Experimental Study on Compression/Absorption High-Temperature Hybrid Heat Pump with Natural Refrigerant Mixture

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Ji Young; Park, Seong Ryong; Baik, Young Jin; Chang, Ki Chang; Ra, Ho Sang; Kim, Min Sung [Korea Institute of Energy Research, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Yong Chan [Korea University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2011-12-15

This research concerns the development of a compression/absorption high-temperature hybrid heat pump that uses a natural refrigerant mixture. Heat pumps based on the compression/absorption cycle offer various advantages over conventional heat pumps based on the vapor compression cycle, such as large temperature glide, temperature lift, flexible operating range, and capacity control. In this study, a lab-scale prototype hybrid heat pump was constructed with a two-stage compressor, absorber, desorber, desuperheater, solution heat exchanger, solution pump, liquid/vapor separator, and rectifier as the main components. The hybrid heat pump system operated at 10-kW-class heating capacity producing hot water whose temperature was more than 90 .deg. C when the heat source and sink temperatures were 50 .deg. C. Experiments with various NH{sub 3}/H{sub 2}O mass fractions and compressor/pump circulation ratios were performed on the system. From the study, the system performance was optimized at a specific NH{sub 3} concentration.

Analysis and research on natural circulation capacity of HFETR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu Taozhong; Duan Tianyuan

2010-01-01

For the operating characteristics of HFETR, the numerical model of HFETR was established by RELAP5/MOD3 to analysis the maximal natural circulation capacity. Combining with the reactor running condition, the influence of the system pressure was analyzed by ascending power in step method and the pool water temperature on natural circulation characteristics was analyzed by integral power method. The results show that the natural circulation capacity are 0.9 and 2.0 MW separately under low pressure and high pressure, the natural circulation capacity increases as the running pressure increases, however the natural circulation capacity decreases as the coolant temperature increases in the pressure vessel. Based on the computational result and the theoretical deduction, a correlation was proposed to predicate the relationship between the natural circulation mass flow and the core power under different coolant temperatures. (authors)

SCDAP/RELAP5 applications to RCS natural circulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bayless, P.D.

1988-01-01

The effects of natural circulation flows in the reactor coolant system during a TMLB' sequence were investigated. Both in-vessel circulation and hot leg countercurrent flow were modeled in the Surry nuclear power plant using the SCDAP/RELAP5 computer code. The transient was analyzed until after fuel rod relocation had begun. The delays in the onset of relocation resulting from the natural circulation flows were not significant compared to SCDAP/RELAP5 calculations without natural circulation modeled, but were large compared to the analyses presented in NUREG-1150. The most significant aspect of the natural circulations flows was the heating of ex-vessel structures. Surge line failure is likely to occur before the vessel is breached by the molten core, while steam generator tube failure is not expected

Flammable refrigerants

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gerwen, R.J.M. van; Verwoerd, M.; Oostendorp, P.A.

1999-01-01

Hydrocarbons are promising alternatives for CFC, HCFC and HFC refrigerants. Due to their flammable nature, safety aspects have to be considered carefully. The world-wide situation concerning acceptability and practical application of flammable refrigerants is becoming more and more complex and

Characteristic of onset of nucleate boiling in natural circulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou Tao; Yang Ruichang; Liu Ruolei

2006-01-01

Two kinds of thermodynamics quality at onset of nucleate boiling with sub-cooled boiling were calculated for force circulation by using Bergles and Rohesenow method or Davis and Anderson method, and natural circulation by using Tsinghua University project group's empirical equations suggested in our natural circulation experiment at same condition. The characteristic of onset of nucleate boiling with subcooled boiling in natural circulation were pointed out. The research result indicates that the thermodynamics quality at onset of nucleate boiling with subcooled boiling in natural circulation is more sensitive for heat and inlet temperature and system pressure. Producing of onset of nucleate boiling with subcooled boiling is early at same condition. The research result also indicates more from microcosmic angle of statistical physics that the phenomena are caused by the effects of characteristic of dissipative structure of natural circulation in self organization, fluctuation force and momentum force of dynamics on thermodynamics equilibrium. these can lay good basis for study and application on sub-cooled boiling in natural circulation in future. (authors)

Power limit and quality limit of natural circulation reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao Guochang; Ma Changwen

1997-01-01

The circulation characteristics of natural circulation reactor in boiling regime are researched. It is found that, the circulation mass flow rate and the power have a peak value at a mass quality respectively. Therefore, the natural circulation reactor has a power limit under certain technological condition. It can not be increased steadily by continually increasing the mass quality. Corresponding to this, the mass quality of natural circulation reactor has a reasonable limit. The relations between the maximum power and the reactor parameters, such as the resistance coefficient, the working pressure and so on, are analyzed. It is pointed out that the power limit of natural circulation reactor is about 1000 MW at present technological condition. Taking the above result and low quality stability experimental result into account, the authors recommend that the reasonable mass quality of natural circulation reactor working in boiling regime is from 2% to 3% under the researched working pressure

Indirect refrigeration systems with natural refrigerants

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Knudsen, Hans Jørgen Høgaard; Christensen, Kim Gardø; Jensen, Per Henrik

1998-01-01

Heat transfer for boiling and condensing carbon dioxide has been investigated.Heat transfer for carbon dioxide evaporating inside pipe has been measured and compared with Shah's correlation. The measured heat transfer coefficient is much higher than the value determined with the correlation.A shell......-and-tube heat exchanger with carbon dioxide on the shell side and flow ice inside the tubes has been used to investigate the heat transfer for condensing carbon dioxide.At leats is mentioned results obtained with a frozen food display case using carbone dioxide as refrigerant....

Supercritical water natural circulation flow stability experiment research

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ma, Dongliang; Zhou, Tao; Li, Bing [North China Electric Power Univ., Beijing (China). School of Nuclear Science and Engineering; North China Electric Power Univ., Beijing (China). Inst. of Nuclear Thermalhydraulic Safety and Standardization; North China Electric Power Univ., Beijing (China). Beijing Key Lab. of Passive Safety Technology for Nuclear Energy; Huang, Yanping [Nuclear Power Institute of China, Chengdu (China). Science and Technology on Reactor System Design Technology Lab.

2017-12-15

The Thermal hydraulic characteristics of supercritical water natural circulation plays an important role in the safety of the Generation-IV supercritical water-cooled reactors. Hence it is crucial to conduct the natural circulation heat transfer experiment of supercritical water. The heat transfer characteristics have been studied under different system pressures in the natural circulation systems. Results show that the fluctuations in the subcritical flow rate (for natural circulation) is relatively small, as compared to the supercritical flow rate. By increasing the heating power, it is observed that the amplitude (and time period) of the fluctuation tends to become larger for the natural circulation of supercritical water. This tends to show the presence of flow instability in the supercritical water. It is possible to observe the flow instability phenomenon when the system pressure is suddenly reduced from the supercritical pressure state to the subcritical state. At the test outlet section, the temperature is prone to increase suddenly, whereas the blocking effect may be observed in the inlet section of the experiment.

Thermoacoustic refrigeration

Science.gov (United States)

Garrett, Steven L.; Hofler, Thomas J.

1991-12-01

A new refrigerator which uses resonant high amplitude sound in inert gases to pump heat is described and demonstrated. The phasing of the thermoacoustic cycle is provided by thermal conduction. This 'natural' phasing allows the entire refrigerator to operate with only one moving part (the loudspeaker diaphragm). The thermoacoustic refrigerator has no sliding seals, requires no lubrication, uses only low-tolerance machine parts, and contains no expensive components. Because the compressor moving mass is typically small and the oscillation frequency is high, the small amount of vibration is very easily isolated. This low vibration and lack of sliding seals makes thermoacoustic refrigeration an excellent candidate for food refrigeration and commercial/residential air conditioning applications. The design, fabrication, and performance of the first practical, autonomous thermoacoustic refrigerator, which will be flown on the Space Shuttle (STS-42), are described, and designs for terrestrial applications are presented.

Cooling Performance of Natural Circulation for a Research Reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Suki; Chun, J. H.; Yum, S. B. [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2015-10-15

This paper deals with the core cooling performance by natural circulation during normal operation and a flow channel blockage event in an open tank-in-pool type research reactor. The cooling performance is predicted by using the RELAP5/ MOD3.3 code. The core decay heat is usually removed by natural circulation to the reactor pool water in open tank-in-pool type research reactors with the thermal power less than several megawatts. Therefore, these reactors have generally no active core cooling system against a loss of normal forced flow. In reactors with the thermal power less than around one megawatt, the reactor core can be cooled down by natural circulation even during normal full power operation. The cooling performance of natural circulation in an open tank-in-pool type research reactor has been investigated during the normal natural circulation and a flow channel blockage event. It is found that the maximum powers without void generation at the hot channel are around 1.16 MW and 820 kW, respectively, for the normal natural circulation and the flow channel blockage event.

Natural Circulation Characteristics of an Integral Pressurized Water Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Junli Gou; Suizheng Qiu; Guanghui Su; Dounan Jia

2006-01-01

Natural circulation potential is of great importance to the inherent safety of a nuclear reactor. This paper presents a theoretical investigation on the natural circulation characteristics of an integrated pressurized water reactor. Through numerically solved the one-dimensional model, the steady-state single phase conservative equations for the primary circuit and the steady-state two-phase drift-flux conservative equations for the secondary side of the once-through steam generator, the natural circulation characteristics are studied. Based on the preliminary calculation analysis, it is found that natural circulation mass flow rate is proportional to the exponential function of the power, and the value of the exponent is related to working conditions of the steam generator secondary side. The higher height difference between the core center and the steam generator center is favorable to the heat removal capacity of the natural circulation. (authors)

Natural Circulation Phenomena and Modelling for Advanced Water Cooled Reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2012-03-01

The role of natural circulation in advanced water cooled reactor design has been extended with the adoption of passive safety systems. Some designs utilize natural circulation to remove core heat during normal operation. Most passive safety systems used in evolutionary and innovative water cooled reactor designs are driven by natural circulation. The use of passive systems based on natural circulation can eliminate the costs associated with the installation, maintenance and operation of active systems that require multiple pumps with independent and redundant electric power supplies. However, considering the weak driving forces of passive systems based on natural circulation, careful design and analysis methods must be employed to ensure that the systems perform their intended functions. Several IAEA Member States with advanced reactor development programmes are actively conducting investigations of natural circulation to support the development of advanced water cooled reactor designs with passive safety systems. To foster international collaboration on the enabling technology of passive systems that utilize natural circulation, in 2004 the IAEA initiated a coordinated research project (CRP) on Natural Circulation Phenomena, Modelling and Reliability of Passive Systems that Utilize Natural Circulation. Three reports were published within the framework of this CRP. The first report (IAEA-TECDOC-1474) contains the material developed for the first IAEA training course on natural circulation in water cooled nuclear power plants. The second report (IAEA-TECDOC-1624) describes passive safety systems in a wide range of advanced water cooled nuclear power plant designs, with the goal of gaining insights into system design, operation and reliability. This third, and last, report summarizes the research studies completed by participating institutes during the CRP period.

Influence of Oil on Refrigerant Evaporator Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Jong-Soo; Nagata, Karsuya; Katsuta, Masafumi; Tomosugi, Hiroyuki; Kikuchi, Kouichiro; Horichi, Toshiaki

In vapor compression refrigeration system using oil-lubricated compressors, some amount of oil is always circulated through the system. Oil circulation can have a significant influence on the evaporator performance of automotive air conditioner which is especially required to cool quickly the car interior after a period standing in the sun. An experimental investigation was carried out an electrically heated horizontal tube to measure local heat transfer coefficients for various flow rates and heat fluxes during forced convection boiling of pure refrigerant R12 and refrigerant-oil mixtures (0-11% oil concentration by weight) and the results were compared with oil free performance. Local heat transfer coefficients increased at the region of low vapor quality by the addition of oil. On the other hand, because the oil-rich liquid film was formed on the heat transfer surface, heat transfer coefficients gradually decreased as the vapor quality became higher. Average heat transfer coefficient reached a maximum at about 4% oil concentration and this trend agreed well with the results of Green and Furse. Previous correlations, using the properties of the refrigerant-oil mixture, could not predict satisfactorily the local heat transfer coefficients data. New correlation modified by oil concentration factor was developed for predicting the corresponding heat transfer coefficient for refrigerant-oil mixture convection boiling. The maximum percent deviation between predicted and measured heat transfer coefficient was within ±30%.

Experimental investigation on natural circulation and air-injection enhanced circulation in a simple loop

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Walter Ambrosini; Nicola Forgione; Francesco Oriolo; Filippo Pellacani; Mariano Tarantino; Claudio Struckmann

2005-01-01

Full text of publication follows: Natural circulation represents an interesting phenomenon because of both the complex aspects characterising it and for the widespread application in industry. On the other hand, injection of a gas into a rising branch of a loop represents a means to establish or to enhance a circulation flow, as it occurs in the so-called 'air-lift' loops. Both natural circulation and gas-injection enhanced circulation are presently considered for cooling Accelerator Driven System (ADS) reactors. These are subcritical reactors in which the fission reaction chain is maintained by the injection of neutrons obtained by spallation reactions in a target through a high energy proton beam generated in an external accelerator. The capability of such reactors to be used as incinerators of long lived fission products makes them particularly interesting in the light of the closure of the nuclear fuel cycle. Some of the fluids proposed as coolants for these reactors are liquid metals, with main interest for lead and lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE). Experimental activities are being performed in support to the design of the reactor prototype by different organisations. The university of Pisa, in addition to provide cooperation in these large scale activities performed with LBE has set up a specific experimental program aimed at studying the fundamental mechanisms involved in natural circulation and gas-injection enhanced circulation. The adopted experimental facility consists in a simple loop, having a rectangular lay-out (roughly, 4 m tall and 1 m wide), equipped with a 5 kW, 1 m tall heater, a 2 m long pipe-in-pipe heat exchanger, an air injection device and a separator. The fluid adopted in the tests performed up to now is water, though studies for evaluating the feasibility of the adoption of different fluids have been undertaken. Experimental data reported in previous publications concerning this research were related to a relatively high range of gas

Design of refrigeration system using refrigerant R134a for macro compartment

Science.gov (United States)

Rani, M. F. H.; Razlan, Z. M.; Shahriman, A. B.; Yong, C. K.; Harun, A.; Hashim, M. S. M.; Faizi, M. K.; Ibrahim, I.; Kamarrudin, N. S.; Saad, M. A. M.; Zunaidi, I.; Wan, W. K.; Desa, H.

2017-10-01

The main objective of this study is to analyse and design an optimum cooling system for macro compartment. Current product of the refrigerator is not specified for single function and not compact in size. Hence, a refrigeration system using refrigerant R134a is aimed to provide instant cooling in a macro compartment with sizing about 150 × 150 × 250 mm. The macro compartment is purposely designed to fit a bottle or drink can, which is then cooled to a desired drinking temperature of about 8°C within a period of 1 minute. The study is not only concerned with analysing of heat load of the macro compartment containing drink can, but also focused on determining suitable heat exchanger volume for both evaporator and condenser, calculating compressor displacement value and computing suitable resistance value of the expansion valve. Method of optimization is used to obtain the best solution of the problem. Mollier diagram is necessary in the process of developing the refrigeration system. Selection of blower is made properly to allow air circulation and to increase the flow rate for higher heat transfer rate. Property data are taken precisely from thermodynamic property tables. As the main four components, namely condenser, compressor, evaporator and expansion valve are fully developed, the refrigeration system is complete.

Reevaluation of Kori Unit 4 Natural Circulation Test

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yassin, Nassir [Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Woo, Sweng Woong [Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2013-10-15

The simulation results showed that the natural circulation flow developed by density difference was capable of removing decay heat from the fuel rod. The maximum pellet centerline temperature of the hot channel showed large margin to the pellet melting temperature. The maximum coolant temperature in the hot channel was well below the saturation temperature. If steam generators provide heat sink to the primary coolant system and thus natural circulation is maintained, the integrity of the fuel in the core can be sustained with large margin. Passive cooling of reactor is inevitable in case of failures in forced cooling system such as loss of electric power for cooling pumps. Fukushima accident showed the importance of the passive core cooling. During the commissioning test of PWRs, natural circulation test is performed to demonstrate the passive core cooling by natural convection. The driving force for coolant flow is developed by the density deference along the loop multiplied by the gravitation. Using the data from 'natural circulation test' and 'RCS flow coast down test' of Kori Unit 4, fuel behavior was reevaluated by FRAPTRAN code. RCS natural circulation test of Kori Unit 4 was reevaluated by FRAPTYRAN simulation to study the fuel behavior during the flow coast down transient and at the equilibrium condition in which decay heat transport and RCS flow were stabilized.

Natural circulation in an integral CANDU test facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ingham, P.J.; Sanderson, T.V.; Luxat, J.C.; Melnyk, A.J.

2000-01-01

Over 70 single- and two-phase natural circulation experiments have been completed in the RD-14M facility, an integral CANDU thermalhydraulic test loop. This paper describes the RD-14M facility and provides an overview of the impact of key parameters on the results of natural circulation experiments. Particular emphasis will be on phenomena which led to heat up at high system inventories in a small subset of experiments. Clarification of misunderstandings in a recently published comparison of the effectiveness of natural circulation flows in RD-14M to integral facilities simulating other reactor geometries will also be provided. (author)

Natural-circulation-cooling characteristics during PWR accident simulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adams, J.P.; McCreery, G.E.; Berta, V.T.

1983-01-01

A description of natural circulation cooling characteristics is presented. Data were obtained from several pressurized water reactor accident simulations in the Loss-of-Fluid Test (LOFT) pressurized water reactor (PWR). The reliability of natural circulation cooling, its cooling effectiveness, and the effect of changing system conditions are described. Quantitative comparison of flow rates and time constants with theory for both single- and two-phase fluid conditions were made. It is concluded that natural circulation cooling can be relied on in plant recovery procedures in the absence of forced convection whenever the steam generator heat sink is available

Natural refrigerants. Future heat pumps for district heating; Naturliga koeldmedier. Framtida vaermepumpar foer fjaerrvaerme

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ingvarsson, Paul; Steen Ronnermark, Ingela [Fortum Teknik och Miljoe AB, Stockholm (Sweden); Eriksson, Marcus [Chalmers Univ. of Technology, Goeteborg (Sweden). Dept. of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Science

2004-01-01

International work on refrigerants is aiming at phasing out HFC. The solution might be natural refrigerants. Within 15-20 years, when present heat pumps for district heating in Sweden are likely not in service any longer, it might still be good economy to install new heat pumps since only the machines need to be replaced. This report describes the possibilities to use natural refrigerants. A first screening resulted in further study on some hydrocarbons, ammonia and carbon dioxide. Water was considered to require too large volumes. In present plants it is practically not possible to use any natural refrigerants, partly because the compressors are not adapted. In new plants the situation is different. Today it is technically possible to install new heat pumps in the studied size, 15 MW{sub th}, using ammonia or hydrocarbons as refrigerant. But likely it is very difficult to get permits from authorities since the refrigerants are toxic or highly flammable. There is substantial international research on using carbon dioxide, and this refrigerant is also used in some applications. Carbon dioxide is used at high pressure and in a trans-critical process. Surprisingly, it turned out that one compressor manufacturer considers it possible to supply a heat pump for district heating within 5 years. This development has taken place in Russia, mainly for domestic use. Thus, within 15 to 20 years there will probably exist a technique where carbon dioxide is used. However, more development is needed. Additionally, low district heating return temperatures are also needed to get an acceptable COP. The investment cost for a heat pump installation is considered to be approx. 30 % higher when using ammonia or propane compared to using R134a. When using carbon dioxide there is in the longer run potential to get lower cost than for R134a. The COPs are almost identical if the systems are properly designed. In the carbon dioxide case the COP is somewhat lower, but has a potential for

Natural circulation cooling in US pressurized water reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berta, V.T.; Wilson, G.E.; Boyack, B.E.

1989-01-01

The research into the modes of, and heat removed by, natural circulation in PWR systems is reviewed for the purpose of determining the status of this method for off-nominal recovery procedures. The referenced information comes from all facets of the nuclear industry, both domestic and international. The information focuses on recent research (1986--1988); however, pre-1986 research is summarized and referenced. Particular attention is paid to the role of scaling in the experimental facilities and analytical tools. Three modes of natural-circulation cooling are covered: condensation. The conclusion of the review is that the new research reconfirms the pre-1986 conclusion that natural circulation is a viable means of decay heat removal. In addition, the new research sufficiently completes the acquisition of an appropriate experimental data base and the development of system codes to permit the design of valid plant recovery procedures incorporating all three modes of natural circulation. 48 refs., 1 fig., 3 tabs

Effect of natural circulation on RCS depressurization strategy in PWR NPP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Kun; Tong Lili; Cao Xuewu

2009-01-01

The natural circulation model of Chinese Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) Unit 2 is built using SCDAP/RELAP5 code. Selecting TMLB' accident as the base sequence, this paper analyzes the natural circulation phenomena in high-pressure core melt severe accident. In order to study the effect of natural circulation on RCS depressurization strategy, the accident progressions of RCS depressurization with and without natural circulation are simulated, respectively. According to the results, the natural circulation can delay the initiation of RCS depressurization and the whole accident progression, but it does not evidently influence the results of RCS depressurization. (authors)

Analysis of the hydrodynamic stability of natural circulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Olive, J.; Baby, J.P.

