Numerical Study on the Effects of Relative Diameters on the Performance of Small Modular Reactors Driven by Natural Circulation

Young Jin Kim, Byung Jin Lee, Kunwoo Yi, Yoon Jae Choe and Min Chul Lee
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Young Jin Kim: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Hannam University, 70 Hannam-ro, Daedeok-gu, Daejeon 34430, Korea
Byung Jin Lee: KEPCO Engineering and Construction Company, Inc. (KEPCO E&C), 111 Daedeok-daero, 989 Beon-Gil, Yusung-Gu, Daejeon 34057, Korea
Kunwoo Yi: KEPCO Engineering and Construction Company, Inc. (KEPCO E&C), 111 Daedeok-daero, 989 Beon-Gil, Yusung-Gu, Daejeon 34057, Korea
Yoon Jae Choe: KEPCO Engineering and Construction Company, Inc. (KEPCO E&C), 111 Daedeok-daero, 989 Beon-Gil, Yusung-Gu, Daejeon 34057, Korea
Min Chul Lee: Department of Safety Engineering, Incheon National University, 119 Academy-ro, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon 22012, Korea

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 22, 1-17

Abstract: Most of the small modular reactors (SMRs) under development worldwide present the same components: an integral reactor vessel with a low-positioned core as the heat source and a high-positioned steam generator as the heat sink. Moreover, some SMRs are being designed to be driven by natural circulation during normal power generation. This work focused on such designs and on their performance, considering the changes generated by the geometric and hydraulic parameters of the system. Numerical simulations using mass, momentum, and energy equations that considered buoyancy forces were performed to determine the effects of various geometric and hydraulic parameters, such as diameters and flow resistances, on the reactor’s performance. It was found that nonuniform diameters promote velocity changes that affect the natural circulation flow rate. Moreover, the reactor’s temperature distribution depends on the steam generator tube pitch. Therefore, the hydraulic diameters of the reactor’s coolant passages should be maintained as uniform as possible to obtain a more uniform temperature distribution and a larger mass flow rate in SMRs.

Keywords: small modular reactor; natural circulation; porous media; numerical analysis; hydraulic diameters (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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