, a defensible load is required. The previous research compiled plant-specific data that was available at the time. Since then, additional data has become available which will add to the robustness of the bounding load methodology that was developed. Investigations are also made regarding the shroud support to RPV weld, which was neglected from the previous study. This will allow a practitioner a convenient method to calculate bounding acoustic loads on all shroud and shroud support welds in the absence of a plant-specific analysis.

Examination of Oscillating Frequencies Generated by Combustion Oscillation Considering Temperature Distribution in a Combustor Tube Fueled by Natural Gas and Hydrogen Mixture

A combustion oscillation experiment fueling a mixture of hydrogen and natural gas was performed. The results showed oscillating frequencies of around 350 Hz in the case of the town gas only, whereas oscillating frequencies of around 200 and 400 Hz were observed in the hydrogen-containing fuel case. We hypothesized that the oscillating frequencies shift may occur by changing the temperature-distribution inside the tube, which was caused by different combustion conditions with the fuel mixture. As a result, the possible oscillating frequencies of not only around 350 Hz but also around 200 and 400 Hz were obtained. Although three types of possible oscillating frequencies were obtained in our previous study, more detailed temperature distributions should be considered to clarify the effect of the changing fuel mixture composition. In this paper, representative one-dimensional temperature distributions were formed by the combination of measured and calculated temperature distributions in the combustion tube for the corresponding fuel mixture. To include the detailed temperature distributions, the acoustic network model was divided into enough small elements to express the temperature distributions, where each element was connected by the transfer matrix. Then, the possible oscillating frequencies were calculated, taking account of the influence of the temperature distributions.

Efficient and Flexible Finite Element Procedure for Free and Forced Vibration Problems of a Plate Coupled With Fluid

Identifying the coupled system natural frequencies and dynamic behavior of systems in the presence of fluid-structure interaction is one of the most important issues in the engineering design of buildings, road vehicles and aircraft. This paper presents an efficient and flexible finite element procedure using fully vectorized codes for the free and forced vibration analysis of a rectangular plate in contact with fluid. The 4-node MITC plate finite element (MITC4) based on the Mindlin plate theory is used to simulate the plate, while the 8-node acoustic pressure element is used to simulate the fluid. The derived system of equations using structural displacements and fluid pressures yields a non-symmetric system of equations. Solving the generalized eigenvalue problem for the non-symmetric system is more computationally intensive compared to solving the generalized eigenvalue problem for symmetric systems. The modal expansion technique is used to reduce the model size. Then the reduced non-symmetric system is symmetrized by right eigenvectors. The Newmark method is used to solve the forced vibration problem of the coupled systems. The effect of the height of the fluid on the natural frequencies is discussed. The natural frequencies and transient responses are in good agreement with those obtained from the commercial finite element software. Moreover, the technique is proved to be effective to solve the coupled system.

Multiphase Flow Induced Vibrations at High Pressure

High pressure experiments were done to determine the pressure effect on multiphase induced forces. To that end, a series of water/gas, oil/gas and oil/water/gas vibrations measurements were performed at 10, 25, 45 and 80 bar at different liquid and gas rates in a horizontal, 2″, double Uloop test section installed at the Equinor Porsgrunn site. At higher pressures the vibration amplitude decreased inversely proportional to the pressure. This was measured for both oil and water. Based on the vibration data, the forcing spectrum was reconstructed. In this the same decreased trend was observed, indicating that a changed damping is not the cause of the reduced vibrations. In the forcing spectra the main effect was a higher energy content at lower frequencies. No clear shift in the peak frequency was measured.

Venting Manhole Cover: A Nonlinear Spring-Mass System

Manholes are vertical shafts connecting underground sewers with street-level terminals. They are covered by heavy lids. During periods of heavy rainfall, the air column in the upper part of the manhole may be compressed to such high level that the lid moves up. Of course, this is a dangerous situation for pedestrians and road traffic. Bolting the lid may provide a solution to the problem, but it is known that air pressurization underneath can result in structural damage. A simple model is proposed to describe the lifting of the lid (manhole cover). When the lid moves up, air is allowed to escape so that the lifting pressure decreases and the lid moves down, whereupon the air pressure increases again. This repetition might lead to the realistic phenomenon of the dancing manhole cover. Since the model is strongly nonlinear, interesting dynamic behavior is expected.

Pump Specific Speed and Four Quadrant Data in Waterhammer Simulation: Taking Another Look

In some situations, it is possible for flow to go backwards through a pump during a transient waterhammer event. Sustained reverse flow will lead to reverse rotation. Understanding and predicting the pump behavior during waterhammer under these conditions is typically accomplished using previously published four quadrant pump data. Historically, the selection of which data to use is based on the similarity of pump specific speed. The weaknesses of using specific speed are described and an improved method of selecting appropriate four quadrant data is given based on fundamental curve shapes for head and power in the normal operating zone.