1980-01-01

A mathematical model (EOLE) for the analysis of the stability of boilers with natural circulation is discussed. The method employed consists in linearizing one-dimensional flow equations and in integrating them while employing the Laplace transformation. The properties of a two-phase fluid are schematized by a homogeneous model with slip. The computation results in the circulation loop transfer functions and its natural modes of oscillation (frequency and damping). A discussion follows which compares results obtained with this method to those of other existing models in the case of a straight pipe with forced circulation. Agreement proved to be satisfactory. The results are then given of a parametric study involving the stability of a PWR natural circulation steam generator. These results show that the model can satisfy, at least qualitatively, trends observed empirically or obtained with other more complex theoretical models. (author)

Experimental and theoretical study on natural circulation capacity under rolling motion condition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tan Sichao; Gao Puzhen

2007-01-01

Effect of rolling motion on natural circulation capacity was studied experimentally and theoretically. Experiments were conducted under the conditions of rolling and unrolling motions. The experimental results show that natural circulation capacity decreases under rolling motion condition. A mathematic model was developed to calculate the natural circulation capacity under rolling motion condition, considering the characteristics of natural circulation, the model was modified. The calculated results agree with experimental data well. Effect of rolling motion on natural circulation was analyzed through calculation and the following conclusions were obtained: (1) The increase of flow resistance coefficient is the main reason that the natural circulation capacity decreases under rolling motion condition; (2) Non-uniform distribution of fluid mass in the pipe has also influence on natural circulation capacity. (author)

Experimental study of two-phase natural circulation circuit

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lemos, Wanderley Freitas; Su, Jian, E-mail: wlemos@lasme.coppe.ufrj.br, E-mail: sujian@nuclear.ufrj.br [Coordenacao dos Programas de Pos-Graduacao em Engenharia (COPPE/UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Programa de Engenharia Nuclear; Faccini, Jose Luiz Horacio, E-mail: faccini@ien.gov.br [Instituto de Engenharia Nuclear (IEN/CNEN-RJ), RIo de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Lab. de Termo-Hidraulica Experimental

2012-07-01

This paper reports an experimental study on the behavior of fluid flow in natural circulation under single-and two-phase flow conditions. The natural circulation circuit was designed based on concepts of similarity and scale in proportion to the actual operating conditions of a nuclear reactor. This test equipment has similar performance to the passive system for removal of residual heat presents in Advanced Pressurized Water Reactors (A PWR). The experiment was carried out by supplying water to primary and secondary circuits, as well as electrical power resistors installed inside the heater. Power controller has available to adjust the values for supply of electrical power resistors, in order to simulate conditions of decay of power from the nuclear reactor in steady state. Data acquisition system allows the measurement and control of the temperature at different points by means of thermocouples installed at several points along the circuit. The behavior of the phenomenon of natural circulation was monitored by a software with graphical interface, showing the evolution of temperature measurement points and the results stored in digital format spreadsheets. Besides, the natural circulation flow rate was measured by a flowmeter installed on the hot leg. A flow visualization technique was used the for identifying vertical flow regimes of two-phase natural circulation. Finally, the Reynolds Number was calculated for the establishment of a friction factor correlation dependent on the scale geometrical length, height and diameter of the pipe. (author)

Experimental study of two-phase natural circulation circuit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lemos, Wanderley Freitas; Su, Jian; Faccini, Jose Luiz Horacio

2012-01-01

This paper reports an experimental study on the behavior of fluid flow in natural circulation under single-and two-phase flow conditions. The natural circulation circuit was designed based on concepts of similarity and scale in proportion to the actual operating conditions of a nuclear reactor. This test equipment has similar performance to the passive system for removal of residual heat presents in Advanced Pressurized Water Reactors (A PWR). The experiment was carried out by supplying water to primary and secondary circuits, as well as electrical power resistors installed inside the heater. Power controller has available to adjust the values for supply of electrical power resistors, in order to simulate conditions of decay of power from the nuclear reactor in steady state. Data acquisition system allows the measurement and control of the temperature at different points by means of thermocouples installed at several points along the circuit. The behavior of the phenomenon of natural circulation was monitored by a software with graphical interface, showing the evolution of temperature measurement points and the results stored in digital format spreadsheets. Besides, the natural circulation flow rate was measured by a flowmeter installed on the hot leg. A flow visualization technique was used the for identifying vertical flow regimes of two-phase natural circulation. Finally, the Reynolds Number was calculated for the establishment of a friction factor correlation dependent on the scale geometrical length, height and diameter of the pipe. (author)

Engineering Judgment and Natural Circulation Calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferreri, J.C.; Ferreri, J.C.

2011-01-01

The analysis performed to establish the validity of computer code results in the particular field of natural circulation flow stability calculations is presented in the light of usual engineering practice. The effects of discretization and closure correlations are discussed and some hints to avoid undesired mistakes in the evaluations performed are given. Additionally, the results are presented for an experiment relevant to the way in which a (small) number of skilled, nuclear safety analysts and researchers react when facing the solution of a natural circulation problem. These results may be also framed in the concept of Engineering Judgment and are potentially useful for Knowledge Management activities.

Automatically varying the composition of a mixed refrigerant solution for single mixed refrigerant LNG (liquefied natural gas) process at changing working conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, Xiongwen; Liu, Jinping; Cao, Le; Pang, Weiqiang

2014-01-01

The SMR (single mixed refrigerant) process is widely used in the small- and medium-scale liquefaction of NG (natural gas). Operating the MR (mixed-refrigerant) process outside of the design specifications is difficult but essential to save energy. Nevertheless, it is difficult to realize because the process needs to alter the working refrigerant composition. To address this challenge, this study investigated the performance diagnosis mechanism for SMR process. A control strategy was then proposed to control the changes in working refrigerant composition under different working conditions. This strategy separates the working refrigerant flow in the SMR process into three flows through two phase separators before it flows into the cold box. The first liquid flow is rich in the high-temperature component (isopentane). The second liquid flow is rich in the middle-temperature components (ethylene and propane), and the gas flow is rich in the low-temperature components (nitrogen and methane). By adjusting the flow rates, it is easy to decouple the control variables and automate the system. Finally, this approach was validated by process simulation and shown to be highly adaptive and exergy efficient in response to changing working conditions. - Highlights: • The performance diagnosis mechanism of SMR LNG process is studied. • A measure to automatically change the operation composition as per the working conditions is proposed for SMR process. • SMR process simulation is performed to verify the validity of the control solution. • The control solution notably improves the energy efficiency of SMR process at changing working condition

PWR hot leg natural circulation modeling with MELCOR code

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Jae Hong; Lee, Jong In [Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

1998-12-31

Previous MELCOR and SCDAP/RELAP5 nodalizations for simulating the counter-current, natural circulation behavior of vapor flow within the RCS hot legs and SG U-tubes when core damage progress can not be applied to the steady state and water-filled conditions during the initial period of accident progression because of the artificially high loss coefficients in the hot legs and SG U-tubes which were chosen from results of COMMIX calculation and the Westinghouse natural circulation experiments in a 1/7-scale facility for simulating steam natural circulation behavior in the vessel and circulation modeling which can be used both for the liquid flow condition at steady state and for the vapor flow condition at the later period of in-vessel core damage. For this, the drag forces resulting from the momentum exchange effects between the two vapor streams in the hot leg was modeled as a pressure drop by pump model. This hot leg natural circulation modeling of MELCOR was able to reproduce similar mass flow rates with those predicted by previous models. 6 refs., 2 figs. (Author)

PWR hot leg natural circulation modeling with MELCOR code

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Jae Hong; Lee, Jong In [Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

1997-12-31

Previous MELCOR and SCDAP/RELAP5 nodalizations for simulating the counter-current, natural circulation behavior of vapor flow within the RCS hot legs and SG U-tubes when core damage progress can not be applied to the steady state and water-filled conditions during the initial period of accident progression because of the artificially high loss coefficients in the hot legs and SG U-tubes which were chosen from results of COMMIX calculation and the Westinghouse natural circulation experiments in a 1/7-scale facility for simulating steam natural circulation behavior in the vessel and circulation modeling which can be used both for the liquid flow condition at steady state and for the vapor flow condition at the later period of in-vessel core damage. For this, the drag forces resulting from the momentum exchange effects between the two vapor streams in the hot leg was modeled as a pressure drop by pump model. This hot leg natural circulation modeling of MELCOR was able to reproduce similar mass flow rates with those predicted by previous models. 6 refs., 2 figs. (Author)

Experimental study of the natural circulation phenomena

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sabundjian, Gaiane; Andrade, Delvonei Alves de; Umbehaun, Pedro E.; Torres, Walmir M.; Castro, Alfredo Jose Alvim de; Belchior Junior, Antonio; Rocha, Ricardo Takeshi Vieira da; Damy, Osvaldo Luiz de Almeida; Torres, Eduardo

2006-01-01

The objective of this paper is to study the natural circulation in experimental loops and extend the results to nuclear facilities. New generation of compact nuclear power plants use the natural circulation as cooling and residual heat removal systems in case of accidents or shutdown. Lately the interest in this phenomenon, by scientific community, has increased. The experimental loop, described in this paper, was assembled at Escola Politecnica - USP at the Chemical Engineering Department. It is the goal to generate information to help with the understanding of the one and two phase natural circulation phenomena. Some experiments were performed with different levels of heat power and different flow of the cooling water at the secondary circuit. The data generated from these experiments are going to be used to validate some computational thermal hydraulic codes. Experimental results for one and two phase regimes are presented as well as the proposed model to simulate the flow regimes with the RELAP5 code. (author)

Ultimate refrigerating conditions, behavior turning and a thermodynamic analysis for absorption–compression hybrid refrigeration cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zheng Danxing; Meng Xuelin

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Two novel fundamental concepts of the absorption refrigeration cycle were proposed. ► The interaction mechanism of compressor pressure increasing with other key-parameters was investigated. ► A set of optimal operating condition of hybrid refrigeration cycle was found. ► A simulation and investigation for R134a-DMF hybrid refrigeration cycle was performed. - Abstract: The absorption–compression hybrid refrigeration cycle has been considered as an effective approach to reduce the mechanical work consumption by using low-grade heat, such as solar energy. This work aims at studying the thermodynamic mechanism of the hybrid refrigeration cycle. Two fundamental concepts have been proposed, which are the ultimate refrigerating temperature (or the ultimate temperature lift) and the behavior turning. On the basis of that, the interaction mechanism of compressor pressure increasing with other key-parameters and the impact of compressor pressure increasing on the cycle performance have been investigated. The key-parameters include the concentration difference, the circulation ratio of working fluid, etc. The work points out that the hybrid refrigeration cycle performance varies with the change of compressor outlet pressure and depends on which one achieves dominance in the hybrid refrigeration cycle, the absorption sub-system or the compression sub-system. The behavior turning point during parameters changing corresponds to a maximum value of the heat powered coefficient of performance. In this case, the hybrid refrigeration cycle performance is optimal because the low-grade heat utilization is the most effective. In addition, to validate the theoretical analysis, a solar hybrid refrigeration cycle with R134a–DMF as working pair was simulated. The Peng–Robinson equation of state was adopted to calculate thermophysical properties when the reliability assessment of the prediction models on the available literature data of R134a–DMF system had been

Natural circulation cooling in a PWR geometry under accident-induced conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shimeck, D.J.; Johnsen, G.W.

1983-01-01

The characteristics and limits of natural circulation heat rejection over a wide range of conditions were experimentally investigated in a small-scale model of a pressurized water reactor. Conditions that were varied included primary and secondary coolant inventory, decay heat power, and primary noncondensable gas content. The results have defined three distinct modes of natural circulation, their limits and transition points, and the characteristic signatures accompanying natural circulation behavior. Particular emphasis is focused on the limits of natural circulation under severely degraded primary and secondary conditions

Flow characteristics of natural circulation in a lead-bismuth eutectic loop

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Chen-Chong Yue; Liu-Li Chen; Ke-Feng Lyu; Yang Li; Sheng Gao; Yue-Jing Liu; Qun-Ying Huang

2017-01-01

Lead and lead-alloys are proposed in future advanced nuclear system as coolant and spallation target.To test the natural circulation and gas-lift and obtain thermal-hydraulics data for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and system code validation,a lead-bismuth eutectic rectangular loop,the KYLIN-Ⅱ Thermal Hydraulic natural circulation test loop,has been designed and constructed by the FDS team.In this paper,theoretical analysis on natural circulation thermal-hydraulic performance is described and the steady-state natural circulation experiment is performed.The results indicated that the natural circulation capability depends on the loop resistance and the temperature and center height differences between the hot and cold legs.The theoretical analysis results agree well with,while the CFD deviate from,the experimental results.

Dilution refrigeration with multiple mixing chambers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coops, G.M.

1981-01-01

A dilution refrigerator is an instrument to reach temperatures in the mK region in a continuous way. The temperature range can be extended and the cooling power can be enlarged by adding an extra mixing chamber. In this way we obtain a double mixing chamber system. In this thesis the theory of the multiple mixing chamber is presented and tested on its validity by comparison with the measurements. Measurements on a dilution refrigerator with a circulation rate up to 2.5 mmol/s are also reported. (Auth.)

Refrigeration a history

CERN Document Server

Gantz, Carroll

2015-01-01

For thousands of years, humans coped with heat by harvesting and storing natural ice and devising natural cooling systems that utilized ventilation and evaporation. By the mid 1800s, people began developing huge refrigeration machines to manufacture ice. By the early 1900s, engineers developed electric domestic refrigerators, which by 1927 were affordable convenient household appliances. By then, an increasingly sophisticated public demanded more modern-looking appliances than engineers could produce, and a new breed of designers entered the manufacturing world to provide them. During the Depr

Calculation analysis on steady state natural circulation characteristics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Fei; Nie Changhua; Huang Yanping

2005-01-01

The calculation results of single-phase steady state natural circulation characteristics by using Retran02 code have been presented, good agreement is achieved between the verified calculation result and the experimental data which were conducted at a test facility. Based on the calculation model, some sensibility analyses were made and much deeper understanding for single-phase steady state natural circulation characteristics was obtained. (author)

Natural circulation in pressurized water reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bastos, J.L.F.; Loureiro, L.V.; Rocha, R.T.V. da; Umbehaun, P.E.

1992-01-01

Several analytical modelling have been done for steady-state and slow transients conditions, besides more sophisticated studies considering two and three dimensional effects in a very simple geometry. Under severe accident conditions for PWR a code to analyse natural circulation has been developed by Westinghouse. This paper discusses the problem of natural circulation in a complex geometry similar to that of nuclear power plants. A first experiment has been done at the integral test facility of 'Co-ordination of Special Projects-Ministry of Naval Affairs' (Coordenadoria para Projetos Especiais -Ministerio da Marinha, COPESP) for several flux conditions. The results obtained were compared with numerical simulations for the steady-state regime. 09 refs, 05 figs, 01 tab. (B.C.A.)

Evaluation of the risks linked with natural refrigerating fluids; Evaluation des risques lies aux fluides frigorigenes naturels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guilpart, J. [Centre National Machiniste Agricole du Genie Rural des Eaux et des Forets, (Cemagref), 35 - Rennes (France). Div. Genie des Procedes Frigorifiques

1999-07-01

Because of their environmental impact, halogenated refrigerants are more and more replaced by `natural` refrigerants in vapor compression cycle refrigerating machineries. However, technological risks exist with these substitution fluids due to their flammability, explosibility or toxicity. Major risks can be encountered at the industrial scale and thanks to experience feedback and to several studies, a rigorous approach was settled and included in the legislative texts relative to classified installations and environment protection. Risks also exist at the scale of refrigerating installations with the use of hydrocarbon and ammonia refrigerants. This paper presents an evaluation of risks both at the industrial and at the installation scale: 1 - definition and approach of industrial risks: scenarios of major industrial accidents (boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion (BLEVE), unconfined vapor cloud explosion (UVCE), toxic gases emission); evaluation of accident effects (thermal, mechanical, noxious); 2 - calculation methods applicable to industrial installations: thermal effects (radiation intensity, exposure duration, mass of flammable product involved in the phenomenon), mechanical effects (TNT equivalent method, rupture of pressurized reservoirs), noxious effects (leaks, atmospheric dispersion); 3 - application to refrigerating installations: case of hydrocarbons (dimensioning scenarios and simplified formulae, admissible scenarios), case of ammonia. (J.S.) 20 refs.

Natural circulation in single-phase and two-phase flow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheung, F.B.; El-Genk, M.S.

1989-01-01

Natural circulation usually arises in a closed loop between a heat source and a heat sink were the fluid motion is driven by density difference. It may also occur in enclosures or cavities where the flow is induced primarily by temperature or concentration gradients within the fluid. The subject has recently received special attention by the heat transfer and nuclear reactor safety communities because of it importance to the areas of energy extraction, decay, heat removal in nuclear reactors, solar and geothermal heating, and cooling of electronic equipment. Although many new results and physical insights have been gained of the various natural circulation phenomena, a number of critical issues remain unresolved. These include, for example, transition from laminar to turbulent flow, buoyancy-induced turbulent flow modeling, change of flow regimes, flow field visualization, variable property effects, and flow instability. This symposium volume contains papers presented in the Natural Circulation in Single-Phase and Two-Phase Flow session at the 1989 Winter Annual Meeting of ASME, by authors from different countries including the United States, Japan, Canada, and Brazil. The papers deal with experimental and theoretical studies as well as state-of-the-art reviews, covering a broad spectrum of topics in natural circulation including: variable-conductance thermosyphons, microelectronic chip cooling, natural circulation in anisotropic porous media and in cavities, heat transfer in flat plat solar collectors, shutdown heat removal in fast reactors, cooling of light-water and heavy-water reactors. The breadth of papers contained in this volume clearly reflect the importance of the current interest in natural circulation as a means for passive cooling and heating

Experimental studies in a single-phase parallel channel natural circulation system. Preliminary results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bodkha, Kapil; Pilkhwal, D.S.; Jana, S.S.; Vijayan, P.K.

2016-01-01

Natural circulation systems find extensive applications in industrial engineering systems. One of the applications is in nuclear reactor where the decay heat is removed by natural circulation of the fluid under off-normal conditions. The upcoming reactor designs make use of natural circulation in order to remove the heat from core under normal operating conditions also. These reactors employ multiple vertical fuel channels with provision of on-power refueling/defueling. Natural circulation systems are relatively simple, safe and reliable when compared to forced circulation systems. However, natural circulation systems are prone to encounter flow instabilities which are highly undesirable for various reasons. Presence of parallel channels under natural circulation makes the system more complicated. To examine the behavior of parallel channel system, studies were carried out for single-phase natural circulation flow in a multiple vertical channel system. The objective of the present work is to study the flow behavior of the parallel heated channel system under natural circulation for different operating conditions. Steady state and transient studies have been carried out in a parallel channel natural circulation system with three heated channels. The paper brings out the details of the system considered, different cases analyzed and preliminary results of studies carried out on a single-phase parallel channel system.

Natural Circulation Characteristics of a Symmetric Loop under Inclined Conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xingtuan Yang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Natural circulation is an important process for primary loops of some marine integrated reactors. The reactor works under inclined conditions when severe accidents happen to the ship. In this paper, to investigate the characteristics of natural circulation, experiments were conducted in a symmetric loop under the inclined angle of 0~45°. A CFD model was also set up to predict the behaviors of the loop beyond the experimental scope. Total circulation flow rate decreases with the increase of inclined angle. Meanwhile one circulation is depressed while the other is enhanced, and accordingly the disparity between the branch circulations arises and increases with the increase of inclined angle. Circulation only takes place in one branch circuit at large inclined angle. Also based on the CFD model, the influences of flow resistance distribution and loop configuration on natural circulation are predicted. The numerical results show that to design the loop with the configuration of big altitude difference and small width, it is favorable to reduce the influence of inclination; however too small loop width will cause severe reduction of circulation ability at large angle inclination.

Grocery chains opt for green refrigeration. Renaissance of natural refrigerants; Lebensmittelketten entscheiden sich fuer gruene Kaeltetechnik. Renaissance der natuerlichen Kaeltemittel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schmid, Wolfgang

2011-01-15

Faster than expected the large German grocery chains focus on energy efficiency and sustainability. Due to the continuous growth in demand for 'Greens coldness' the component manufacturers expanded their portfolios especially for applications within the range of natural refrigerants. The general tendency on the Chillventa 2010 (Nuernberg, Federal Republic of Germany): More system engineering and a continuous growth in offer at trade-spanning all-in-one conceptions.

