IIR document

Thermal analysis of a heat pipe assisted passive cooling system for spent fuel pools.

Author(s) : KUANG Y., YANG Q., WANG W.

Type of article: IJR article

Summary

Passive cooling is a promising way to remove the decay heat and ensure the security of Spent Fuel Pool (SFP) at emergency conditions. A potential scheme of the passive cooling system consisting of bundles of large separate heat pipes is presented. A numerical model of the heat pipe is established. The model considered the pool boiling effect in the evaporator and self-adjusting of liquid column height in the downcomer. Influences of evaporator outlet vapor quality and corresponding flow resistance are studied. The model shows reasonable agreement with experimental data. Thermal performance and flow features with different working fluids, namely ammonia, water and R134a, under various conditions are analyzed. It is found that there is a minimum condenser height to activate the passive cooling system. Elevate the condenser helps to enhance the system performance when the downcomer is fully liquid filled. But when the downcomer is partially liquid filled, elevation of condenser provides little benefit. Besides, the cooling system functions well in a wide filling ratio range. Increase of filling ratio leads to growth of liquid column height in the downcomer. When the liquid column height comes to the maximum value, the cooling system shows the best heat transfer performance. In long distance heat transport applications, cooling system with water as the working fluid performs poorly. To balance between security and thermal performance, R134a is a better choice for the SFP passive cooling system than ammonia and water.

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Pages: 174-188

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Details

  • Original title: Thermal analysis of a heat pipe assisted passive cooling system for spent fuel pools.
  • Record ID : 30029375
  • Languages: English
  • Subject: Technology
  • Source: International Journal of Refrigeration - Revue Internationale du Froid - vol. 135
  • Publication date: 2022/03
  • DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2021.12.021
  • Document available for consultation in the library of the IIR headquarters only.

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