Experimental study on thermal stratification in water tank and heat transfer characteristics of condenser in water-cooled passive residual heat removal system of molten salt reactor. (15th August 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ding, Tao; Meng, Zhaoming; Chen, Kailun; Fan, Guangming; Yan, Changqi
• Is Part Of: Energy. Volume 205(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-08-15
• Subjects: Molten salt reactor -- Passive residual heat removal -- Water-cooled -- Temperature distribution -- Thermal stratification -- Heat transfer characteristics; Power resources -- Periodicals; Power (Mechanics) -- Periodicals; Energy consumption -- Periodicals; 333.7905
• DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2020.118052
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0360-5442

Abstract

Abstract: Based on the residual heat removal system of molten salt reactor (MSR) in Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a set of water-cooled passive residual heat removal system (PRHRS) applied to 2 MW thorium based MSR is designed and built. During the preheating of the water-cooled PRHRS, the open and closed natural circulation are started respectively. Then, the thermal stratification effect in the water tank of the system and the overall heat transfer characteristics of the condenser are studied under different start-up modes, and the temperature distribution and heat transfer characteristics in the water tank under transient conditions are obtained. The results show that under open startup mode, the development degree of thermal stratification in water tank is hardly affected by the heating power, completely different from that in closed startup mode. And development law and overall heat transfer characteristics of condenser differed under both two startup mode. The results and characteristics could provide applicable and effective references for the actual operation and safety analysis of the PRHRS in the later commercial MSR. Highlights: A full-scale passive residual heat removal system for molten salt reactor was built. The distribution of temperature in the water tank are studied. The regulation of the degree of thermal stratification varying with power differs in the two startup mode. A criterion to predict the development rate of thermal stratification in water tanks is proposed. Overall and local heat transfer characteristics of the water tank are analyzed.