NATBWR: a steady-state model for natural circulation in boiling-water reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Healzer, J.M.; Abdollahian, D.

1983-02-01

This report documents the NATBWR steady-state BWR natural-circulation model and activities under EPRI Project RP1561-1 to gather data and predict the natural-circulation operation of the BWR. The report is organized into two parts, with the first part describing the NATBWR model and applications of the model to available BWR natural-circulation data and the second part providing user and programming information about the model. Five different operating BWR's were selected to demonstrate the application of the NATBWR model, one of each type from BWR/1 through BWR/4. For each operating plant, the available natural circulation data has been compared to model predictions. In addition to the data predictions, the behavior of the BWR system at reduced inventory, where the system is isolated and scrammed, and cooling provided by natural circulation has been analyzed. Finally, included as an appendix to Part 1 of this report is a discussion of the stability of the BWR system at natural-circulation conditions

Survey of natural-circulation cooling in U.S. pressurized water reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boyack, B.E.

1985-01-01

Literature describing natural circulation analyses, experiments, and plant operation have been obtained from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, reactor vendors, utility-sponsored research groups, utilities, national laboratories, and foreign sources. These have been reviewed and significant results and conclusions identified. Three modes of natural-circulation cooling are covered: single phase, two-phase, and reflux condensation. Single-phase natural circulation is amply verified by plant operational data, test data from scaled experimental facilities, and analysis with assessed computer codes. Ample evidence also exists that two-phase natural circulation can successfully cool pressurized water reactors. This mode occurs during certain events such as small-break loss-of-coolant accidents. The data base for reflux condensation is primarily from tests in scaled experimental facilities. There are no plant operational data and only limited assessment of thermal-hydraulic systems codes has been performed. Further work is needed before this mode of natural circulation can be confidently used

Thermodynamic analysis of an absorption refrigeration system with ionic-liquid/refrigerant mixture as a working fluid

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Yoon Jo; Kim, Sarah; Joshi, Yogendra K.; Fedorov, Andrei G.; Kohl, Paul A.

2012-01-01

Thermodynamics of an ionic-liquid (IL) based absorption refrigeration system has been numerically analyzed. It provides an alternative to the normally toxic working fluids, such as the ammonia in conventional absorption systems. The use of ILs also eliminates crystallization and metal-compatibility problems of the water/LiBr system. Mixtures of refrigerants and imidazolium-based ILs are theoretically explored as the working fluid pairs in a miniature absorption refrigeration system, so as to utilize waste-heat to power a refrigeration/heat pump system for electronics cooling. A non-random two-liquid (NRTL) model was built and used to predict the solubility of the mixtures. Saturation temperatures at the evaporator and condenser were set at 25 °C and 50 °C, respectively, with the power dissipation of 100 W. Water in combination with [emim][BF 4 ] (1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate) gave the highest coefficient of performance (COP) around 0.9. The refrigerant/IL compatibility indicated by the circulation ratio, alkyl chain length of the IL, and thermodynamic properties of the refrigerants, such as latent heat of evaporation were proven to be important factors in determining the performance of the absorption system. The negative effect of high viscosity was mitigated by dilution of the IL with the refrigerant and the use of slightly larger microfluidic channel heat exchangers. -- Highlights: ► Mixtures of refrigerant/ionic-liquid are studied for absorption system. ► We carry out comprehensive theoretical thermodynamic analysis. ► The essential factors of refrigerant/IL affecting the performance are identified. ► Water/[emim][BF 4 ] showed the best performance of COP. ► The effects of high viscosity ILs on the system performance are not significant.

Net haemoglobin increase from reinfusion of refrigerated vs. frozen red blood cells after autologous blood transfusions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ashenden, M; Mørkeberg, Jakob Sehested

2011-01-01

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES  Two main blood storage procedures can be used for storing red blood cells: refrigeration and freezing. Nevertheless, the efficiency of these procedures measured as the increase in haemoglobin after reinfusion compared with baseline has never been examined. The main...... objective was to examine which storage procedure yielded the largest increase in circulating haemoglobin after reinfusion compared to baseline. MATERIALS AND METHODS  Equal volumes of blood from 15 men were withdrawn and stored either frozen or refrigerated as packed red blood cells. Serial measures...... of circulating haemoglobin by carbon monoxide rebreathing provided an opportunity to monitor recovery from anaemia, as well as the net increase in circulating haemoglobin after transfusion. RESULTS  The post-thaw yield of haemoglobin in the bags was 72% after refrigerated storage compared with only 52% after...

Status of the IAEA coordinated research project on natural circulation phenomena, modelling, and reliability of passive systems that utilize natural circulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reyes, J.N. Jr.; Cleveland, J.; Aksan, N.

2004-01-01

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has established a Coordinated Research Project (CRP) titled ''Natural Circulation Phenomena, Modelling and Reliability of Passive Safety Systems that Utilize Natural Circulation. '' This work has been organized within the framework of the IAEA Department of Nuclear Energy's Technical Working Groups for Advanced Technologies for Light Water Reactors and Heavy Water Reactors (the TWG-LWR and the TWG-HWR). This CRP is part of IAEA's effort to foster international collaborations that strive to improve the economic performance of future water-cooled nuclear power plants while meeting stringent safety requirements. Thus far, IAEA has established 12 research agreements with organizations from industrialized Member States and 3 research contracts with organizations from developing Member States. The objective of the CRP is to enhance our understanding of natural circulation phenomena in water-cooled reactors and passive safety systems. The CRP participants are particularly interested in establishing a natural circulation and passive safety system thermal hydraulic database that can be used to benchmark computer codes for advanced reactor systems design and safety analysis. An important aspect of this CRP relates to developing methodologies to assess the reliability of passive safety systems in advanced reactor designs. This paper describes the motivation and objectives of the CRP, the research plan, and the role of each of the participating organizations. (author)

Simulation and Optimization of an Innovative Dual Mixed Component Refrigerant Cycle (DMRC) for Natural Gas Offshore Liquefaction Plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

SHAHBA, L.A.; Fahmy, M.F.M.

2004-01-01

Simulation and optimization of an innovative liquefaction process used for the LNG production , namely the Dual Mixed Refrigerant Process (DMRC) has been conducted using the HYSYS simulator .This new process is especially suitable for off shore natural gas liquefaction plants. A numerical optimization technique has been used to determine the optimum conditions for Egyptian natural gas feed source. The investigation of the effect of different compositions of the Mixed refrigerants used was conducted. Meanwhile, the investigation of the influence of the temperature of cooling water used was conducted. The best optimum conditions for the DMRC process were determined .The optimum results achieved for the DMRC process revealed that the DMRC process can be successfully applied as a promising technique for off shore natural gas liquefaction plants

Study on the phenomena of natural circulation in LMFBR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takeda, Hirofumi; Koga, Tomonari

1993-01-01

Decay heat removal with natural circulation is to be introduced to the LMFBR operation under loss of the electric power supply. The natural circulation is highly reliable, but the phenomenon is essentially unstable and subtle, which makes fine prediction difficult. The difficulties of experimental prediction are explained by facts that the phenomena are ruled by the delicate balance between the buoyancy force and the low pressure loss and are influenced by the various parameters such as local geometry, heat capacity and so on. Therefore the similarity rule for the natural circulation has not been fully understood. This study has been conducted to establish the simulation method for the natural circulation phenomena and the detailed phenomena have been reviewed. For the natural circulation in an LMFBR plant, there are no readily available reference velocity and temperature. These values are related only with the heating and cooling rate, the characteristic length and physical properties of the testing fluid. Basic equations were transformed by these values, and dimensionless equations were derived and then two dimensionless numbers, the Gr' number and the Bo' number, were identified. In order to examine the similarity rule for natural circulation we performed experiments using the different scale water models, a 1/20th and a 1/6th model. The temperatures and velocities at typical points were measured in the transient condition with various heating rate as a parameter. Measured temperatures and velocities were transformed to dimensionless forms for comparison and the effects of the Bo' number and the Gr' number were examined. As a result, it was clarified that the effect of the Gr' number is negligibly small but the effect of Bo' number still remained in our experimental range. The Bo' number of an actual plant is within the range of this experiment. Accordingly similitude of the Bo' number becomes important in an experiment to simulate an actual plant. (author)

Solar-Powered Refrigeration System

Science.gov (United States)

Ewert, Michael K. (Inventor); Bergeron, David J., III (Inventor)

2002-01-01

A solar powered vapor compression refrigeration system is made practicable with thermal storage and novel control techniques. In one embodiment, the refrigeration system includes a photovoltaic panel, a variable speed compressor, an insulated enclosure, and a thermal reservoir. The photovoltaic (PV) panel converts sunlight into DC (direct current) electrical power. The DC electrical power drives a compressor that circulates refrigerant through a vapor compression refrigeration loop to extract heat from the insulated enclosure. The thermal reservoir is situated inside the insulated enclosure and includes a phase change material. As heat is extracted from the insulated enclosure, the phase change material is frozen, and thereafter is able to act as a heat sink to maintain the temperature of the insulated enclosure in the absence of sunlight. The conversion of solar power into stored thermal energy is optimized by a compressor control method that effectively maximizes the compressor's usage of available energy. A capacitor is provided to smooth the power voltage and to provide additional current during compressor start-up. A controller monitors the rate of change of the smoothed power voltage to determine if the compressor is operating below or above the available power maximum, and adjusts the compressor speed accordingly. In this manner, the compressor operation is adjusted to convert substantially all available solar power into stored thermal energy.

Solar Powered Refrigeration System

Science.gov (United States)

Ewert, Michael K. (Inventor); Bergeron, David J., III (Inventor)

2002-01-01

A solar powered vapor compression refrigeration system is made practicable with thermal storage and novel control techniques. In one embodiment, the refrigeration system includes a photovoltaic panel, a variable speed compressor, an insulated enclosure, and a thermal reservoir. The photovoltaic (PV) panel converts sunlight into DC (direct current) electrical power. The DC electrical power drives a compressor that circulates refrigerant through a vapor compression refrigeration loop to extract heat from the insulated enclosure. The thermal reservoir is situated inside the insulated enclosure and includes a phase change material. As heat is extracted from the insulated enclosure, the phase change material is frozen, and thereafter is able to act as a heat sink to maintain the temperature of the insulated enclosure in the absence of sunlight. The conversion of solar power into stored thermal energy is optimized by a compressor control method that effectively maximizes the compressor's usage of available energy. A capacitor is provided to smooth the power voltage and to provide additional current during compressor start-up. A controller monitors the rate of change of the smoothed power voltage to determine if the compressor is operating below or above the available power maximum, and adjusts the compressor speed accordingly. In this manner, the compressor operation is adjusted to convert substantially all available solar power into stored thermal energy.

Production of liquid nitrogen using liquefied natural gas as sole refrigerant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Agrawal, R.; Ayres, C.L.

1992-01-01

This patent describes a process for the liquefaction of a nitrogen stream produced by a cryogenic air separation unit having at least one distillation column. It comprises compressing the nitrogen stream to a pressure of at least 350 psi in a multi-stage compressor wherein interstage cooling is provided by heat exchange against vaporizing liquefied natural gas; condensing the compressed nitrogen stream by heat exchange against vaporizing liquefied natural gas; reducing the pressure of the condensed, compressed nitrogen stream thereby producing a two phase nitrogen stream; phase separating the two phase nitrogen stream into a liquid nitrogen stream and a nitrogen vapor stream; and warming the nitrogen vapor stream to recover refrigeration

Regulating Power from Supermarket Refrigeration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

O'Connell, Niamh; Madsen, Henrik; Pinson, Pierre

2014-01-01

the Danfoss refrigeration test centre. The complexities of modelling demand response are demonstrated through simulation. Simulations are conducted by placing the identified model in a direct-control demand response architecture, with power reference tracking using model predictive control. The energylimited......This paper presents an analysis of the demand response capabilities of a supermarket refrigeration system, with a particular focus on the suitability for participation in the regulating power market. An ARMAX model of a supermarket refrigeration system is identified using experimental data from...... nature of demand response from refrigeration is identified as the key consideration when considering participation in the regulating power market. It is demonstrated that by restricting the operating regions of the supermarket refrigeration system, a simple relationship can be found between the available...

DBSSP - A computer program for simulation of controlled circulation boiler and natural circulation boiler start up behavior

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Bin; Chen Tingkuan; Yang Dong

2005-01-01

In this paper, a computer program, Drum Boiler Start-up Simulation Program (DBSSP), is developed for simulating the start up behavior of controlled circulation and natural circulation boilers. The mathematical model developed here is based on the first principles of mass, energy and momentum conservations. In the boiler model, heat transfer in the waterwall, the superheater, the reheater and the economizer is simulated by the distributing parameter method, while heat transfer in the drum and the downcomer is simulated by lumped parameter analysis. The program can provide detailed flow and thermodynamic characteristics of the boiler components. The development of this program is based only on design data, so it can be used for any subcritical, controlled or natural circulation boiler. The simulation results were compared with experimental measurements, and good agreements between them were found. This program is expected to be useful for predicting the characteristics and the performance of controlled circulation and natural circulation boilers during the start up process. It also can be used to optimize a start up system for minimum start up time

Preliminary model validation for integral stability behavior in molten salt natural circulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cai Chuangxiong; He Zhaozhong; Chen Kun

2017-01-01

Passive safety system is an important characteristic of Fluoride-Salt-Cooled High-Temperature Reactor (FHR). In order to remove the decay heat, a direct reactor auxiliary cooling system (DRACS) which uses the passive safety technology is proposed to the FHR as the ultimate heat sink. The DRACS is relying on the natural circulation, so the study of molten salt natural circulation plays an important role at TMSR. A high-temperature molten salt natural circulation test loop has been designed and constructed at the TMSR center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) to understand the characteristics of the natural circulation and verify the design model. It adopts nitrate salt as the working fluid to simulate fluoride salts, and uses air as the ultimate heat sink. The test shows the operation very well and has a very nice performance, the Heat transfer coefficients (salt-salt or salt-air), power of the loop, heat loss of molten salt pool (or molten salt pipe or air cooling tower), starting time of the loop, flow rate that can be verified in this loop. A series of experiments have been done and the results show that the experimental data are well matched with the design data. This paper aims at analyzing the molten salt circulation model, studying the characteristics of the natural circulation, and verifying the Integral stability behavior by three different natural circulation experiments. Also, the experiment is going on, and more experiments will been carry out to study the molten salt natural circulation for optimizing the design. (author)

Experimental and analytical study of natural circulation in square loop

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moorthi, A.; Prem Sai, K.; Ravi, K.V.

2015-01-01

The nuclear safety under station blackout conditions is a major concern in the design of the nuclear reactors. In the case of existing reactors, the heat removal capability of cooling systems under natural circulation conditions is to be ascertained by experiments/analysis. This will ensure the long term core cooling and thereby, the safety of reactor core. Natural circulation occurs when the heat sink is at a higher elevation compared with the heat source. In case, the heat source and the sink are nearly at the same elevation, the difference in the elevations of their thermal centres can provide the elevation head required for natural circulation. An experimental study of natural circulation in the above geometry was carried out. The effect of flow resistance, Heat Source strength (heater power) and elevation difference between the source and the sink on the heat transfer were studied. The results of the experiments were analysed using RELAP5/MOD 3.2 and a good match between the experimental data and RELAP5 predictions is observed. (author)

An efficiency booster for energy conversion in natural circulation loops

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Dongqing, E-mail: wangdongqing@stu.xjtu.edu.cn [School of Nuclear Science and Technology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710049 (China); Beijing Computational Science Research Center, Beijing 100084 (China); Jiang, Jin, E-mail: jjiang@eng.uwo.ca [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5B9 (Canada); Beijing Computational Science Research Center, Beijing 100084 (China)

2016-08-01

Highlights: • Low driving power conversion efficiency of natural circulation loops is proved. • The low conversion efficiency leads to low heat transfer capacity of such loops. • An efficiency booster is designed with turbine to increase the efficiency. • Performance of the proposed booster has been numerically simulated. • The booster drastically enhances heat transfer capacity of such loops. - Abstract: In this paper, the capacity of a natural circulation loop for transferring heat from a heat source to a heat sink has been analyzed. It is concluded that the capacity of the natural circulation loop depends on the conversion efficiency of the thermal energy from the heat source to the driving force for the circulation of the flow. The low conversion efficiency leading to weak driving force in such loops has been demonstrated analytically and validated through simulation results. This issue has resulted in a low heat transfer capacity in the circulation loop. To increase the heat transfer capacity, one has to improve this efficiency. To meet such a need, a novel efficiency booster has been developed in this paper. The booster essentially increases the flow driving force and hence significantly improves the overall heat transfer capacity. Design and analysis of this booster have been performed in detail. The performance has been examined through extensive computer simulations. It is concluded that the booster can indeed drastically improve the heat transfer capacity of the natural circulation loop.

An efficiency booster for energy conversion in natural circulation loops

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Dongqing; Jiang, Jin

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Low driving power conversion efficiency of natural circulation loops is proved. • The low conversion efficiency leads to low heat transfer capacity of such loops. • An efficiency booster is designed with turbine to increase the efficiency. • Performance of the proposed booster has been numerically simulated. • The booster drastically enhances heat transfer capacity of such loops. - Abstract: In this paper, the capacity of a natural circulation loop for transferring heat from a heat source to a heat sink has been analyzed. It is concluded that the capacity of the natural circulation loop depends on the conversion efficiency of the thermal energy from the heat source to the driving force for the circulation of the flow. The low conversion efficiency leading to weak driving force in such loops has been demonstrated analytically and validated through simulation results. This issue has resulted in a low heat transfer capacity in the circulation loop. To increase the heat transfer capacity, one has to improve this efficiency. To meet such a need, a novel efficiency booster has been developed in this paper. The booster essentially increases the flow driving force and hence significantly improves the overall heat transfer capacity. Design and analysis of this booster have been performed in detail. The performance has been examined through extensive computer simulations. It is concluded that the booster can indeed drastically improve the heat transfer capacity of the natural circulation loop.

Recent investigations on refrigerants for magnetic refrigerators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hashimoto, T.

1986-01-01

In development of the magnetic refrigerator, an important problem is selection of magnetic materials as refrigerants. The main purpose of the present paper is to discuss the magnetic and thermal properties necessary for these refrigerants and to report recent investigations. Magnetic refrigerants can be expediently divided into two groups, one for the Carnottype magnetic refrigerator below 20 K and the other for the Ericsson-type refrigerator. The required physical properties of refrigerants in each type of the magnetic refrigerator are first discussed. And then, the results of recent investigations on the magnetic, thermal and magnetocaloric characters of several promising magnetic refrigerants are shown. Finally, a brief prospect of the magnetic refrigerants and refrigerators is given

Feasibility study of a refrigeration system powered by natural gas; Estudo de viabilidade de um sistema de refrigeracao acionado a gas natural

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Costa Filho, Manoel Antonio da Fonseca [Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), RJ (Brazil). Faculdade de Engenharia; Biruel Filho, Jose [PETROBRAS, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Centro de Pesquisas (CENPES)

2008-07-01

This paper presents a technical, financial and environmental feasibility study, and market analysis, of a 50-TR chiller with vapor compression (mechanical) cycle powered by internal combustion engine. This type of equipment allows natural gas usage for medium-and-low-capacity refrigeration applications, for which there are not competitive commercial equipment based on absorption refrigeration cycle. The technical feasibility is not questionable because it is the association of two remarkably mature technologies and also because such equipment are common in Europe and USA. The natural gas powered equipment operation costs are lower than electricity powered ones, due to lower energy cost, while acquisition, installation and maintenance costs show the opposite. The Net Present Value is positive. The financial feasibility depends directly on the combination of prices of natural gas and electricity, as well as equipment energy efficiencies. The environmental analysis points to the use of electric-driven equipment, which avoids urban area emissions, reinforced by the hydroelectric generation, renewable, used in Brazil. This study had financial support from PETROBRAS/RedeGasEnergia. (author)

Prediction to natural circulation in semiscale SBLOCA test, S-NC-8B

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bang, Young Seok; Seul, Kwang Won; Lee, Sukho; Kim, Hho Jung

1995-01-01

Natural circulation and the associated thermal-hydraulic behavior are predicted by RELAP5/MOD3.1 code against the test S-NC-8B, which simulated 0.1% equivalent SBLOCA in PWR. The Semiscale Mod-2A facility and the test-specific initial/boundary condition are modeled. The calculation result is compared with the experiment data in terms of natural circulation characteristic and the code predictability is evaluated on natural circulation. As a result, flow rate during single-and two-phase natural circulation modes is well predicted and slightly overpredicted with oscillation in transition and reflux regimes. Additional sensitivity calculations are attempted with different discharge coefficient and break modeling to investigate the break flow effect

Experiments on the basic behavior of supercritical CO{sub 2} natural circulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Guangxu [CNNC Key Laboratory on Nuclear Reactor Thermal Hydraulics Technology, Nuclear Power Institute of China (China); Huang, Yanping, E-mail: hyanping007@163.com [CNNC Key Laboratory on Nuclear Reactor Thermal Hydraulics Technology, Nuclear Power Institute of China (China); Wang, Junfeng; Lv, Fa [CNNC Key Laboratory on Nuclear Reactor Thermal Hydraulics Technology, Nuclear Power Institute of China (China); Leung, Laurence K.H. [Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, 286 Plant Road, Chalk River, Ontario (Canada)

2016-04-15

Highlights: • Steady-state behavior of supercritical CO{sub 2} natural circulation was studied. • Effects of pressure and inlet temperature were carefully investigated. • No instabilities were found in present study. • The maximum of mass flow was obtained at outlet temperature much higher than T{sub pc}. • Inlet temperature has vital effect on mass flow rate. - Abstract: To study the steady-state characteristics of supercritical carbon dioxide natural circulation, experiments were carried out in a simple rectangular loop with vertically placed heating section. The effects of system pressure and inlet temperature on the system behavior were also investigated. No instabilities were found in the present experiments. The maximum of mass flow rate was obtained at a heating section outlet temperature much higher than the pseudo-critical temperature. The maximum value of mass flow rate increased with system pressure just as in two-phase natural circulation systems. Inlet temperature significantly affected the steady-state characteristics of supercritical carbon dioxide natural circulation system. A small temperature difference of 14 °C in the natural circulation system could induce a mass flow rate with considerably high Re up to 9.1 × 10{sup 4}, which indicates the potential for supercritical carbon dioxide to be used as a high efficient natural circulation working fluid.

