Abstract
The pressure variances in the reactor core and containment of a High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTGR) after a primary loop pressure boundary break accident determine the structural integrity and safety of the reactor. Based on mass conservation, energy conservation and state equations, explicit formulae for the transient pressure and temperature variances in the pressure vessels were deduced, and a set of differential equations for the transient pressure and temperature variances in the containment were developed. Numerical simulation was also conducted to investigate the transient pressure and temperature variances in the pressure vessels and containment. The results show that energy transformation due to expansion work cannot be neglected. The maximum pressure in the containment could increase by 40 percent due to blockage caused by air in the containment. Detailed numerical simulations of the transient pressure and temperature variance in the reactor core flow passages were also conducted. The results show that the pressures acting on the reactor core and containment are below acceptable values.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Zhang Z Y, Wu Z X, Wang D Z, et al. Current status and technical description of Chinese 2×250 MWth HTR-PM demonstration plant. Nucl Eng Des, 2009, 239: 1212–1219
Dong Y J, Gao Z Y. Thermal-hydraulic feasibility analysis on uprating the HTR-PM. Nucl Eng Des, 2006, 236: 510–515
Patel S. High-temperature gas-cooled reactor concept moves forwards. Power, 2010, 154: 11–12
Lohnert G. Technical design features and essential safety-related properties of the HTR-module. Nucl Eng Des, 1990, 121: 259–275
Reutler H, Lohnert G H. Advantages of going modular in HTRs. Nucl Eng Des, 1984, 78: 129–136
Kunitomi K, Nakagawa S, Shiozawa S. Safety evaluation of the HTTR. Nucl Eng Des, 2004, 233: 235–249
Robbe M F, Lepareux M, Trollat C. Hydrodynamic loads on a PWR primary circuit due to a LOCA. Nucl Eng Des, 2002, 211: 189–228
Hong S J, Park G C. Study on post-blowdown of hot leg large break loss-of-coolant-accident in the view of mass and energy release analysis. Nucl Eng Des, 2002, 213: 43–58
Sha W T, Chien T H, Sun J G, et al. Analysis of large-scale tests for AP-600 passive containment cooling system. Nucl Eng Des, 2004, 232: 197–216
Wang T C, Wang S J, Teng J T. Comparison of severe accident results among SCDAP/RELAP5, MAAP and MELCOR codes. Nucl Technol, 2005, 150: 145–152
Li X T, Li X W, Shi L, et al. Safety analysis for hot gas duct vessel in HTR-PM. Nucl Technol, 2011, 174: 29–40
Zeng D L, Ao Y, Zhu K X, et al. Engineering Thermodynamics (in Chinese). Beijing: Higher Education Press, 1994
Li X W, Shi L, Zhang Z M, et al. Leak rate calculation for LBB analysis in high temperature gas-cooled reactors. Nucl Eng Des, 2010, 240: 3231–3237
Hossain K, Buck M, Ben Said N, et al. Development of a 3D thermal-hydraulic tool for design and safety studies for HTRS. Nucl Eng Des, 2008, 238: 2976–2984
Drzewiecki T J, Mount B L, De Bertodano M L. Development and validation of a porous-medium computational fluid dynamics model for a fast boron shutdown system. Nucl Technol, 2009, 165: 18–31
Wu C Y, Ferng Y M, Chieng C C, et al. Investigating the advantages and disadvantages of realistic approach and porous approach for closely packed pebbles in CFD simulation. Nucl Eng Des, 2010, 240: 1151–1159
Luan H B, Xu H, Chen L, et al. Coupling between FVM and LBM for heat transfer and fluid flow problems (in Chinese). Chinese Sci Bull (Chinese Ver.), 2010, 55: 3128–3140
He Y L, Li Q, Wang Y, et al. Lattice Boltzmann method and its applications in engineering thermophysics. Chinese Sci Bull, 2009, 54: 4117–4134
Martin J J, Mccabe W L, Monrad C C. Pressure drop through stacked spheres. Chem Eng Progr, 1951, 47: 91–94
Wylie E B, Streeter V L, Suo L S. Fluid Transients in Systems. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1993
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com
Rights and permissions
This article is published under an open access license. Please check the 'Copyright Information' section either on this page or in the PDF for details of this license and what re-use is permitted. If your intended use exceeds what is permitted by the license or if you are unable to locate the licence and re-use information, please contact the Rights and Permissions team.
About this article
Cite this article
Li, X., Li, X., Shi, L. et al. Transient pressure analysis for the reactor core and containment of a HTGR after a primary loop pressure boundary break accident. Chin. Sci. Bull. 56, 2486–2494 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-011-4579-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-011-4579-8