Investigation and Resolution of the Fluid Structure Interaction of High Rate HVGO Pumps

A suite of High Rate Heavy Vacuum Gas Oil (HVGO) pumps in an operating Upgrader Plant experienced repeated failures; typically, less than 7 weeks. The need for online measuring tools arose that could measure pump and piping system strain changes with dynamic thermal gradients. The challenge was to record the effect on the entirety of pump component alignment and vibration. In current industrial practices no such tools and techniques are directly and comprehensively available for rotary equipment. Strain gauges are not accurate, and cannot provide broader real time strain mapping. Optical metrology can analyze the mechanical properties and behavior of all kinds of materials in various test scenarios. To date such methods are experimental and principally found in advanced application environments. At the time the method was unknown and especially in such a difficult industrial plant. In such a complex and extreme hot and cold operating service warm-up, cooling, with variations in flow and temperature, can directly and dynamically affect strain measurements. It was not certain whether optical meorology measurement techniques would be able to identify and correlate dynamic operating scenarios with the source of the pump and pipe hardware issues experienced in these Heavy Vacuum Gas Oil (HVGO) pump systems. The influence of the casing thickness and stiffness on the resulting vibration characteristics was investigated by using FEA and operational testing and dynamic analysis. Increasing the interface web thickness results in notable reduction in deformation. Comparison of the results of the live testing against the initial design was performed and studied for remedial action. Materials and heat treatment options were also evaluated and reported. The three-dimensional turbulent flow was modelled and analyzed. The application of those tools for this type of problem are described along with the other rigorous techniques employed. The range of tools included modal and vibration analysis, thermography, rotor and shaft dynamics, baseplate, frame, metallurgical analysis and ultimately compared with FEA, pipe stress modelling and strain analysis. This paper should be read in conjunction with PVP 2020-21204; Piping & Equipment Dynamics of High Rate HVGO Pumps.

A 3D Parallel High-Order Solver With Curved Local Mesh Refinement for Predicting Arterial Flow Through Varied Degrees of Stenoses

A 3D parallel high-order spectral difference (SD) solver with curved local mesh refinement is developed in this research to simulate flow through stenoses of varied degrees (50%, 60%, 65%, 70% and 75%) of radius constriction at inlet Reynolds number of 500. This solver employs high-order curved mesh in the vicinity of arterial wall and the local mesh refinement technique reduces the overall computational cost by distributing more elements in critical regions. In simulation of flow through stenosis of 50% radius constriction, velocity profiles predicted from the SD solver agree well with previous DNS results and experimental data. Mesh independency study shows that numerical results from a conforming and a non-conforming mesh agree well with each other. When the constriction degree is larger than 50%, visualizations through iso-surfaces of Q-criterion show that vortex rings are ejected from the stenosis throat, advecting downstream before they hit the vessel walls and they finally break down and merge into a large bulk region of small-scale turbulence. The observation is consistent with the vorticity contour which is characterized by development of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability when shear layers are formed, rolled up and advected downstream between the central jet and the recirculation region. When the constriction degree turns to 75%, the flow transitions rapidly downstream of stenosis throat and dramatic pressure drop is witnessed. This provides a fluid-dynamic explanation for clinical definition of critical stenosis (i.e. over 75% luminal radius narrowing). Furthermore, pressure drop across a stenosis is found to be proportional to square of ratio of non-stenosed area to minimum area at the stenosis throat with a linear correlation coefficient equal to 0.9998. Finally, this solver is proven to have excellent scalability on massively parallel computers when multi-level refinement of meshes is performed to capture small-scale structures in the turbulence region.

Experimental Study on Excitation of Heat Exchanger Tubes Based on Turbulence Power Spectrum

In the steam generator, anti-vibration bars are often provided to support the tube bundle. Due to the non-linearity of the support, the fluid-solid coupling simulation of large-scale tube bundles supported by the anti-vibration bars will bring great trouble. In order to solve this problem, this paper conducts experiments on the heat exchange tube based on the turbulent power spectrum to generate the excitation force. By changing the support form, the force of the lift and the direction of the drag and the ratio of the force, the excitation of the heat exchanger tube is researched. The results of the displacement response, the contact force and friction force distribution, and the contact angle distribution provide reference for the subsequent model simplification. Experiments show that the contact rate increases with the increase of the excitation force, and the contact force and the friction force increase with the increase of the excitation force. When the heat exchange tube contacts with the anti-vibration bars, the contact angle is mostly less than 45°, more than 50% of the contact angle is less than 45°. The work rate of the tube at the edge is greater than the work rate of the tube in the center.

Diffracted Blast Loads Behind Structures

An incident blast wave interacting with a building will diffract around the side walls and roof, resulting in reduced blast loads on the back wall. There is also a region behind the back wall where the blast loads will be attenuated (i.e., lower than the incident blast loads). This paper focuses on defining the attenuated blast load region as a function of the blast wave strength and building dimensions. Characteristic parameters are utilized to present the analysis results, including wave length, wave length normalized by a characteristic building dimension, and normalized standoff distance from the building back wall. Blast load adjustment factors (i.e., ratio of the diffracted to incident blast load) are used to define the blast load attenuation as a function of these characteristic parameters. The purpose of this work was to generate a database of the shock attenuation behind a structure for engineering modeling applications.