Simulation of Two-Phase Natural Circulation Loop for Core Cather Cooling Using Air Water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Revankar, S. T.; Huang, S. F.; Song, K. W.; Rhee, B. W.; Park, R. J.; Song, J. H.

2012-01-01

A closed loop natural circulation system employs thermally induced density gradients in single phase or two-phase liquid form to induce circulation of the working fluid thereby obviating the need for any mechanical moving parts such as pumps and pump controls. This increases the reliability and safety of the cooling system and reduces installation, operation and maintenance costs. That is the reason natural circulation cooling has been considered in advanced reactor core cooling and in engineered safety systems. Natural circulation cooling has been proposed to remove reactor decay heat by external vessel cooling for in-vessel core retention during sever accident scenario. Recently in APR1400 reactor core catcher design natural circulation cooling is proposed to stabilize and cool the corium ejected from the reactor vessel following core melt and breach of reactor vessel. The natural circulation flow is similar to external vessel cooling where water flows through an inclined narrow gap below hot surface and is heated to produce boiling. The two-phase natural circulation enables cooling of the corium pool collected on core catcher. Due to importance of this problem this paper focuses simulation of the two-phase natural circulation through inclined gap using air-water system. Scaling criteria for air-water loop are derived that enable simulation of the flow regimes and natural circulation flow rates in such systems using air-water system

Improvement in understanding of natural circulation phenomena in water cooled nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Jong-Ho; Cleveland, John; Aksan, Nusret

2011-01-01

Highlights: ► Phenomena influencing natural circulation in passive systems. ► Behaviour in large pools of liquid. ► Effect of non-condensable gas on condensation heat transfer. ► Behaviour of containment emergency systems. ► Natural circulation flow and pressure drop in various geometries. - Abstract: The IAEA has organized a coordinated research project (CRP) on “Natural Circulation Phenomena, Modelling, and Reliability of Passive Systems That Utilize Natural Circulation.” Specific objectives of CRP were to (i) establish the status of knowledge: reactor start-up and operation, passive system initiation and operation, flow stability, 3-D effects, and scaling laws, (ii) investigate phenomena influencing reliability of passive natural circulation systems, (iii) review experimental databases for the phenomena, (iv) examine the ability of computer codes to predict natural circulation and related phenomena, and (v) apply methodologies for examining the reliability of passive systems. Sixteen institutes from 13 IAEA Member States have participated in this CRP. Twenty reference advanced water cooled reactor designs including evolutionary and innovative designs were selected to examine the use of natural circulation and passive systems in their designs. Twelve phenomena influencing natural circulation were identified and characterized: (1) behaviour in large pools of liquid, (2) effect of non-condensable gases on condensation heat transfer, (3) condensation on the containment structures, (4) behaviour of containment emergency systems, (5) thermo-fluid dynamics and pressure drops in various geometrical configurations, (6) natural circulation in closed loop, (7) steam liquid interaction, (8) gravity driven cooling and accumulator behaviour, (9) liquid temperature stratification, (10) behaviour of emergency heat exchangers and isolation condensers, (11) stratification and mixing of boron, and (12) core make-up tank behaviour. This paper summarizes the

Thermoacoustic refrigerator for space applications

Science.gov (United States)

Garrett, Steven L.; Adeff, Jay A.; Hofler, Thomas J.

1993-10-01

A new spacecraft cryocooler which uses resonant high-amplitude sound waves in inert gases to pump heat is described. The phasing of the thermoacoustic cycle is provided by thermal conduction. This 'natural' phasing allows the entire refrigerator to operate with only one moving part (the loudspeaker diaphragm). A space-qualified thermoacoustic refrigerator was flown on the Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-42) in January, 1992. It was entirely autonomous, had no sliding seals, required no lubrication, used mostly low-tolerance machined parts, and contained no expensive components. Thermoacoustics is shown to be a competitive candidate for food refrigerator/freezers and commercial/residential air conditioners. The design and performance of the Space Thermo/Acoustic Refrigerator (STAR) is described.

Natural convection accidental conditions in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Delmastro, D.F.; Clausse, A.

1990-01-01

Under certain conditions, wether accidental or in nuclear reactor design, a nuclear reactor core may be found to be refrigerated by a fluid in natural circulation. Before the possible density waves phenomenon occurrence, it is essential to have a good knowledge of the flow evolution and thermohydraulic variables under these conditions. (Author) [es

Study on scaling law of PWR natural circulation with motion condition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu Donghua; Xiao Zejun; Chen Bingde

2009-01-01

For some nuclear reactors installed on automobiles, boats or deep sea vehicles, it is an important way to investigate their system safety by performing natural circulation experiments under motion condition. This paper studied the natural circulation on moving plants based on work of static natural circulation scaling method. With rigid motion theory, acceleration at each point was obtained on primary system and introduced to momentum equation. Thus a set of motion similar criteria were obtained. Furthermore, equal and unequal height simulation were analyzed. As to the unequal one, non isochronous simulation was needed for displacement and angular acceleration. (authors)

Quenching phenomena in natural circulation loop

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Umekawa, Hisashi; Ozawa, Mamoru; Ishida, Naoki

1995-01-01

Quenching phenomena has been investigated experimentally using circulation loop of liquid nitrogen. During the quenching under natural circulation, the heat transfer mode changes from film boiling to nucleate boiling, and at the same time flux changes with time depending on the vapor generation rate and related two-phase flow characteristics. Moreover, density wave oscillations occur under a certain operating condition, which is closely related to the dynamic behavior of the cooling curve. The experimental results indicates that the occurrence of the density wave oscillation induces the deterioration of effective cooling of the heat surface in the film and the transition boiling regions, which results in the decrease in the quenching velocity

Quenching phenomena in natural circulation loop

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Umekawa, Hisashi; Ozawa, Mamoru [Kansai Univ., Osaka (Japan); Ishida, Naoki [Daihatsu Motor Company, Osaka (Japan)

1995-09-01

Quenching phenomena has been investigated experimentally using circulation loop of liquid nitrogen. During the quenching under natural circulation, the heat transfer mode changes from film boiling to nucleate boiling, and at the same time flux changes with time depending on the vapor generation rate and related two-phase flow characteristics. Moreover, density wave oscillations occur under a certain operating condition, which is closely related to the dynamic behavior of the cooling curve. The experimental results indicates that the occurrence of the density wave oscillation induces the deterioration of effective cooling of the heat surface in the film and the transition boiling regions, which results in the decrease in the quenching velocity.

Startup transient simulation for natural circulation boiling water reactors in PUMA facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuran, S.; Xu, Y.; Sun, X.; Cheng, L.; Yoon, H.J.; Revankar, S.T.; Ishii, M.; Wang, W.

2006-01-01

In view of the importance of instabilities that may occur at low-pressure and -flow conditions during the startup of natural circulation boiling water reactors, startup simulation experiments were performed in the Purdue University Multi-Dimensional Integral Test Assembly (PUMA) facility. The simulations used pressure scaling and followed the startup procedure of a typical natural circulation boiling water reactor. Two simulation experiments were performed for the reactor dome pressures ranging from 55 kPa to 1 MPa, where the instabilities may occur. The experimental results show the signature of condensation-induced oscillations during the single-phase-to-two-phase natural circulation transition. The results also suggest that a rational startup procedure is needed to overcome the startup instabilities in natural circulation boiling water reactor designs

Natural circulation in simulated LMFBR fuel assemblies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Levin, A.E.; Carbajo, J.J.; Lloyd, D.B.; Montgomery, B.H.; Rose, S.D.; Wantland, J.L.

1985-01-01

Natural circulation experiments have been performed using simulated liquid metal fast breeder reactor fuel assemblies in the Thermal-Hydraulic Out-of-Reactor Safety (THORS) facility, an engineering-scale sodium loop. Objective of these tests has been to provide experimental data under conditions that might be encountered during a partial or total loss of the shutdown heat removal system (SHRS) in a reactor. The experiments have included single- and two-phase tests under quasi-steady and transient conditions, at both nominal and non-nominal system conditions. Results from these test indicate that the potential for reactor damage during degraded SHRS operation is extremely slight, and that natural circulation can be a major contributor to safe operation of the system in both single- and two-phase flow during such operation

Self-organizing maps applied to two-phase flow on natural circulation loop studies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Castro, Leonardo F.; Cunha, Kelly de P.; Andrade, Delvonei A.; Sabundjian, Gaiane; Torres, Walmir M.; Macedo, Luiz A.; Rocha, Marcelo da S.; Masotti, Paulo H.F.; Mesquita, Roberto N. de, E-mail: rnavarro@ipen.br [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)

2015-07-01

Two-phase flow of liquid and gas is found in many closed circuits using natural circulation for cooling purposes. Natural circulation phenomenon is important on recent nuclear power plant projects for heat removal on 'loss of pump power' or 'plant shutdown' accidents. The accuracy of heat transfer estimation has been improved based on models that require precise prediction of pattern transitions of flow. Self-Organizing Maps are trained to digital images acquired on natural circulation flow instabilities. This technique will allow the selection of the more important characteristics associated with each flow pattern, enabling a better comprehension of each observed instability. This periodic flow oscillation behavior can be observed thoroughly in this facility due its glass-made tubes transparency. The Natural Circulation Facility (Circuito de Circulacao Natural - CCN) installed at Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares, IPEN/CNEN, is an experimental circuit designed to provide thermal hydraulic data related to one and two phase flow under natural circulation conditions. (author)

Correlation of refrigerant mass flow rate through adiabatic capillary tubes using mixture refrigerant carbondioxide and ethane for low temperature applications

Science.gov (United States)

Nasruddin, Syaka, Darwin R. B.; Alhamid, M. Idrus

2012-06-01

Various binary mixtures of carbon dioxide and hydrocarbons, especially propane or ethane, as alternative natural refrigerants to Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) or Hydro fluorocarbons (HFCs) are presented in this paper. Their environmental performance is friendly, with an ozone depletion potential (ODP) of zero and Global-warming potential (GWP) smaller than 20. The capillary tube performance for the alternative refrigerant HFC HCand mixed refrigerants have been widely studied. However, studies that discuss the performance of the capillary tube to a mixture of natural refrigerants, in particular a mixture of azeotrope carbon dioxide and ethane is still undeveloped. A method of empirical correlation to determine the mass flow rate and pipe length has an important role in the design of the capillary tube for industrial refrigeration. Based on the variables that effect the rate of mass flow of refrigerant in the capillary tube, the Buckingham Pi theorem formulated eight non-dimensional parameters to be developed into an empirical equations correlation. Furthermore, non-linear regression analysis used to determine the co-efficiency and exponent of this empirical correlation based on experimental verification of the results database.

Stability analysis on natural circulation boiling water reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Metz, Peter

1999-05-01

The purpose of the study is a stability analysis of the simplified boiling water reactor concept. A fluid dynamics code, DYNOS, was developed and successfully validated against FRIGG and DESIRE data and a stability benchmark on the Ringhals 1 forced circulation BWR. Three simplified desings were considered in the analysis: The SWRIOOO by Siemens and the SBWR and ESBWR from the General Electric Co. For all three design operational characteristics, i.e. power versus flow rate maps, were calculated. The effects which different geometric and operational parameters, such as the riser height, inlet subcooling etc., have on the characteristics have been investigated. Dynamic simulations on the three simplified design revealed the geysering and the natural circulation oscillations modes only. They were, however, only encountered at pressure below 0.6 MPa. Stability maps for all tree simplified BWRs were calculated and plotted. The study concluded that a fast pressurisation of the reactor vessel is necessary to eliminate the possibility of geysering or natural circulation oscillations mode instability. (au)

Analysis of hot leg natural circulation under station blackout severe accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deng Jian; Cao Xuewu

2007-01-01

Under severe accidents, natural circulation flows are important to influence the accident progression and result in a pressurized water reactor (PWR). In a station blackout accident with no recovery of steam generator (SG) auxiliary feedwater (TMLB' severe accident scenario), the hot leg countercurrent natural circulation flow is analyzed by using a severe-accident code, to better understand its potential impacts on the creep-rupture timing among the surge line, the hot leg; and SG tubes. The results show that the natural circulation may delay the failure time of the hot leg. The recirculation ratio and the hot mixing factor are also calculated and discussed. (authors)

Study on reverse flow characteristics under natural circulation in inverted U-tube steam generator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duan Jun; Zhou Tao; Zhang Lei; Hong Dexun; Liu Ping

2013-01-01

Natural circulation is important for application in the nuclear power industry. Aiming at the steam generator of AP1000 pressurized water reactor loop, the mathematical model was established to analysis the reverse flow of single-phase water in the inverted U-tubes of a steam generator in a natural circulation system. The length distribution and the mass flow rates in both tubes with normal and reverse flow were determined respectively. The research results show that the reverse flow may result in sharp decrease of gravity pressure head, circulation mass flow rate and heat release rate of natural circulation. It has adverse influence on natural circulation. (authors)

Water, a Refrigerant (L`eau, un Frigorigène)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Paul, Joachim

2003-01-01

In the light of the ongoing discussions about the availability and the future of synthetic or natural refrigerants "water" is the most attractive fluid for chillers and icemakers because of the low energy demand, the intrinsic safety and the low costs both for the fluid itself and for the install......In the light of the ongoing discussions about the availability and the future of synthetic or natural refrigerants "water" is the most attractive fluid for chillers and icemakers because of the low energy demand, the intrinsic safety and the low costs both for the fluid itself...... since many years any refrigerant with OPD and GWP, Denmark has put up a law in 2001 which includes hefty taxes on HFC. This tax is added to the price of refrigerants and lies between 17 and 44 EURO/kg for the common fluids. The goal of taxation is clear: To make GWP refrigerants unattractive because...... of their price. In conjunction with tax comes a phase-out scenario which shall be effective from 2006. The options for "natural" refrigerants without ODP and GWP are limited to five fluids which are ammonia (toxic), carbon dioxide (very high pressures), hydrocarbons (flammable), air (relatively low efficiencies...

A multi-stage traveling-wave thermoacoustically-driven refrigeration system operating at liquefied natural gas temperature

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, K.; Sun, D. M.; Zhang, J.; Shen, Q.; Zhang, N.

2017-12-01

This study proposes a multi-stage travelling-wave thermoacoustically refrigeration system (TAD-RS) operating at liquefied natural gas temperature, which consists of two thermoacoustic engines (TAE) and one thermoacoustic refrigerator (TAR) in a closed-loop configuration. Three thermoacoustic units connect each other through a resonance tube of small cross-sectional area, achieving “self-matching” for efficient thermoacoustic conversion. Based on the linear thermoacoustic theory, a model of the proposed system has been built by using DeltaEC program to show the acoustic field characteristics and performance. It is shown that with pressurized 5 MPa helium as working gas, the TAEs are able to build a stable and strong acoustic field with a frequency of about 85 Hz. When hot end temperature reaches 923 K, this system can provide about 1410 W cooling power at 110 K with an overall exergy efficiency of 15.5%. This study indicates a great application prospect of TAD-RS in the field of natural gas liquefaction with a large cooling capacity and simple structure.

Experimental study on the safety of Kyoto University Research Reactor at natural circulation cooling mode

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Jian; Shen, Xiuzhong; Fujihara, Yasuyuki; Sano, Tadafumi; Yamamoto, Toshihiro; Nakajima, Ken

2015-01-01

Highlights: • The natural circulation cooling capacity of Kyoto University Research Reactor (KUR) was experimentally investigated. • The distributions of the outlet temperature of the fuel elements under natural circulation operations were measured. • The average temperature rise and the average natural circulation flow velocity in core were calculated. • The safety of KUR under all of the normal operations with natural circulation cooling mode has been analyzed. • The natural circulation flow after the reactor shutdown was confirmed. - Abstract: In this study, the natural circulation cooling capacity of Kyoto University Research Reactor (KUR) is experimentally investigated by measuring the inlet and outlet temperatures of the core under natural circulation operation at various thermal powers ranging from 10 kW to 100 kW and the shutdown state. In view of the uneven power distribution and the resultant inconsistent coolant outlet temperature in the core, eight measuring points located separately in the outlet of the fuel elements were chosen to investigate the distribution of the outlet temperature of the core. The natural circulation cooling capacity represented by the average natural circulation flow velocity in the core is calculated from the temperature difference between the outlet and inlet temperature of the core. The measured outlet temperature of the fuel elements shows a cross-sectional distribution agreeing with the distribution of the thermal output of the fuel elements in the core. Since the measured outlet temperatures decrease quickly in the flow direction in a small local region above the outlet of the core, the mixing of the hot water out of the core with the cold water around the core outlet is found to happen in the small region not more than 5 cm far from the core outlet. The natural circulation flow velocity in the core increases non-linearly with the thermal power. The safety of KUR has been analysed by conservatively estimating the

Reverse primary-side flow in steam generators during natural circulation cooling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stumpf, H.; Motley, F.; Schultz, R.; Chapman, J.; Kukita, Y.

1987-01-01

A TRAC model of the Large Scale Test Facility with a 3-tube steam-generator model was used to analyze natural-circulation test ST-NC-02. For the steady state at 100% primary mass inventory, TRAC was in excellent agreement with the natural-circulation flow rate, the temperature distribution in the steam-generator tubes, and the temperature drop from the hot leg to the steam-generator inlet plenum. TRAC also predicted reverse flow in the long tubes. At reduced primary mass inventories, TRAC predicted the three natural-circulation flow regimes: single phase, two phase, and reflux condensation. TRAC did not predict the cyclic fill-and-dump phenomenon seen briefly in the test. TRAC overpredicted the two-phase natural-circulation flow rate. Since the core is well cooled at this time, the result is conservative. An important result of the analysis is that TRAC was able to predict the core dryout and heatup at approximately the same primary mass inventory as in the test. 4 refs., 8 figs., 2 tabs

Study on natural circulation flow under reactor cavity flooding condition in advanced PWRs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tao Jun; Yang Jiang; Cao Jianhua; Lu Xianghui; Guo Dingqing

2015-01-01

Cavity flooding is an important severe accident management measure for the in-vessel retention of a degraded core by external reactor vessel cooling in advanced PWRs. A code simulation study on the natural circulation flow in the gap between the reactor vessel wall and insulation material under cavity flooding condition is performed by using a detailed mechanistic thermal-hydraulic code package RELAP 5. By simulating of an experiment carried out for studying the natural circulation flow for APR1400 shows that the code is applicable for analyzing the circulation flow under this condition. The analysis results show that heat removal capacity of the natural circulation flow in AP1000 is sufficient to prevent thermal failure of the reactor vessel under bounding heat load. Several conclusions can be drawn from the sensitivity analysis. Larger coolant inlet area induced larger natural circulation flow rate. The outlet should be large enough and should not be submerged by the cavity water to vent the steam-water mixture. In the implementation of cavity flooding, the flooding water level should be high enough to provide sufficient natural circulation driven force. (authors)

Stability analysis on natural circulation boiling water reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Metz, Peter

1999-05-01

The purpose of the study is a stability analysis of the simplified boiling water reactor concept. A fluid dynamics code, DYNOS, was developed and successfully validated against FRIGG and DESIRE data and a stability benchmark on the Ringhals 1 forced circulation BWR. Three simplified desings were considered in the analysis: The SWRIOOO by Siemens and the SBWR and ESBWR from the General Electric Co. For all three design operational characteristics, i.e. power versus flow rate maps, were calculated. The effects which different geometric and operational parameters, such as the riser height, inlet subcooling etc., have on the characteristics have been investigated. Dynamic simulations on the three simplified design revealed the geysering and the natural circulation oscillations modes only. They were, however, only encountered at pressure below 0.6 MPa. Stability maps for all tree simplified BWRs were calculated and plotted. The study concluded that a fast pressurisation of the reactor vessel is necessary to eliminate the possibility of geysering or natural circulation oscillations mode instability. (au) 26 tabs., 88 ills.

