Simulation of condensation in the presence of noncondensible gases using the French thermal hydraulic code CATHARE

Conference · Thu Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1996

OSTI ID:271932

Reyes, J P; Hassan, Y A ^[1]

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1. Texas A and M Univ., College Station, TX (United States). Dept. of Nuclear Engineering

The advanced designs of new light-water-reactors have provided new areas in which condensation is an important model of heat transfer. In an application where condensation heat transfer is important, the proposed advanced passive boiling water reactor, the simplified boiling water reactor (SBWR), design utilizes as a mean component of the passive containment cooling system the isolation condenser (IC). The IC has as its main function to provide a passive heat exchanger for the removal of the reactor primary coolant energy and that of core decay heat energy. The energy from the fluid stream is deposited in large reservoirs situated above the core within the containment structure. In order for the IC to perform the task of energy removal, the IC must be able to remove sufficient energy from the fluid stream such that the design pressure of the containment is not exceeded, and that the containment pressure is reduced overall in the long run. After a typical postulated loss-of-coolant accident, a steam/air mixture from the reactor pressure vessel may flow to the IC. Once at the IC, the steam/air mixture condenses in downward flow through a bundle of tubes, and the condensed steam drains back to the reactor pressure vessel. In this investigation, a simulation of the University of California, Berkeley, Condensation Studies was performed using the CATHARE V1.3 U-1 thermal hydraulic computer code to model the phenomena of condensation in a vertical test section. Bulk steam/gas temperature, condensing tube heat flux, and local overall heat transfer coefficients compare well with that of the experiment. Cooling jacket bulk temperature profiles were also evaluated.

• OSTI ID: 271932
• Report Number(s): CONF-960306--; ISBN 0-7918-1226-X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
BWR TYPE REACTORS
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
CONTAINMENT SYSTEMS
ISOLATION CONDENSERS
LOSS OF COOLANT
REACTOR TECHNOLOGY
VAPOR CONDENSATION