Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 1981. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ENGINEERING. / Bibliography: leaves 182-188. / by Juan J. Manzano-Ruiz. / Ph.D.

The phenomena of interest in this work is the thermal stratification which occurs during the early stages of a loss of coolant accident (LOCA) in the OSU APEX Thermal Hydraulic Test Facility, which is a scaled model of the Westinghouse AP600 nuclear power plant. Thermal stratification has been linked to the occurrence of pressurized thermal shock (PTS). Analysis of the OSU APEX facility data has allowed the determination of an onset criteria and support for the postulated mechanisms leading to thermal stratification. CFX 4.1, a computational fluid dynamics code, was used to generate a model of the cold legs and the downcomer and the phenomena occurring within them. The following are the accomplishments of the work contained within this report; Determined the causes of thermal stratification in the cold legs of the Westinghouse Advanced Passive 600 MW (AP600) nuclear power plant. Predicted the onset of thermal stratification in the cold legs of the Westinghouse Advanced Passive 600 MW (AP600) nuclear power plant. Modeled the phenomena associated with thermal stratification in the cold legs of the Westinghouse Advanced Passive 600 MW (AP600) nuclear power plant. / Graduation date: 1998

The purpose of this report is to present the results of the study and analysis of loss-of-coolant and loss-of-flow simulations performed on the Modular Helium Reactor developed by General Atomics using the thermal-hydraulics code RELAP5-3D/ATHENA. The MHR is a high temperature gas cooled reactor. It is a prismatic core concept for New Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP). Very few reactors of that kind have been designed in the past. Furthermore, the MHR is supposed to be a highly passively safe concept. So there are high needs for numerical simulations in order to confirm the design. The project is dedicated to the assessment of the passive decay heat capabilities of the reactor under abnormal transient conditions. To comply with the requirements of the NGNP, fuel and structural temperatures must be kept under design safety limits under any circumstances. During the project, the MHR has been investigated: first under steady-state conditions and then under transient settings. The project confirms that satisfying passive decay heat removal by means of natural heat transfer mechanisms (convection, conduction and radiation) occurs.

The purpose of this report is to present the results of the study and analysis of loss-of-coolant and loss-of-flow simulations performed on the Modular Helium Reactor developed by General Atomics using the thermal-hydraulics code RELAP5-3D/ATHENA. The MHR is a high temperature gas cooled reactor. It is a prismatic core concept for New Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP). Very few reactors of that kind have been designed in the past. Furthermore, the MHR is supposed to be a highly passively safe concept. So there are high needs for numerical simulations in order to confirm the design. The project is dedicated to the assessment of the passive decay heat capabilities of the reactor under abnormal transient conditions. To comply with the requirements of the NGNP, fuel and structural temperatures must be kept under design safety limits under any circumstances. During the project, the MHR has been investigated: first under steady-state conditions and then under transient settings. The project confirms that satisfying passive decay heat removal by means of natural heat transfer mechanisms (convection, conduction and radiation) occurs.

In nuclear power plants, a pipe break in the cooling line releases a jet that damages other equipment in containment, and is known as a loss of coolant accident (LOCA). This report specifically focuses on boiling water reactor (BWR) applications as a guide for future studies with pressurized water reactors (PWRs). This report presents a methodology for characterizing the jet such that, given a set of upstream conditions, the pressure field and damage potential of the jet can be predicted by an end user with a minimum of computation. The resultant model has many advantages over previous models in that it is easily calculated with knowledge readily available to plant operators and it provides new metrics that allow for a quick and intuitive understanding of the damage potential of the jet. / text

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