Southern Hemisphere extratropical circulation: Recent trends and natural variability

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, Jordan L.; Waugh, Darryn W.; Gnanadesikan, Anand

2015-07-01

Changes in the Southern Annular Mode (SAM), Southern Hemisphere (SH) westerly jet location, and magnitude are linked with changes in ocean circulation along with ocean heat and carbon uptake. Recent trends have been observed in these fields but not much is known about the natural variability. Here we aim to quantify the natural variability of the SH extratropical circulation by using Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) preindustrial control model runs and compare with the observed trends in SAM, jet magnitude, and jet location. We show that trends in SAM are due partly to external forcing but are not outside the natural variability as described by these models. Trends in jet location and magnitude, however, lie outside the unforced natural variability but can be explained by a combination of natural variability and the ensemble mean forced trend. These results indicate that trends in these three diagnostics cannot be used interchangeably.

Theoretical analysis of effect of ocean condition on natural circulation flow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gong Houjun; Yang Xingtuan; Jiang Shengyao; Liu Zhiyong

2010-01-01

According to the simulation loop of Integrated natural circulation reactor,the mathematical model of natural circulation in non-inertial reference system is established, and the influence mechanism of ocean condition upon natural circulation is analyzed. Software is programmed to investigate the behaviors in the cases of rolling without heating power, static state with different power and rolling with heating power, and calculation results show that: the inertia force added by rolling causes the periodical fluctuating of the flow rate of channels, but it is not the direct reason of core flow fluctuation. The heave changes the driving head, and causes the same flow rate fluctuation of all channels. Inclining makes the core flow rate decrease, but the change of flow rate of different channels is different.(authors)

The role of natural circulation in the FFTF [Fast Flux Test Facility] passive safety tests

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stover, R.L.; Padilla, A.; Burke, T.M.; Knecht, W.L.

1987-03-01

A series of tests were completed at the Fast Flux Test Facility to demonstrate the passive safety characteristics of liquid metal reactors with natural circulation flow. The first test consisted of transition from forced to natural circulation flow at an initial decay power of 0.3%. The second test represented an unprotected loss-of-flow transient to natural circulation from 50% power with the control rods prevented from scramming into the core. The third test was a steady-state, natural circulation condition with core fission powers up ato about 2.3%. Core sodium data and results of single and multi-channel computer models confirmed the reliability and effectiveness of natural circulation flow for liquid metal reactor safety

Investigations on the thermal-hydraulics of a natural circulation cooled BWR fuel assembly

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kok, H.V.; Hagen, T.H.J.J. van der; Mudde, R.F. [Delft Univ. of Technology (Netherlands)

1995-09-01

A scaled natural circulation loop facility has been built after the Dodewaard Boiling Water Reactor, which is the only operating natural circulation cooled BWR in the world. The loop comprises one fuel assembly, a riser with a downcomer and a condenser with a cooling system. Freon-12 is used as a scaling liquid. This paper reports on the first measurements done with this facility. Quantities like the circulation flow, carry-under and the void-fraction have been measured as a function of power, pressure, liquid level, riser length, condensate temperature and friction factors. The behavior of the circulation flow can be understood by considering the driving force. Special attention has been paid to the carry-under, which has been shown to have a very important impact on the dynamics of a natural circulation cooled BWR.

Experimental investigations in high-pressure natural circulation loop: progress report for the period January-June, 1999

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naveen Kumar; Rajalakshmi, R.; Kulkarni, R.D.; Sagar, T.V.; Vijayan, P.K.; Saha, D.

2000-02-01

The Advanced Heavy Water Reactor employs natural circulation as the normal mode of coolant circulation. This is expected to enhance safety and reliability as it eliminates all safety issues associated with the pump failure. Two-phase natural circulation, however, is susceptible to several types of instabilities. In addition, the flow rate in a natural circulation loop is a dependent quantity and is not known a priori. Reliable calculations of the flow rate and stability behaviour are essential to ensure the success of AHWR design. Hence computer codes developed to predict the steady state flow rate and stability behaviour require validation against test data under natural circulation. For this purpose a high-pressure natural circulation loop has been designed, constructed and commissioned. Steady state experiments have been carried out in this loop to study the effect of pressure on natural circulation flow rate. The experimental results for this case are presented in this report. More experiments are planned in future to study the various aspects of two-phase natural circulation. (author)

Experimental studies on natural circulation in molten salt loops

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Srivastava, A.K.; Borgohain, A.; Maheshwari, N.K.; Vijayan, P.K.

2015-01-01

Molten salts are increasingly getting attention as a coolant and storage medium in solar thermal power plants and as a liquid fuel, blanket and coolant in Molten Salt Reactors (MSR’s). Two different test facilities named Molten Salt Natural Circulation Loop (MSNCL) and Molten Active Fluoride salt Loop (MAFL) have been setup for thermal hydraulics, instrument development and material related studies relevant to MSR and solar power plants. The working medium for MSNCL is a molten nitrate salt which is a mixture of NaNO 3 and KNO 3 in 60:40 ratio and proposed as one of the coolant option for molten salt based reactor and coolant as well as storage medium for solar thermal power application. On the other hand, the working medium for MAFL is a eutectic mixture of LiF and ThF 4 and proposed as a blanket salt for Indian Molten Salt Breeder Reactor (MSBR). Steady state natural circulation experiments at different power level have been performed in the MSNCL. Transient studies for startup of natural circulation, loss of heat sink, heater trip and step change in heater power have also been carried out in the same. A 1D code LeBENC, developed in-house to simulate the natural circulation characteristics in closed loops, has been validated with the experimental data obtained from MSNCL. Further, LeBENC has been used for Pretest analysis of MAFL. This paper deals with the description of both the loops and experimental studies carried out in MSNCL. Validation of LeBENC along with the pretest analysis of MAFL using the same are also reported in this paper. (author)

Experimental validation of a new sorption refrigerator heated by natural gas; Validacao experimental de um refigerador de sorcao aquecido por gas natural

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Silva, Maria E. Vieira da; Medeiros, Marcelo R.Q. [Universidade Federal do Ceara (UFC), Fortaleza, CE (Brazil); Schwarzer, Klemens [Universidade de Ciencias Aplicadas de Aachen (Germany); Campos, Michel F. [PETROBRAS, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

2004-07-01

This article presents the experimental results that validate the operation of a new refrigerator in sorption cycle that uses natural gas as its heat source. The project was financed by the RedeGasEnergia of the Petroleo Brasileiro Company - PETROBRAS and by Brazilian agency Agencia Brasileira Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos - FINEP. The refrigeration cycle has two phases: heating/desorption and cooling/adsorption. The materials used were the zeolite 13X and water. The system components, designed for this project, were: two adsorbers, two burners, one condenser and one evaporator. In the heating phase, the burners were turned on to heat up the adsorbers. The adsorbate was released in the vapor phase e flew to the condenser. After its condensation, the liquid moved by the action of gravity to the evaporator. When the burners were turned off, the adsorbers started to cool down due to natural convection and radiation to the ambient. With the decrease of temperature in the adsorbers, the adsorption process began and temperatures below 0 deg C (ice making) were measured in the evaporator. The equipment showed good thermal performance and temperatures near -4 deg C were measured in the evaporator. To produce 5 kg of ice, 0,123 kg of natural gas was used. (author)

Transient behavior of natural circulation for boiling two-phase flow, 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aritomi, Masanori; Chiang, Jing-Hsien; Mori, Michitugu.

1991-01-01

In this set of experiments, natural circulation in boiling two-phase flow has been investigated for power transients, simulating the start-up process in a natural circulation BWR. This was done in order to understand the underlying mechanism of thermo-hydraulic instability which may appear during a start-up. In this paper, geysering is dealt with especially and the driving mechanism is clarified by investigating the stability related to effects of inlet velocity, subcooling, temperature in an outlet plenum and non-heated length between heated section and the outlet plenum. Furthermore, by considering these results and the operational experience in the Dodewaard reactor, recommendations on how the thermo-hydraulic instabilities can be prevented from occurring are proposed concerning a reactor configuration and start-up procedure for natural circulation BWRs. (author)

RELAP5 simulation for one and two-phase natural circulation phenomenon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sabundjian, Gaiane; Andrade, Delvonei Alves de; Umbehaun, Pedro Ernesto; Torres, Walmir Maximo; Castro, Alfredo Jose Alvim de; Braz Filho, Francisco A.; Borges, Eduardo Madeira; Damy. Osvaldo Luiz Almeida; Torres, Eduardo

2007-01-01

The objective of this paper is to study the natural circulation phenomenon in one and two-phase regime. There has been a crescent interest in the scientific community in the study of the natural circulation. New generation of compact nuclear reactors uses the natural circulation for residual heat removal in case of accident or shutdown. For this study, the modeling and the simulation of the experimental circuit is performed with the RELAP5 code. The experimental circuit is mounted in the Chemical Engineering Department of the University of Sao Paulo. It is presented in this work the theoretical/experimental comparison for one and two-phase flow. These results will be stored in a database to validate RELAP5 calculations. This work was also used to training some users of RELAP5 from IEAv. (author)

Self-organizing maps applied to two-phase flow on natural circulation loop study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Castro, Leonardo Ferreira

2016-01-01

Two-phase flow of liquid and gas is found in many closed circuits using natural circulation for cooling purposes. Natural circulation phenomenon is important on recent nuclear power plant projects for decay heat removal. The Natural Circulation Facility (Circuito de Circulacao Natural CCN) installed at Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares, IPEN/CNEN, is an experimental circuit designed to provide thermal hydraulic data related to single and two-phase flow under natural circulation conditions. This periodic flow oscillation behavior can be observed thoroughly in this facility due its glass-made tubes transparency. The heat transfer estimation has been improved based on models that require precise prediction of pattern transitions of flow. This work presents experiments realized at CCN to visualize natural circulation cycles in order to classify two-phase flow patterns associated with phase transients and static instabilities of flow. Images are compared and clustered using Kohonen Self-organizing Maps (SOM's) applied on different digital image features. The Full Frame Discret Cosine Transform (FFDCT) coefficients were used as input for the classification task, enabling good results. FFDCT prototypes obtained can be associated to each flow pattern, enabling a better comprehension of each observed instability. A systematic test methodology was used to verify classifier robustness.

FFTF primary system transition to natural circulation from low reactor power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bouchey, G.D.; Additon, S.L.; Nutt, W.T.

1980-01-01

Plans for reactor and primary loop natural circulation testing in the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) are summarized. Detailed pretest planning with an emphasis on understanding the implications of process noise and model uncertainties for model verification and test acceptance are discussed for a transition to natural circulation in the reactor core and primary heat transport loops from initial conditions of 5% of rated reactor power and 75% of full flow

Natural Circulation Characteristics at Low-Pressure Conditions through PANDA Experiments and ATHLET Simulations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Domenico Paladino

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Natural circulation characteristics at low pressure/low power have been studied by performing experimental investigations and numerical simulations. The PANDA large-scale facility was used to provide valuable, high quality data on natural circulation characteristics as a function of several parameters and for a wide range of operating conditions. The new experimental data allow for testing and improving the capabilities of the thermal-hydraulic computer codes to be used for treating natural circulation loops in a range with increased attention. This paper presents a synthesis of a part of the results obtained within the EU-Project NACUSP “natural circulation and stability performance of boiling water reactors.” It does so by using the experimental results produced in PANDA and by showing some examples of numerical simulations performed with the thermal-hydraulic code ATHLET.

A miniaturized plastic dilution refrigerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bindilatti, V.; Oliveira, N.F.Jr.; Martin, R.V.; Frossati, G.

1996-01-01

We have built and tested a miniaturized dilution refrigerator, completely contained (still, heat exchanger and mixing chamber) inside a plastic (PVC) tube of 10 mm diameter and 170 mm length. With a 25 cm 2 CuNi heat exchanger, it reached temperatures below 50 mK, for circulation rates below 70 μmol/s. The cooling power at 100 mK and 63 μmol/s was 45 μW. The experimental space could accommodate samples up to 6 mm in diameter. (author)

Manufacturing A Refrigerator with Heat Recovery Unit

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mustafa Mohammed Kadhim

2018-02-01

Full Text Available This study aims to exploite the rejected heating energy from condenser and benefit from it to reheat the foods and other materials. It can also be employed to improve the coefficient of performance of a refrigerator at the same time by using approximately the same consumption electrical energy used to operate the compressor and refrigerator in general. This idea has been implemented by manufacturing of a refrigerator with using additional part has the same metal and condenser pipe diameters but its surface area does not exceed 40% from total surface area of the condenser and its design as an insulated cabinet from all sides to prevent heat leakage through it and located between the compressor and the condenser. Small electrical fan has been added inside this cabinet to provide a suitable air circulation and a homogenous temperature distribution inside the cabinet space. It is expected that the super heating energy of refrigerant (R134a which comes out of the compressor would be removed  inside this cabinet and this insist to condensate the refrigerant (cooling fluid with a rate higher than that used in the normal refrigerator only. Three magnetic valves have been used in order to control the refrigerant flow in state of operation the refrigerator only or to gather with heating cabinet. To measure the temperatures at each process of the simple vapor compression refrigeration cycle, nine temperature sensors at input and output of each compressor, condenser and an evaporator in additional to input of cabinet and inside it and on evaporator surface have been provided. Five pressure gages have been used to measure the value of pressure and compare it for the two states of operation. The consumption of electrical energy  can be calculated by adding an ammeter and a voltmeter and compare between the consumption energy of both states. The obtained results show that there is an improvement in the coeffecient of performance in state of operation the

Evaluation of High-Pressure RCS Natural Circulations Under Severe Accident Conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Byung Chul; Bang, Young Suk; Suh, Nam Duk

2006-01-01

Since TMI-2 accident, the occurrence of severe accident natural circulations inside RCS during entire in-vessel core melt progressions before the reactor vessel breach had been emphasized and tried to clarify its thermal-hydraulic characteristics. As one of consolidated outcomes of these efforts, sophisticated models have been presented to explain the effects of a variety of engineering and phenomenological factors involved during severe accident mitigation on the integrity of RCS pressure boundaries, i.e. reactor pressure vessel(RPV), RCS coolant pipe and steam generator tubes. In general, natural circulation occurs due to density differences, which for single phase flow, is typically generated by temperature differences. Three natural circulation flows can be formed during severe accidents: in-vessel, hot leg countercurrent flow and flow through the coolant loops. Each of these flows may be present during high-pressure transients such as station blackout (SBO) and total loss of feedwater (TLOFW). As a part of research works in order to contribute on the completeness of severe accident management guidance (SAMG) in domestic plants by quantitatively assessing the RCS natural circulations on its integrity, this study presents basic approach for this work and some preliminary results of these efforts with development of appropriately detailed RCS model using MELCOR computer code

performance simulation of a natural circulation solar air

African Journals Online (AJOL)

User

in a single glazed flat plate natural circulation solar a prepared in modules .... Nigerian Journal of Technology, used instead of ... boundary associated with the melting the phase ...... Mathematical Modeling of the Thin Layer Drying of Sweet ...

FFTF operating experience with sodium natural circulation: slides included

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Burke, T.M.; Additon, S.L.; Beaver, T.R.; Midgett, J.C.

1981-01-01

The Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) has been designed for passive, back-up, safety grade decay heat removal utilizing natural circulation of the sodium coolant. This paper discusses the process by which operator preparation for this emergency operating mode has been assured, in paralled with the design verification during the FFTF startup and acceptance testing program. Over the course of the test program, additional insights were gained through the testing program, through on-going plant analyses and through general safety evaluations performed throughout the nuclear industry. These insights led to development of improved operator training material for control of decay heat removal during both forced and natural circulation as well as improvements in the related plant operating procedures.

FFTF operating experience with sodium natural circulation: slides included

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burke, T.M.; Additon, S.L.; Beaver, T.R.; Midgett, J.C.

1981-01-01

The Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) has been designed for passive, back-up, safety grade decay heat removal utilizing natural circulation of the sodium coolant. This paper discusses the process by which operator preparation for this emergency operating mode has been assured, in paralled with the design verification during the FFTF startup and acceptance testing program. Over the course of the test program, additional insights were gained through the testing program, through on-going plant analyses and through general safety evaluations performed throughout the nuclear industry. These insights led to development of improved operator training material for control of decay heat removal during both forced and natural circulation as well as improvements in the related plant operating procedures

OPG's approach of crediting natural circulation in outage heat sinks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fung, K.K.; Mackinnon, J.C.

2001-01-01

A review of crediting natural circulation as a backup means of removing the reactor core decay heat during an outage in Ontario Power Generation's nuclear stations was completed in 2000. The objective was to define the configurations and conditions under which natural circulation can be confidently credited as an effective heat transport mechanism for use in shutdown heat sink management. The project was an interdisciplinary program, and involved analyses in the areas of heat transport system thermalhydaulics, fuel and fuel channel thermal and mechanical behaviour, radiation physics, and probabilistic risks. The assessment shows that it is economically acceptable to credit natural circulation as a backup means of removing the core decay heat whenever the no fuel failure criteria are met. The economic risks associated with such a potential use decrease with time after shutdown. The waiting times after shutdown when there would be various levels of risks of damaging the pressure tubes and fuel bundles were derived for use in planning maintenance activities so as to minimize the economic risks. (author)

Natural Circulation with Boiling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mathisen, R P

1967-09-15

A number of parameters with dominant influence on the power level at hydrodynamic instability in natural circulation, two-phase flow, have been studied experimentally. The geometrical dependent quantities were: the system driving head, the boiling channel and riser dimensions, the single-phase as well as the two phase flow restrictions. The parameters influencing the liquid properties were the system pressure and the test section inlet subcooling. The threshold of instability was determined by plotting the noise characteristics in the mass flow records against power. The flow responses to artificially obtained power disturbances at instability conditions were also measured in order to study the nature of hydrodynamic instability. The results presented give a review over relatively wide ranges of the main parameters, mainly concerning the coolant performance in both single and parallel boiling channel flow. With regard to the power limits the experimental results verified that the single boiling channel performance was intimately related to that of the parallel channels. In the latter case the additional inter-channel factors with attenuating effects were studied. Some optimum values of the parameters were observed.

An experimental study on the flow instabilities and critical heat flux under natural circulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Yun II; Chang, Soon Heung

2004-01-01

This study has been carried out to investigate the hydrodynamic stabilities and Critical Heat Flux (CHF) characteristics for the natural and forced circulation. A low pressure experimental loop was constructed, and experiments under various conditions have been performed. In the experiments of the natural circulation, flow oscillations has been observed and the average mass flux under flow oscillation have been measured. Several parameters such as heat flux, the inlet temperature of test section, friction valve opening and riser length have been varied in order to investigate their effects on the flow stability of the natural circulation system. And the CHF data from low flow experiments, namely the natural and forced circulation, have been compared with each other to identify the effects of the flow instabilities on the CHF for the natural circulation mode. The test conditions for the CHF experiments were a low flow of less than 70 kg/m 2 s of water in a vertical round tube with diameter of 0.008 m at near atmospheric pressure. (author)

Low Global Warming Potential Refrigerants for Commercial Refrigeration Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fricke, Brian A. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Sharma, Vishaldeep [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Abdelaziz, Omar [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

2017-06-01

Supermarket refrigeration systems account for approximately 50% of supermarket energy use, placing this class of equipment among the highest energy consumers in the commercial building domain. In addition, the commonly used refrigeration system in supermarket applications is the multiplex direct expansion (DX) system, which is prone to refrigerant leaks due to its long lengths of refrigerant piping. This leakage reduces the efficiency of the system and increases the impact of the system on the environment. The high Global Warming Potential (GWP) of the hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants commonly used in these systems, coupled with the large refrigerant charge and the high refrigerant leakage rates leads to significant direct emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Environmental concerns are driving regulations for the heating, ventilating, air-conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC&R) industry towards lower GWP alternatives to HFC refrigerants. Existing lower GWP refrigerant alternatives include hydrocarbons, such as propane (R-290) and isobutane (R-600a), as well as carbon dioxide (R-744), ammonia (R-717), and R-32. In addition, new lower GWP refrigerant alternatives are currently being developed by refrigerant manufacturers, including hydrofluoro-olefin (HFO) and unsaturated hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFO) refrigerants. The selection of an appropriate refrigerant for a given refrigeration application should be based on several factors, including the GWP of the refrigerant, the energy consumption of the refrigeration system over its operating lifetime, and leakage of refrigerant over the system lifetime. For example, focusing on energy efficiency alone may overlook the significant environmental impact of refrigerant leakage; while focusing on GWP alone might result in lower efficiency systems that result in higher indirect impact over the equipment lifetime. Thus, the objective of this Collaborative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between

Engineering Judgment and Natural Circulation Calculations

OpenAIRE

Ferreri, J. C.

2011-01-01

The analysis performed to establish the validity of computer code results in the particular field of natural circulation flow stability calculations is presented in the light of usual engineering practice. The effects of discretization and closure correlations are discussed and some hints to avoid undesired mistakes in the evaluations performed are given. Additionally, the results are presented for an experiment relevant to the way in which a (small) number of skilled, nuclear safety analysts...

An experimental study on the flow instabilities and critical heat flux under natural circulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Yun Il

1993-02-01

This study has been carried out to investigate the hydrodynamic stabilities of natural circulation and to analyze Critical Heat Flux (CHF) characteristics for the natural and forced circulation. A low pressure experimental loop was constructed, and experiments under various conditions have been performed. In the experiments of the natural circulation, flow oscillations and the average mass flux have been observed. Several parameters such as heat flux, the inlet temperature of test section, friction valve opening and riser length have been varied in order to investigate their effects on the flow stability of the natural circulation system. The results show that the flow instability has strongly dependent on geometric conditions and operating parameters, the inlet temperature and the heat flux of test section. It was found that unstable region for the heat flux and the inlet temperature exists between the single-phase stable region of low heat and low inlet temperature and the two-phase stable region of very high heat flux and high inlet temperature. The CHF data from the natural and forced circulation experiments have been compared each other to identify the effects of the flow instabilities on the CHF for the natural circulation mode. The test conditions were low flow less than 70 kg/m 2 s of water in vertical round tube with diameter of 0.008m at near atmospheric pressure. In this study, no difference in CHF values is observed between natural and fored circulation. Since low flow usually has the oscillation characteristic of relatively low amplitude and high frequency, the effect of the flow instabilities on the CHF seems to be negligible

Natural circulation in water cooled nuclear power plants: Phenomena, models, and methodology for system reliability assessments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2005-11-01

In recent years it has been recognized that the application of passive safety systems (i.e. those whose operation takes advantage of natural forces such as convection and gravity), can contribute to simplification and potentially to improved economics of new nuclear power plant designs. Further, the IAEA Conference on The Safety of Nuclear Power: Strategy for the Future which was convened in 1991 noted that for new plants 'the use of passive safety features is a desirable method of achieving simplification and increasing the reliability of the performance of essential safety functions, and should be used wherever appropriate'. Considering the weak driving forces of passive systems based on natural circulation, careful design and analysis methods must be employed to assure that the systems perform their intended functions. To support the development of advanced water cooled reactor designs with passive systems, investigations of natural circulation are an ongoing activity in several IAEA Member States. Some new designs also utilize natural circulation as a means to remove core power during normal operation. In response to the motivating factors discussed above, and to foster international collaboration on the enabling technology of passive systems that utilize natural circulation, an IAEA Coordinated Research Project (CRP) on Natural Circulation Phenomena, Modelling and Reliability of Passive Systems that Utilize Natural Circulation was started in early 2004. Building on the shared expertise within the CRP, this publication presents extensive information on natural circulation phenomena, models, predictive tools and experiments that currently support design and analyses of natural circulation systems and highlights areas where additional research is needed. Therefore, this publication serves both to provide a description of the present state of knowledge on natural circulation in water cooled nuclear power plants and to guide the planning and conduct of the CRP in

Method and refrigerants for replacing existing refrigerants in centrifugal compressors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kopko, W.L.

1991-01-01

This patent describes a method for replacing an existing refrigerant in a centrifugal compressor. It comprises selecting a desired impeller Mach number for the centrifugal compressor; selecting a base refrigerant constituent; combining at least one additive refrigerant constituent with the base refrigerant constituent to form a replacement refrigerant having at least one physical or chemical property different from the existing refrigerant and substantially providing the desired impeller Mach number in the centrifugal compressor; and replacing the existing refrigerant with the replacement refrigerant

Numerical analysis of the fluid dynamics in a natural circulation loop

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Angelo, Gabriel

2013-01-01

Natural circulation loops apply to many engineering applications such as: water heating solar energy system (thermo-siphons), thermal management of electrical components (voltage converter), geothermal energy, nuclear reactors, etc. In pressurized water nuclear reactors, known as PWR's, the natural circulation loops are employed to ensure passive safety. In critical situations, the heat transfer will occur only by natural convection, without any external control or mechanical devices. This feature is desired and has been considered in modern nuclear reactor projects. This work consists of a numerical study of the natural circulation loop, located at the Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares / Comissao Nacional de Energia Nuclear in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in order to establish the flow pattern in single phase conditions. The comparison of numerical results to experiments in transient condition revealed significant deviations for the Zero Equation turbulence model. Intermediate deviations for the Eddy Viscosity Turbulence Equation (EVTE), k - ω, SST e SSG models. And the best results are obtained by the k - ε e DES models (with better results for the k - ε model). (author)

Second law analysis of the transcritical CO2 refrigeration cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fartaj, Amir; Ting, David S.-K.; Yang, Wendy W.

2004-01-01

Because of the global warming impact of HFCs, the use of natural refrigerants has received worldwide attention. Efficient use of refrigerants is of pressing concern to the present automotive and HVAC industries. The natural refrigerant, carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), exhibits promise for use in automotive air conditioning systems, in particular the transcritical CO 2 refrigeration cycle. The objective of this work is to identify the main factors that affect CO 2 system performance. A second law of thermodynamic analysis on the entire CO 2 refrigeration cycle is conducted so that the effectiveness of the components of the system can be deduced and ranked, allowing future efforts to focus on improving the components that have the highest potential for advancement. The analysis reveals that the compressor and the gas cooler exhibit the largest non-idealities within the system, and hence, efforts should be focused on improving these components

Natural circulation analysis for the advanced neutron source reactor refueling process 11

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tucker, R.F.; Dasardhi, S.; Elkassabgi, Y. [Texas A& M Univ., Kingsville, TX (United States); Yoder, G.L. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)

1995-09-01

During the refueling process of the Advanced Neutron Source Reactor (ANSR), the spent fuel elements must be moved from the primary coolant loop (containing D{sub 2}O), through a heavy water pool, and finally into a light water spent fuel storage area. The present refueling scheme utilizes remote refueling equipment to move the spent fuel elements through a D{sub 2}O filled stack and tunnel into a temporary storage canal. A transfer lock is used to move the spent fuel elements from the D{sub 2}O-filled interim storage canal to a light water pool. Each spent fuel element must be cooled during this process, using either natural circulation or forced convection. This paper presents a summary of the numerical techniques used to analyze natural circulation cooling of the ANSR fuel elements as well as selected results of the calculations. Details of the analysis indicate that coolant velocities below 10 cm/s exist in the coolant channels under single phase natural circulation conditions. Also, boiling does not occur within the channels if power levels are below a few hundred kW when the core transitions to natural circulation conditions.

Study of the hydrodynamic stability of natural-circulation steam generators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Olive, J.

1981-01-01

This report presents a mathematical model of a study of the stability of natural-circulation steam generators. The method used consists in linearizing the equations for the single-dimensional flow and integrating them by using Laplace's transformation. The properties of the two-phase fluids are described by a homegeneous model with slip. The results of the calculation are the transfer functions of the circulation loop and its own oscillation modes (period and damping). Comparison of the results obtained by this method with those from other existing methods in the case of a straight tube with forced flow have proved satisfactory. Lastly, the results of a parametric study on the stability of a natural-circulation steam generator for a PWR unit are presented. The results show that the model is capable of reproducing at least qualitatively the trends observed experimentally or obtained by other more complex theoretical models [fr

Models development for natural circulation and its transition process in nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu Lei; Cai Qi; Cai Zhangsheng; Xie Haiyan

2008-01-01

On the basis of nuclear power plant (NPP) best-estimate transient analysis code RELAP5/MOD3, the point reactor kinetics model in RELAP5/MOD3 was replaced by the two-group, 3-D space and time dependent neutron kinetic model, in order to exactly analyze the responses of key parameters in natural circulation and its transition process considering the reactivity feedback. The coupled model for three-dimensional physics and thermohydraulics was established and corresponding computing code was developed. Using developed code, natural circulation of NPP and its transiton process were calculated and analyzed. Compared with the experiment data, the calculated results show that its high precise avoids the shortage that the point reactor equation can not reflect the reactivity exactly. This code can be a computing and analysis tool for forced circulation and natural circulation and their transitions. (authors)

Simulation of natural circulation on an integral type experimental facility, MASLWR

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chung, Youngjong; Lim, Sungwon; Ha, Jaejoo [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2013-05-15

The OSU MASLWR test facility was reconfigured to eliminate a recurring grounding problem and improve facility reliability in anticipation of conducting an IAEA International Collaborative Standard Problem (ICSP). The purpose of ICSP is to provide experimental data on flow instability phenomena under natural circulation conditions and coupled containment/reactor vessel behavior in integral-type reactors, and to evaluate system code capabilities to predict natural circulation phenomena for integral type PWR, by simulating an integrated experiment. A natural circulation in the primary side during various core powers is analyzed using TASS/SMR code for the integral type experimental facility. The calculation results show higher steady state primary flow than experiment. If it matches the initial flow with experiment, it shows lower primary flow than experiment according to the increase of power. The code predictions may be improved by applying a Reynolds number dependent form loss coefficient to accurately account for unrecoverable pressure losses.

Natural circulation studies in a LBE loop for a wide range of temperature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borgohain, A.; Srivastava, A.K.; Jana, S.S.; Maheshwari, N.K.; Kulkarni, R.D.; Vijayan, P.K.; Tewari, R.; Ram, A. Maruthi; Jha, S.K.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • A high temperature Lead Bismuth Eutectic loop named as Kilo Temperature Loop (KTL) has been made. • Natural circulation experimental studies were carried out and reported in the range of 200–780 °C. • The experiments at high temperature were carried in inert atmosphere to avoid oxidation of the loop material. • Theoretical studies are carried out to simulate the loop with natural circulation in primary as well as in the secondary side. • The predictions of the code LeBENC used to simulate the natural circulation in the loop are compared with the experimental results. - Abstract: Lead–Bismuth Eutectic (LBE) is increasingly getting more attention as a coolant for advanced reactor systems. It is also the primary coolant of the Compact High Temperature Reactor (CHTR) being designed at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). A high temperature liquid metal loop named as Kilo Temperature Loop (KTL) has been installed at BARC for thermal hydraulics, instrument development and material related studies. Natural circulation experimental studies were carried out for the power range of 200–1200 W in the loop. The corresponding LBE flow rate is calculated to be in the range of 0.075–0.12 kg/s. Transient studies for start-up of natural circulation in the loop, loss of heat sink and step power change have also been carried out. The maximum temperature of the loop operated so far is 1100 °C. A computer code named LeBENC has been developed at BARC to simulate the natural circulation characteristics in closed loops. The salient features of the code include ability to handle non-uniform diameter components, axial thermal conduction in fluid and heat losses from the piping to the environment. The code has been modified to take into account of two natural circulation loops in series so that the natural cooling by argon gas in the secondary side of the loop can be simulated. This paper deals with the description of the loop and its operation. The various

Passive decay heat removal by natural circulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vijayan, P.K.; Venkat Raj, V.; Kakodkar, A.; Mehta, S.K.

1990-01-01

The standardised 235 MWe PHWRs being built in India are the pressure tube type, heavy water moderated, heavy water cooled and natural uranium fuelled reactors. Several passive safety features are incorporated in these reactors. These include: (1) Containment pressure reduction and fission product trapping with the help of suppression pool following LOCA. (2) Emergency coolant injection by means of accumulators. (3) Large heat sink provided by the low temperature moderator under accident conditions. (4) Low excess reactivity, through the use of natural uranium fuel and on power fuelling. (5) Residual heat removal by means of natural circulation, etc. of which the last item is the subject matter of this report. (author). 8 refs, 10 figs

Experiments on natural circulation of lead-bismuth in the TALL test facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma, W.M.; Karbojian, A.; Sehgal, B.R.

2005-01-01

Full text of publication follows: Lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE) is a potential candidate coolant for next generation liquid metal reactors due to its favorable properties such as being chemical inert and low melting point, in comparison with sodium and lead considered as coolants in FBRs. Having a high atomic number of LBE allows it be well suited as a spallation target for accelerator-driven systems (ADS) which have been proposed for the transmutation of nuclear waste. Due to its strong buoyancy, the LBE-cooled system should also have significant natural circulation, which is desirable for so-called Generation IV nuclear reactors, which like to employ passive safety and reliability. But so far, very little experimental data have been published on the natural circulation thermal-hydraulics of LBE-cooled systems. Motivated by the increasing interest in LBE-cooled fast reactors and ADS, a test facility called Thermal-hydraulic ADS Lead-bismuth Loop (TALL) was designed and constructed at KTH to investigate the thermalhydraulic characteristics of liquid LBE. The facility consists of a primary loop (LBE loop) and a secondary loop (oil loop). The LBE loop consists of sump tank, core tank, expansion tank, heat exchanger, EM pump, EM flowmeter, electric heaters and instrumentation. The heating of LBE in the core tank and its cooling in the heat exchanger allows natural convection flows as should occur in the prototypic vessel. Recently, our experimental study on natural circulation was performed on the TALL test facility. This paper will present the experimental results and analysis. The facility is of 6.8 m height which is comparable to the full height of the LBE heat exchange circuit in the ANSALDO ADS reactor vessel design, and has been scaled for prototypic (power/volume) ratio to represent the main components. Their LBE volume, flow velocity and heating rates correspond to one tube of the heat exchanger design chosen. During the experiments, the main adjustable

Performance of an auto refrigerant cascade refrigerator operating in gas refrigerant supply (GRS) mode with nitrogen-hydrocarbon and argon-hydrocarbon refrigerants

Science.gov (United States)

Gurudath Nayak, H.; Venkatarathnam, G.

2009-07-01

There is a worldwide interest in the development of auto refrigerant cascade (ARC) refrigerators operating with refrigerant mixtures. Both flammable and non-flammable refrigerant mixtures can be used in these systems. The performance of an ARC system with optimum nitrogen-hydrocarbon and argon-hydrocarbon mixtures between 90 and 160 K is presented in this paper.

Evaluation of system codes for analyzing naturally circulating gas loop

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Jeong Ik; No, Hee Cheon; Hejzlar, Pavel

2009-01-01

Steady-state natural circulation data obtained in a 7 m-tall experimental loop with carbon dioxide and nitrogen are presented in this paper. The loop was originally designed to encompass operating range of a prototype gas-cooled fast reactor passive decay heat removal system, but the results and conclusions are applicable to any natural circulation loop operating in regimes having buoyancy and acceleration parameters within the ranges validated in this loop. Natural circulation steady-state data are compared to numerical predictions by two system analysis codes: GAMMA and RELAP5-3D. GAMMA is a computational tool for predicting various transients which can potentially occur in a gas-cooled reactor. The code has a capability of analyzing multi-dimensional multi-component mixtures and includes models for friction, heat transfer, chemical reaction, and multi-component molecular diffusion. Natural circulation data with two gases show that the loop operates in the deteriorated turbulent heat transfer (DTHT) regime which exhibits substantially reduced heat transfer coefficients compared to the forced turbulent flow. The GAMMA code with an original heat transfer package predicted conservative results in terms of peak wall temperature. However, the estimated peak location did not successfully match the data. Even though GAMMA's original heat transfer package included mixed-convection regime, which is a part of the DTHT regime, the results showed that the original heat transfer package could not reproduce the data with sufficient accuracy. After implementing a recently developed correlation and corresponding heat transfer regime map into GAMMA to cover the whole range of the DTHT regime, we obtained better agreement with the data. RELAP5-3D results are discussed in parallel.

Analysis of reverse flow in inverted U-tubes of steam generator under natural circulation condition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Ruichang; Liu Ruolei; Liu Jinggong; Qin Shiwei

2008-01-01

In this paper, we report on the analysis of reverse flow in inverted U-tubes of a steam generator under natural circulation condition. The mechanism of reverse flow in inverted U-tubes of the steam generator with natural circulation is graphically analyzed by using the full-range characteristic curve of parallel U-tubes. The mathematical model and numerical calculation method for analyzing the reverse flow in inverted U-tubes of the steam generator with natural circulation have been developed. The reverse flow in an inverted U-tube steam generator of a simulated pressurized water reactor with natural circulation in analyzed. Through the calculation, the mass flow rates of normal and reverse flows in individual U-tubes are obtained. The predicted sharp drop of the fluid temperature in the inlet plenum of the steam generator due to reverse flow agrees very well with the experimental data. This indicates that the developed mathematical model and solution method can be used to correctly predict the reverse flow in the inverted U-tubes of the steam generator with natural circulation. The obtained results also show that in the analysis of natural circulation flow in the primary circuit, the reverse flow in the inverted U-tubes of the steam generator must be taken into account. (author)

Passive safety systems and natural circulation in water cooled nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2009-11-01

Nuclear power produces 15% of the world's electricity. Many countries are planning to either introduce nuclear energy or expand their nuclear generating capacity. Design organizations are incorporating both proven means and new approaches for reducing the capital costs of their advanced designs. In the future most new nuclear plants will be of evolutionary design, often pursuing economies of scale. In the longer term, innovative designs could help to promote a new era of nuclear power. Since the mid-1980s it has been recognized that the application of passive safety systems (i.e. those whose operation takes advantage of natural forces such as convection and gravity), can contribute to simplification and potentially improve economics of new nuclear power plant designs. The IAEA Conference on The Safety of Nuclear Power: Strategy for the Future, which was convened in 1991, noted that for new plants 'the use of passive safety features is a desirable method of achieving simplification and increasing the reliability of the performance of essential safety functions, and should be used wherever appropriate'. Some new designs also utilize natural circulation as a means to remove core power during normal operation. The use of passive systems can eliminate the costs associated with the installation, maintenance, and operation of active systems that require multiple pumps with independent and redundant electric power supplies. However, considering the weak driving forces of passive systems based on natural circulation, careful design and analysis methods must be employed to ensure that the systems perform their intended functions. To support the development of advanced water cooled reactor designs with passive systems, investigations of natural circulation are conducted in several IAEA Member States with advanced reactor development programmes. To foster international collaboration on the enabling technology of passive systems that utilize natural circulation, the IAEA

Dynamics and developing of natural circulation cooling from vertical upflow and downflow conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, B.W.; Ouyang, W.

2004-01-01

Several research programs have been conducted to evaluate the capability of natural circulation cooling of reactors following a loss of cooling accident. Both experimental and RELAP5 simulation results were obtained for these studies in a facility with vertical heated tube(s) and a unheated bypass channel. The analytical results showed that, under a certain power level, a natural circulation pattern can be developed from both initial upflow and downflow conditions, and maintained for a significant cooling period. This power level, for the discussion of this paper, is defined as the natural circulation cooling (NCC) power limit. Two import factors, namely the pump coastdown rate and the initial flow direction, are examined in this paper. In the benchmark case, as compared to the experimental results, the RELAP5 simulation program accurately predicted the transient phenomena from forced convection through flow reversal, then, into natural circulation cooling. Generally, the two-phase NCC power limit is higher and also more stable for the cases with initial upflow forced convection than for the cases with initial downflow. The transient phenomena (dynamics) of the natural circulation cooling was examined by varying the pump coast down rate in approaching the flow reversal natural circulation. A significant pump coastdown effect on the NCC power limit was observed for the analytical tests with initial downflow forced convection. For the tests with initial downflow condition, the higher the coastdown rate (or the shorter the coastdown period), the higher the NCC power limit. For the case with initial upflow forced convection, there may be an optimal coastdown rate for a given subcooled condition. However, for the subcooled condition used in this study, the effect of pump coast down rate is not as significant as in the downward forced convection. (author)

Parametric studies to establish natural circulation in advanced heavy water reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bhatia, S K; Dhawan, M L [Reactor Engineering Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai (India)

1994-06-01

Design of Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR) is in progress. It consists of vertical pressure tubes with boiling light water coolant flowing through the tubes and heavy water moderator in the calandria. In PHWRs, core heat removal is through forced circulation of the coolant by PHT pumps. In AHWR, no PHT pumps are used and core heat is carried away by natural circulation of the coolant due to density difference between steam/water mixture inside the core and the water region outside the core. This passive means of core heat removal results in a number of benefits viz. (a) extra length of piping, valves, instruments, power supply and control systems for functioning of instruments are eliminated, (b) plant layout is simplified, (c) maintenance of valves and instruments is reduced. Natural circulation in AHWR is achieved by keeping the steam drum at a sufficient height above the core to get the required driving force. The loop height depends on many factors i.e. channel power, V{sub c}/V{sub f} ratio (ratio of coolant volume to fuel volume) and core height. The effect of these parameters on the loop height to establish natural circulation have been studied and presented. (author). 1 ref., 1 fig., 1 tab.

Natural Circulation Characteristics at Low-Pressure Conditions through PANDA Experiments and ATHLET Simulations

OpenAIRE

Paladino, Domenico; Huggenberger, Max; Schäfer, Frank

2008-01-01

Natural circulation characteristics at low pressure/low power have been studied by performing experimental investigations and numerical simulations. The PANDA large-scale facility was used to provide valuable, high quality data on natural circulation characteristics as a function of several parameters and for a wide range of operating conditions. The new experimental data allow for testing and improving the capabilities of the thermal-hydraulic computer codes to be used for treating natural c...

Single and two-phase natural circulation in Westinghouse pressurized water reactor simulators: Phenomena, analysis and scaling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schultz, R.R.; Chapman, J.C.; Kukita, Y.; Motley, F.E.; Stumpf, H.; Chen, Y.S.; Tasaka, K.

1987-01-01

Natural circulation data obtained in the 1/48 scale W four loop PWR simulator - the Large Scale Test Facility (LSTF) are discussed and summarized. Core cooling modes, the primary fluid state, the primary loop mass flow and localized natural circulation phenomena occurring in the steam generator are presented. TRAC-PF1 LSTF model (using both a 1 U-tube and a 3 U-tube steam generator model) analyses of the LSTF natural circulation data including the SG recirculation patterns are presented and compared to the data. The LSTF data are then compared to similar natural circulation data obtained in the Primarkreislaufe (PKL) and the Semiscale facilities. Based on the 1/48 to 1/1705 scaling range which exists between the facilities, the implications of these data towrard natural circulation behavior in commercial plants are briefly discussed

Post Analysis of Two Phase Natural Circulation Mass Flow Rate for CE-PECS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, R. J.; Ha, K. S.; Rhee, B. W.; Kim, H. Y. [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2015-10-15

The coolant in the inclined channel absorbs the decay heat and sensible heat transferred from the corium through the structure of the core catcher body and flows up to the pool as a two phase mixture. On the other hand, some of the pool water will flow into the inlet of the downcomer piping, and will flow into the inclined cooling channel of the core catcher by gravity. The engineered cooling channel is designed to provide effective long-term cooling and stabilization of the corium mixture in the core catcher body while facilitating steam venting. To maintain the integrity of the ex-vessel core catcher, however, it is required that the coolant be circulated at a rate along the inclined cooling channel sufficient to avoid CHF (Critical Heat Flux) on the heating surface of the cooling channel. In this study, post simulations of two phase natural circulation in the CEPECS have been performed to evaluate two phase flow characteristics and the natural circulation mass flow rate in the flow channel using the RELAP5/MOD3 computer code. Post simulations of two phase natural circulation in the CE-PECS have been conducted to evaluate two phase flow characteristics and the natural circulation mass flow rate in the flow channel using the RELAP5/MOD3 computer code. The RELAP5/MOD3 results have shown that the water circulation mass flow rate is approximately 8.7 kg/s in the base case.

Post Analysis of Two Phase Natural Circulation Mass Flow Rate for CE-PECS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, R. J.; Ha, K. S.; Rhee, B. W.; Kim, H. Y.

2015-01-01

The coolant in the inclined channel absorbs the decay heat and sensible heat transferred from the corium through the structure of the core catcher body and flows up to the pool as a two phase mixture. On the other hand, some of the pool water will flow into the inlet of the downcomer piping, and will flow into the inclined cooling channel of the core catcher by gravity. The engineered cooling channel is designed to provide effective long-term cooling and stabilization of the corium mixture in the core catcher body while facilitating steam venting. To maintain the integrity of the ex-vessel core catcher, however, it is required that the coolant be circulated at a rate along the inclined cooling channel sufficient to avoid CHF (Critical Heat Flux) on the heating surface of the cooling channel. In this study, post simulations of two phase natural circulation in the CEPECS have been performed to evaluate two phase flow characteristics and the natural circulation mass flow rate in the flow channel using the RELAP5/MOD3 computer code. Post simulations of two phase natural circulation in the CE-PECS have been conducted to evaluate two phase flow characteristics and the natural circulation mass flow rate in the flow channel using the RELAP5/MOD3 computer code. The RELAP5/MOD3 results have shown that the water circulation mass flow rate is approximately 8.7 kg/s in the base case

A RELAP5 study to identify flow regime in natural circulation phenomenon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sabundjian, Gaiane; Torres, Walmir M.; Macedo, Luiz A.; Mesquita, Roberto N.; Andrade, Delvonei A.; Umbehaun, Pedro E.; Conti, Thadeu N.; Masotti, Paulo H.F.; Belchior Junior, Antonio; Angelo, Gabriel, E-mail: gdjian@ipen.b, E-mail: umbehaun@ipen.b, E-mail: wmtorres@ipen.b, E-mail: tnconti@ipen.b, E-mail: rnavarro@ipen.b, E-mail: lamacedo@ipen.b, E-mail: pmasotti@ipen.b, E-mail: abelchior@ipen.b [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)

2011-07-01

There has been a crescent interest in the scientific community in the study of natural circulation phenomenon. New generation of compact nuclear reactors uses the natural circulation of the fluid as a system of cooling and of residual heat removal in case of accident or shutdown. The objective of this paper is to compare the flow patterns of experimental data and numerical simulation for the natural circulation phenomenon in two-phase flow regime. An experimental circuit built with glass tubes is used for the experiments. Thus, it allows the thermal hydraulic phenomena visualization. There is an electric heater as the heat source, a heat exchanger as the heat sink and an expansion tank to accommodate fluid density excursions. The circuit instrumentation consists of thermocouples and pressure meters to better keep track of the flow and heat transfer phenomena. Data acquisition is performed through a computer interface developed with LABVIEW. The characteristic of the regime is identified using photography techniques. Numerical modeling and simulation is done with the thermal hydraulic code RELAP5, which is widely used for this purpose. This numerical simulation is capable to reproduce some of the flow regimes which are present in the circuit for the natural circulation phenomenon. Comparison between experimental and numerical simulation is presented in this work. (author)

An experimental approach to improve the basin type solar still using an integrated natural circulation loop

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rahmani, Ahmed; Boutriaa, Abdelouahab; Hadef, Amar

2015-01-01

Highlights: • A new experimental approach to improve the conventional solar still performances is proposed. • A passive natural circulation loop is integrated to the conventional solar still. • Natural circulation of humid-air in a closed loop is studied by the present study. • Natural circulation capability in driving air convection in the still was demonstrated. • Air convection created inside the still increase the evaporation heat and mass transfer. - Abstract: In this paper, a new experimental approach is proposed to enhance the performances of the conventional solar still using the natural circulation effect inside the still. The idea consists in generating air flow by a rectangular natural circulation loop appended to the rear side of the still. The proposed still was tested during summer period and the experimental data presented in this paper concerns four typical days. The convective heat transfer coefficient is evaluated and compared with Dunkle’s model. The comparison shows that convective heat transfer is considerably improved by the air convection created inside the still. The natural circulation phenomenon in the still is studied and a good agreement between the experimental data and Vijajan’s laminar correlation is found. Therefore, natural circulation phenomenon is found to have a good effect on the still performances where the still daily productivity is of 3.72 kg/m 2 and the maximum efficiency is of 45.15%

Capability of the RELAP5 code to simulate natural circulation behaviour in test facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mangal, Amit; Jain, Vikas; Nayak, A.K.

2011-01-01

In the present study, one of the extensively used best estimate code RELAP5 has been used for simulation of steady state, transient and stability behavior of natural circulation based experimental facilities, such as the High-Pressure Natural Circulation Loop (HPNCL) and the Parallel Channel Loop (PCL) installed and operating at BARC. The test data have been generated for a range of pressure, power and subcooling conditions. The computer code RELAP5/MOD3.2 was applied to predict the transient natural circulation characteristics under single-phase and two-phase conditions, thresholds of flow instability, amplitude and frequency of flow oscillations for different operating conditions of the loops. This paper presents the effect of nodalisation in prediction of natural circulation behavior in test facilities and a comparison of experimental data in with that of code predictions. The errors associated with the predictions are also characterized

Analysis of the natural circulation by the computer code RELAP-5

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kordis, I.; Mavko, B.; Zeljko, M.

1984-01-01

The analysis of the natural circulation is one of the first analysis that was done at IJS with the computer code RELAP 5/MOS 1/CY 018. Specific model of the system was made for the natural circulation. The first 400 s of the transient were analyzed. At that time pumps are rotating only by coolant flow. First results show quite realistic picture of the transient although some changes should be made, especially on the steam generator model due to the unrealistic oscillations of the coolant flow on the secondary side. (author)

Fundamental study on thermo-hydraulics during start-up in natural circulation boiling water reactors, (1)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aritomi, Masanori; Chiang Jing-Hsien; Takahashi, Tohru; Wataru, Masumi; Mori, Michitsugu.

1992-01-01

Recently, many concepts, in which passive and simplified functions are actively adapted, have been proposed for the next generation LWRs. The natural circulation BWR is one such considered from the requirements for next generation LWRs as compared with current BWRs. It is pointed out from this consideration that a thermo-hydraulic instability, which may appear during start-up, greatly influences concept feasibility because its occurence makes operation for raising power output difficult. Thermo-hydraulic instabilities are investigated experimentally under conditions simulating normal and abnormal start-up processes. It is clarified that three kinds of thermo-hydraulic instabilities may occur during start-up in the natural circulation BWR according to its procedure and reactor configuration, which are (1) geysering induced by condensation, (2) natural circulation instability induced by hydrostatic head fluctuation in steam separators and (3) density wave instability. Driving mechanisms of the geysering and the natural circulation instability, which have never understood enough, are inferred from the results. Finally, the difference of thermo-hydraulic behavior during start-up processes between thermal natural circulation boilers and the Dodewaard reactor is discussed. (author)

The development of natural circulation operation support program for ship nuclear power machinery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hao, Jianli; Chen, Wenzhen; Chen, Zhiyun

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► The natural circulation under various ocean and ship motion conditions is studied. ► A natural circulation operation support computer program (NCOSP) is developed with Simulink. ► The NCOSP program has the merit of easy input preparation, fast and accurate simulation. ► The NCOSP is suitable for the fast parameter simulation of ship nuclear power machinery. -- Abstract: The existing simulation program of ship nuclear power machinery (SNPM) cannot adequately deal with the natural circulation (NC) operation and the effects of various ocean conditions and ship motion. Aiming at the problem, the natural circulation operation support computer program for SNPM is developed, in which the momentum conservation equation of the primary loop, some heat transfer and flow resistance models and equations are modified for the various ocean conditions and ship motion. The additional pressure loss model and effective height model for the control volume in the gyration movement, simple harmonic rolling and pitching movements are also discussed in the paper. Furthermore, the transient response to load change under NC conditions is analyzed by the developed program. The results are compared with those predicted by the modified RELAP5/mod3.2 code. It is shown that the natural circulation operation support program (NCOSP) is simple in the input preparation, runs fast and has a satisfactory precision, and is therefore very suitable for the operating field support of SNPM under the conditions of NC.

Linear stability analysis of the gas injection augmented natural circulation of STAR-LM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yeon-Jong Yoo; Qiao Wu; James J Sienicki

2005-01-01

Full text of publication follows: A linear stability analysis has been performed for the gas injection augmented natural circulation of the Secure Transportable Autonomous Reactor - Liquid Metal (STAR-LM). Natural circulation is of great interest for the development of Generation-IV nuclear energy systems due to its vital role in the area of passive safety and reliability. One of such systems is STAR-LM under development by Argonne National Laboratory. STAR-LM is a 400 MWt class modular, proliferation-resistant, and passively safe liquid metal-cooled fast reactor system that uses inert lead (Pb) coolant and the advanced power conversion system that consists of a gas turbine Brayton cycle utilizing supercritical carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) to obtain higher plant efficiency. The primary loop of STAR-LM relies only on the natural circulation to eliminate the use of circulation pumps for passive safety consideration. To enhance the natural circulation of the primary coolant, STAR-LM optionally incorporates the additional driving force provided by the injection of noncondensable gas into the primary coolant above the reactor core, which is effective in removing heat from the core and transferring it to the secondary working fluid without the attainment of excessive coolant temperature at nominal operating power. Therefore, it naturally raises the concern about the natural circulation instability due to the relatively high temperature change in the core and the two-phase flow condition in the hot leg above the core. For the ease of analysis, the flow path of the loop was partitioned into five thermal-hydraulically distinct sections, i.e., heated core, unheated core, hot leg, heat exchanger, and cold leg. The one-dimensional single-phase flow field equations governing the natural circulation, i.e., continuity, momentum, and energy equations, were used for each section except the hot leg. For the hot leg, the one-dimensional homogeneous equilibrium two-phase flow field

Influence of reactor design on the establishment of natural circulation in pool-type LMFBR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Durham, M.E.

1976-01-01

The general principles involved in establishing natural circulation in a pool-type liquid metal cooled fast breeder reactor following loss of a.c. supplies are elucidated and the effects of design features by use of the computer code MELANI are quantified. It is shown that natural circulation can provide a feasible means of emergency core cooling in addition to that provided by pony motors. The choice of primary pump rundown time has a significant effect in controlling peak core outlet temperatures in the hypothetical case of natural circulation alone being the core heat removal process. (author)

Theoretical research for natural circulation operational characteristic of ship nuclear machinery under ocean conditions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yan Binghuo [Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering, Naval University of Engineering, Wuhan 430033 (China)], E-mail: yanbh1986@163.com; Yu Lei [Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering, Naval University of Engineering, Wuhan 430033 (China)], E-mail: yulei301@163.com

2009-06-15

Based on the two-phase drift flux model and the multi-pressure nodes matrix solving method, natural circulation thermal hydraulic analysis models for the Nuclear Machinery (NM) under ocean conditions are developed. The neutron physical activities and the responses of the reactivity control systems are described by the two-group, 3-dimensional space and time dependent neutron kinetics model. Reactivity feedback is calculated by coupling the neutron physics and thermal hydraulic codes, and is tested by comparison with experiments. Using the models developed, the natural circulation operating characteristics of NM in rolling and pitching motions and the transitions between forced circulation (FC) to natural circulation (NC) are analyzed. The results show that the influence of the rolling motion increases as the rolling amplitude is increased, and as the rolling period becomes shorter. The results also show that for this NM, with the same rolling period and rolling angle, the influence of pitching motion on natural circulation is greater than that of rolling motion. Furthermore, the oscillation period for pitching motion is the same as the pitching period, while the oscillation period for rolling is one half of the rolling period. In the ocean environment, excessive flow oscillation of the natural circulation may cause the control rods to respond so frequently that the NM would not be able to realize the transition from the FC to NC steadily. However, the influence of ocean environment on the transition from NC to FC is limited.

Calculation of reverse flow in inverted U-Tubes of steam generator during natural circulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Ruichang; Liu Jinggong; Liu Ruolei; Qin Shiwei; Huang Yanping

2010-01-01

The mechanism of reverse flow in inverted U-tubes of steam generators of pressurized water reactors during natural circulation is analyzed by using the full range characteristic curve of parallel U-tubes. A lumped-distributed model to calculate the reverse flow occurred in inverted U-tubes of real steam generators with a large number of U-tubes during natural circulation is developed. The model has the advantages of quick calculation and high accuracy for the analysis of reverse flow in inverted U-tubes of real steam generators with natural circulation. This model has been used to calculate the normal and reverse flows occurred in inverted U-tubes of a steam generator with natural circulation. The comparison of calculated results indicates a well agreement with that predicted by the model in which normal or reverse flow in each individual U-tube is analyzed, which verifies the reliability of the model developed in this paper. (authors)

Study of turbulent natural-circulation flow and low-Prandtl-number forced-convection flow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chung, K.S.; Thompson, D.H.

1980-01-01

Calculational methods and results are discussed for the coupled energy and momentum equations of turbulent natural circulation flow and low Prandtl number forced convection flow. The objective of this paper is to develop a calculational method for the study of the thermal-hydraulic behavior of coolant flowing in a liquid metal fast breeder reactor channel under natural circulation conditions. The two-equation turbulence model is used to evaluate the turbulent momentum transport property. Because the analogy between momentum transfer and heat transfer does not generally hold for low Prandtl number fluid and natural circulation flow conditions, the turbulent thermal conductivity is calculated independently using equations similar to the two-equation turbulence model. The numerical technique used in the calculation is the finite element method

Study on operational aspect of natural circulation HLMC reactor (1)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sienicki, J.J.; Cahalan, J.E.; Spencer, B.W.

2000-08-01

The concept of a heavy liquid metal cooled fast reactor that achieves 100% natural circulation heat removal from the core has the potential to attain improved cost competitiveness through extreme simplification, proliferation resistance, and heightened passive safety. The concept offers the potential for simplifications in plant control strategies wherein inherent reactor feedbacks may restore balance between energy release and heat removal from the reactor during operation as well as providing passive reactivity shutdown in the event of transients involving failure to scram. This study was initiated to evaluate the operational characteristics of the 100% natural circulation reactor under normal and transient states using a plant dynamics analysis computer code and to seek design and operational optimization of the concept. In the current Phase I of the project, the stage for the overall study has been prepared. A coupled thermal hydraulics-kinetics plant dynamics analysis code has been developed/modified that has the capabilities to calculate operational and accident transients. Code input has been prepared for the heavy liquid metal cooled natural circulation reactor concept. A preliminary analysis using the plant dynamics code and its input to calculate three illustrative cases relevant to initial startup, shutdown following long-term operation, and change in turbine load demonstrates the capability to analyze typical transient cases. (author)

Experimental and theoretical studies in Molten Salt Natural Circulation Loop (MSNCL)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Srivastava, A.K.; Borgohain, A.; Jana, S.S.; Bagul, R.K.; Singh, R.R.; Maheshwari, N.K.; Belokar, D.G.; Vijayan, P.K.

2014-12-01

High Temperature Reactors (HTR) and solar thermal power plants use molten salt as a coolant, as it has low melting point and high boiling point, enabling us to operate the system at low pressure. Molten fluoride salt and molten nitrate salt are proposed as a candidate coolant for High Temperature Reactors (HTR) and solar power plant respectively. BARC is developing a 600 MWth pebble bed high temperature reactor, cooled by natural circulation of fluoride salt and capable of supplying process heat at 1000°C to facilitate hydrogen production by splitting water. Beside this, BARC is also developing a 2MWe solar power tower system using molten nitrate salt. With these requirements, a Molten Salt Natural Circulation Loop (MSNCL) has been designed, fabricated, installed and commissioned in Hall-7, BARC for thermal hydraulic, instrumentation development and material compatibility related studies. Steady state natural circulation experiments with molten nitrate salt (mixture of NaNO 3 and KNO 3 in 60:40 ratio) have been carried out in the loop at different power level. Various transients viz. startup of natural circulation, step power change, loss of heat sink and heater trip has also been studied in the loop. A well known steady state correlation given by Vijayan et. al. has been compared with experimental data. In-house developed code LeBENC has also been validated against all steady state and transient experimental results. The detailed description of MSNCL, steady state and transient experimental results and validation of in-house developed code LeBENC have been described in this report. (author)

Stability analysis for single-phase liquid metal rectangular natural circulation loops

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu, Daogang; Zhang, Xun; Guo, Chao

2014-01-01

Highlights: • The stability for asymmetric liquid metal natural circulation loops is analyzed. • The Na and NaK loops have higher critical Reynolds number than Pb and LBE loops. • Decreasing the ratio of height to width of loop can increase loop stability. • The length of heater would not affect the loop stability obviously. • Adding the length or heat transfer coefficient of cooler can increase loop stability. - Abstract: Natural circulation systems are preferred in some advanced nuclear power plants as they can simplify the designs and improve the inherent safety. The stability and steady-state characteristics of natural circulation are important for the applications of natural circulation loops (NCLs). A linear stability analysis method was used to study the stability behavior of liquid metal NCLs. The influences of the types of working fluids and loop geometry parameters on the stability of NCLs were evaluated. The liquid sodium (Na) loop and sodium–potassium alloy (NaK) loop would be more stable than lead bismuth eutectics (LBE) loop. The pressure drop could stabilize the loop behavior and also lead an increase of operating temperature for the loop. The NCL with a lower aspect ratio (ratio of vertical center distance between the heating and cooling section to the horizontal length of loop) is supposed to be more stable. It was found that the length of heating section would not have an obvious effect on the stability of NCL. However, the loop behavior could be stabilized by adding the length or heat transfer coefficient of the cooling section

Thermal hydraulic phenomenology for the heating process in a natural circulation facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Torres, Walmir M.; Macedo, Luiz A.; Mesquita, Roberto N.; Masotti, Paulo Henrique F.; Libardi, Rosani Maria P.; Sabundjian, Gaiane; Andrade, Delvonei A.; Umbehaun, Pedro Ernesto; Conti, Thadeu N.; Silva Filho, Mauro F.S.; Melo, Gabriel R.

2009-01-01

This work describes thermal hydraulic phenomenology observed for the heating process in a natural circulation facility. Glass made circuit allows observations of the thermal hydraulic processes over several regions. Natural convection, natural circulation, nucleated sub-cooled, saturated boiling and some flow patterns such as, bubbly, slug and churn flow are observed and described. Facility heated and cooled parts are responsible for the natural circulation when in operation. An expansion tank accommodates the fluid density variations due to the temperature changes and void fraction. Instrumentation consists of thermocouples distributed along the circuit. Two differential pressure transducers are used for pressure and level measurements. Instrumentation signals and images are simultaneously acquired to help with phenomenon description. A CCD digital camera at a 250μs shutter speed is used for the images acquisition. Phenomenology described is based on a test under 1.1 x 10 5 W/m 2 of heat flux which corresponds to an electrical heater power of 7000 W and 0.0236 kg/s (85 l/h) of cooling flow rate. (author)

Improving performance of two-phase natural circulation loops by reducing of entropy generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goudarzi, N.; Talebi, S.

2015-01-01

This paper aims to investigate the effects of various parameters on stability behavior and entropy generation through a two-phase natural circulation loop. Two-phase natural circulation systems have low driving head and, consequently, low heat removal capability. To have a higher thermodynamic efficiency, in addition to the stability analysis, minimization of entropy generation by loop should be taken into account in the design of these systems. In the present study, to investigate the stability behavior, the non-linear method (known as the direct solution method or time domain method) which is able to simulate the uniform and non-uniform diameter loops, was applied. To best calculate entropy generation rates, the governing equations of the entropy generation were solved analytically. The effects of various parameters such as operating conditions and geometrical dimensions on the stability behavior and the entropy generation in the two-phase natural circulation loop were then analyzed. - Highlights: • Effects of all important parameters on entropy generation of a loop are studied. • The governing equations of the entropy generation are solved analytically. • Effects of all important parameters on stability of a loop are investigated. • Improvement of two-phase natural circulation loop is investigated.

Experiments on natural circulation during PWR severe accidents and their analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sehgal, B.R.; Stewart, W.A.; Sha, W.T.

1988-01-01

Buoyancy-induced natural circulation flows will occur during the early-part of PWR high pressure accident scenarios. These flows affect several key parameters; in particular, the course of such accidents will most probably change due to local failures occurring in the primary coolant system (CS) before substantial core degradation. Natural circulation flow patterns were measured in a one-seventh scale PWR PCS facility at Westinghouse RandD laboratories. The measured flow and temperature distributions are report in this paper. The experiments were analyzed with the COMMIX code and good agreement was obtained between data and calculations. 10 refs., 8 figs., 2 tabs

Study of core flow distribution for small modular natural circulation lead or lead-alloy cooled fast reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Zhao; Zhao, Pengcheng; Zhou, Guangming; Chen, Hongli

2014-01-01

Highlights: • A core flow distribution calculation code for natural circulation LFRs was developed. • The comparison study between the channel method and the CFD method was conducted. • The core flow distribution analysis and optimization design for a 10MW natural circulation LFR was conducted. - Abstract: Small modular natural circulation lead or lead-alloy cooled fast reactor (LFR) is a potential candidate for LFR development. It has many attractive advantages such as reduced capital costs and inherent safety. The core flow distribution calculation is an important issue for nuclear reactor design, which will provide important input parameters to thermal-hydraulic analysis and safety analysis. The core flow distribution calculation of a natural circulation LFR is different from that of a forced circulation reactor. In a forced circulation reactor, the core flow distribution can be controlled and adjusted by the pump power and the flow distributor, while in a natural circulation reactor, the core flow distribution is automatically adjusted according to the relationship between the local power and the local resistance feature. In this paper, a non-uniform heated parallel channel flow distribution calculation code was developed and the comparison study between the channel method and the CFD method was carried out to assess the exactness of the developed code. The core flow distribution analysis and optimization design for a 10MW natural circulation LFR was conducted using the developed code. A core flow distribution optimization design scheme for a 10MW natural circulation LFR was proposed according to the optimization analysis results

Experimental results and thermodynamic analysis of a natural gas small scale cogeneration plant for power and refrigeration purposes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bazzo, Edson; Nacif de Carvalho, Alvaro; Matelli, José Alexandre

2013-01-01

In this work, experimental results are reported for a small scale cogeneration plant for power and refrigeration purposes. The plant includes a natural gas microturbine and an ammonia/water absorption chiller fired by steam. The system was tested under different turbine loads, steam pressures and chiller outlet temperatures. An evaluation based on the 1st and 2nd Laws of Thermodynamics was also performed. For the ambient temperature around 24 °C and microturbine at full load, the plant is able to provide 19 kW of saturated steam at 5.3 bar (161 °C), corresponding to 9.2 kW of refrigeration at −5 °C (COP = 0.44). From a 2nd law point-of-view, it was found that there is an optimal chiller outlet temperature that maximizes the chiller exergetic efficiency. As expected, the microturbine presented the highest irreversibilities, followed by the absorption chiller and the HRSG. In order to reduce the plant exergy destruction, it is recommended a new design for the HRSG and a new insulation for the exhaust pipe. -- Highlights: • A small scale cogeneration plant for power and refrigeration is proposed and analyzed. • The plant is based on a microturbine and a modified absorption chiller. • The plant is analysed based on 1st and 2nd laws of thermodynamics. • Experimental results are found for different power and refrigeration conditions. • The plant proved to be technically feasible

Stability of single-phase natural circulation with inverted U-tube steam generators

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sanders, J.

1988-08-01

For natural circulation it is shown that parallel flow in the tubes of an inverted U-tube stream generator can be, at certain power levels, unstable. A mathematical model, based on one-dimensional Oberbeck-Boussinesq equations, shows that stability can be attained if in some tubes the water flows backward, opposite to the normal flow direction. The results are compared to measurements obtained from the natural circulation test A2-77A in the LOBI-MOD2 integral system test facility.

Assessment of CATHARE2 V1.5qR6 using the experimental data of BETHSY natural circulation tests

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang Yanping; Jia Dounan

2003-01-01

The assessment of CATHARE2 V1.5qR6 is carried out against the experimental data of BETHSY natural circulation test-4. 1a-TC. Results show that the experimental process under single phase natural circulation can be predicted very well by CATHARE2 V1.5qR6, the primary mass inventory at the transition points from single phase natural circulation to two-phase natural circulation and from two-phase natural circulation to reflux condensation mode are also predicted correctly. The predicted results for thermohydraulic parameters of two-phase natural circulation and reflux condensation mode are not so good. Generally speaking, the prediction capability of CATHARE2 V1.5 for strong and two-phase flow process should be improved further in future

Natural circulation under variable primary mass inventories at BETHSY facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bazin, P.; Clement, P.; Deruaz, R.

1989-01-01

BETHSY is a high pressure integral test facility which models a 3 loop Framatome PWR with the intent of studying PWR accidents. The BETHSY programme includes both accident transients and tests under successive steady state conditions. So far, tests of the latter type have been especially devoted to situations where natural circulation takes place in the primary coolant system (PCS). Tests 4.1a and 4.1a TC, the results of which are introduced, deal with PCS natural circulation patterns and related heat transport mechanisms under two different core power levels (2 and 5% of nominal power), variable primary mass inventory (100% to 30-40% according to core power) and at two different steam generator liquid levels (standard value and 1 meter). (orig.)

ARTI refrigerant database

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Calm, J.M.

1998-03-15

The Refrigerant Database is an information system on alternative refrigerants, associated lubricants, and their use in air conditioning and refrigeration. It consolidates and facilitates access to thermophysical properties, compatibility, environmental, safety, application and other information. It provides corresponding information on older refrigerants, to assist manufacturers and those using alternative refrigerants, to make comparisons and determine differences. The underlying purpose is to accelerate phase out of chemical compounds of environmental concern. The database provides bibliographic citations and abstracts for publications that may be useful in research and design of air conditioning and refrigeration equipment. It also references documents addressing compatibility of refrigerants and lubricants with other materials.

Analytical evaluation of two-phase natural circulation flow characteristics under external reactor vessel cooling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Jong Woon

2009-01-01

This work proposes an analytical method of evaluating the effects of design and operating parameters on the low-pressure two-phase natural circulation flow through the annular shaped gap at the reactor vessel exterior surface heated by corium (molten core) relocated to the reactor vessel lower plenum after loss of coolant accidents. A natural circulation flow velocity equation derived from steady-state mass, momentum, and energy conservation equations for homogeneous two-phase flow is numerically solved for the core melting conditions of the APR1400 reactor. The solution is compared with existing experiments which measured natural circulation flow through the annular gap slice model. Two kinds of parameters are considered for this analytical method. One is the thermal-hydraulic conditions such as thermal power of corium, pressure and inlet subcooling. The others are those for the thermal insulation system design for the purpose of providing natural circulation flow path outside the reactor vessel: inlet flow area, annular gap clearance and system resistance. A computer program NCIRC is developed for the numerical solution of the implicit flow velocity equation.

Evaluation of transient natural circulation behavior during accident in low power/shutdown condition of YGN units 3/4

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bang, Young Seok; Kim, Kap; Seul, Kwang Won; Kim, Hho Jung

1997-01-01

A transient natural circulation behavior during a LOCA at hot-standby operation is evaluated for YGN Units 3/4. The plant initial condition is determined within the EOP limitation as suitable to hot-standby mode and the transient scenario is prepared as relevant to evaluation of transient natural circulation. A 0.4% cold leg break with loss of off-site power is calculated with RELAP5/MOD3.2, whose predictability has been verified for SBLOCA natural circulation test, S-NC-8B. Through one hour transient analysis, it is found that the plant has its own decay heat removal capability by natural circulation following a LOCA at hot-standby mode. Additional calculation is performed to investigate an effect of HPSI flow on natural circulation

Analysis of Two Phase Natural Circulation Flow in the Cooling Channel of the PECS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, R. J; Ha, K. S; Rhee, B. W; Kim, H. Y [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2014-10-15

Decay heat and sensible heat of the relocated and spread corium are removed by the natural circulation flow at the bottom and side wall of the core catcher and the top water cooling of the corium. The coolant in the inclined channel absorbs the decay heat and sensible heat transferred from the corium through the structure of the core catcher body and flows up to the pool as a two phase mixture. On the other hand, some of the pool water will flow into the inlet of the downcomer piping, and will flow into the inclined cooling channel of the core catcher by gravity. As shown in Fig. 1, the engineered cooling channel is designed to provide effective long-term cooling and stabilization of the corium mixture in the core catcher body while facilitating steam venting in the PECS. To maintain the integrity of the ex-vessel core catcher, however, it is necessary that the coolant be sufficiently circulated along the inclined cooling channel to avoid CHF (Critical Heat Flux) on the heating surface of the cooling channel. For this reason, a verification experiment on the cooling capability of the EU-APR1400 core catcher has been performed in the CE (Cooling Experiment)-PECS facility at KAERI. Preliminary simulations of two-phase natural circulation in the CE-PECS were performed to predict two-phase flow characteristics and to determine the natural circulation mass flow rate in the flow channel. In this study, simulations of two-phase natural circulation in a real core catcher of the PECS have been performed to determine the natural circulation mass flow rate in the flow channel using the RELAP5/MOD3 computer code.

Two-phase natural circulation experiments in a pressurized water loop with CANDU geometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ardron, K.H.; Krishnan, V.S.; McGee, G.R.; Anderson, J.W.D.; Hawley, E.H.

1984-07-01

To provide information on two-phase natural circulation in a CANDU-type coolant circuit a series of tests has been performed in the RD-12 loop at the Whiteshell Nuclear Research Establishment. RD-12 is a 10-MPa pressurized-water loop containing two active boilers, two pumps, and two, or four, heated horizontal channels arranged in a symmetrical figure-of-eight configuration characteristic of the CANDU reactor primary heat-transport system. In the tests, single-phase natural circulation was established in the loop and void was introduced by controlled draining, with the surge tank (pressurizer) valved out of the system. The paper reviews the experimental results obtained and describes the evolution of natural circulation flow in particular cases as voidage is progressively increased. The stability behaviour is discussed briefly with reference to a simple stability model

Simulation methods of rocket fuel refrigerating with liquid nitrogen and intermediate heat carrier

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O. E. Denisov

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Temperature preparation of liquid propellant components (LPC before fueling the tanks of rocket and space technology is the one of the operations performed by ground technological complexes on cosmodromes. Refrigeration of high-boiling LPC is needed to increase its density and to create cold reserve for compensation of heat flows existing during fueling and prelaunch operations of space rockets.The method and results of simulation of LPC refrigeration in the recuperative heat exchangers with heat carrier which is refrigerated by-turn with liquid nitrogen sparging. The refrigerating system consists of two tanks (for the chilled coolant and LPC, LPC and heat carrier circulation loops with heat exchanger and system of heat carrier refrigeration in its tank with bubbler. Application of intermediate heat carrier between LPC and liquid nitrogen allows to avoid LPC crystallization on cold surfaces of the heat exchanger.Simulation of such systems performance is necessary to determine its basic design and functional parameters ensuring effective refrigerating of liquid propellant components, time and the amount of liquid nitrogen spent on refrigeration operation. Creating a simulator is quite complicated because of the need to take into consideration many different heat exchange processes occurring in the system. Also, to determine the influence of various parameters on occurring processes it is necessary to take into consideration the dependence of all heat exchange parameters on each other: heat emission coefficients, heat transfer coefficients, heat flow amounts, etc.The paper offers an overview of 10 references to foreign and Russian publications on separate issues and processes occurring in liquids refrigerating, including LPC refrigeration with liquid nitrogen. Concluded the need to define the LPC refrigerating conditions to minimize cost of liquid nitrogen. The experimental data presented in these publications is conformed with the application of

Simplified thermal-hydraulic analysis of single phase natural circulation circuit with two heat exchangers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pinheiro, Larissa Cunha; Su, Jian, E-mail: larissa@lasme.coppe.ufrj.br, E-mail: sujian@lasme.coppe.ufrj.br [Coordenacao dos Programas de Pos-Graduacao em Engenharia (COPPE/UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Programa de Engenhraria Nuclear; Cotta, Renato Machado, E-mail: cotta@mecanica.coppe.ufrj.br [Coordenacao dos Programas de Pos-Graduacao em Engenharia (POLI/COPPE/UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Dept. de Engenharia Mecanica

2015-07-01

Single phase natural circulation circuits composed of two convective heat exchangers and connecting tubes are important for the passive heat removal from spent fuel pools (SFP). To keep the structural integrity of the stored spent fuel assemblies, continuously cooling has to be provided in order to avoid increase at the pool temperature and subsequent uncovering of the fuel and enhanced reaction between water and metal releasing hydrogen. Decay heat can achieve considerably high amounts of energy e.g. in the AP1000, considering the emergency fuel assemblies, the maximum heat decay will reach 13 MW in the 15th day (Westinghouse Electric Company, 2010). A highly efficient alternative to do so is by means of natural circulation, which is cost-effective compared to active cooling systems and is inherently safer since presents less associated devices and no external work is required. Many researchers have investigated safety and stability aspects of natural circulation loops (NCL). However, there is a lack of literature concerning the improvement of NCL through a standard unified methodology, especially for natural circulation circuits with two heat exchangers. In the present study, a simplified thermal-hydraulic analysis of single phase natural circulation circuit with two heat exchanges is presented. Relevant dimensionless key groups were proposed to for the design and safety analysis of a scaled NCL for the cooling of spent fuel storage pool with convective cooling and heating. (author)

Experimental observations of natural circulation flow in the NSTF

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lisowski, Darius D., E-mail: dlisowski@anl.gov; Kraus, Adam R.; Bucknor, Matthew D.; Hu, Rui; Farmer, Mitch T.

2016-09-15

A 1/2 scale test facility has been constructed at Argonne National Laboratory to study the heat removal performance and natural circulation flow patterns in a Reactor Cavity Cooling System (RCCS). Our test facility, the Natural convection Shutdown heat removal Test Facility (NSTF), supports the broader goal of developing an inherently safe and fully passive ex-vessel decay heat removal for advanced reactor designs. The project, initiated in 2010 to support the Advanced Reactor Technologies (ART), Small Modular Reactor (SMR), and Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) programs, has been conducting experimental operations since early 2014. The following paper provides a summary of some primary design features of the 26-m tall test facility along with a description of the data acquisition suite that guides our experimental practices. Specifics of the distributed fiber optic temperature measurements will be discussed, which introduces an unparalleled level of data density that has never before been implemented in a large scale natural circulation test facility. Results from our test series will then be presented, which provide insight into the thermal hydraulic behavior at steady-state and transient conditions for varying heat flux levels and exhaust chimney configuration states.

ARTI refrigerant database

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Calm, J.M.

1997-02-01

The Refrigerant Database is an information system on alternative refrigerants, associated lubricants, and their use in air conditioning and refrigeration. It consolidates and facilitates access to property, compatibility, environmental, safety, application and other information. It provides corresponding information on older refrigerants, to assist manufacturers and those using alterative refrigerants, to make comparisons and determine differences. The underlying purpose is to accelerate phase out of chemical compounds of environmental concern. The database provides bibliographic citations and abstracts for publications that may be useful in research and design of air-conditioning and refrigeration equipment. The complete documents are not included, though some may be added at a later date. The database identifies sources of specific information on various refrigerants. It addresses lubricants including alkylbenzene, polyalkylene glycol, polyolester, and other synthetics as well as mineral oils. It also references documents addressing compatibility of refrigerants and lubricants with metals, plastics, elastomers, motor insulation, and other materials used in refrigerant circuits. Incomplete citations or abstracts are provided for some documents. They are included to accelerate availability of the information and will be completed or replaced in future updates.

Development of the APR1400 model for countercurrent natural circulation in hot leg and steam generator under station blackout

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Sang Gil; Kim, Han Chul

2012-01-01

In order to analyze severe accident phenomena, Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS) made a MELCOR model for APR1400 to examine natural circulation and creep rupture failure in the Reactor Coolant System (RCS) under station blackout (SBO). In this study, we are trying to advance the former model to describe natural circulation more accurately. After Fukushima accident, the concerns of severe accident management, assuring the heat removal capability, has risen for the case when the SBO is happened and there are no more electric powers to cool down decay heat. Under SBO there are three kinds of natural circulation which can delay the core heatup. One is in vessel natural circulation in the upper plenum of reactor vessel and the second is countercurrent natural circulation in hot leg through steam generator tubes and the last is full loop natural circulation when the reactor coolant pump loop seal is cleared and reactor coolant pump sealing is damaged by high temperature and high pressure. Among them this study focuses on the countercurrent natural circulation model using MELCOR1.8.6

Development of essential system technologies for advanced reactor - Development of natural circulation analysis code for integral reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Goon Cherl; Park, Ik Gyu; Kim, Jae Hak; Lee, Sang Min; Kim, Tae Wan [Seoul National University, Seoul (Korea)

1999-04-01

The objective of this study is to understand the natural circulation characteristics of integral type reactors and to develope the natural circulation analysis code for integral type reactors. This study is focused on the asymmetric 3-dimensional flow during natural circulation such as 1/4 steam generator section isolation and the inclination of the reactor systems. Natural circulation experiments were done using small-scale facilities of integral reactor SMART (System-Integrated Modular Advanced ReacTor). CFX4 code was used to investigate the flow patterns and thermal mixing phenomena in upper pressure header and downcomer. Differences between normal operation of all steam generators and the 1/4 section isolation conditions were observed and the results were used as the data 1/4 section isolation conditions were observed and the results were used as the data for RETRAN-03/INT code validation. RETRAN-03 code was modified for the development of natural circulation analysis code for integral type reactors, which was development of natural circulation analysis code for integral type reactors, which was named as RETRAN-03/INT. 3-dimensional analysis models for asymmetric flow in integral type reactors were developed using vector momentum equations in RETRAN-03. Analysis results using RETRAN-03/INT were compared with experimental and CFX4 analysis results and showed good agreements. The natural circulation characteristics obtained in this study will provide the important and fundamental design features for the future small and medium integral reactors. (author). 29 refs., 75 figs., 18 tabs.

ARTI refrigerant database

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Calm, J.M. [Calm (James M.), Great Falls, VA (United States)

1999-01-01

The Refrigerant Database is an information system on alternative refrigerants, associated lubricants, and their use in air conditioning and refrigeration. It consolidates and facilities access to property, compatibility, environmental, safety, application and other information. It provides corresponding information on older refrigerants, to assist manufacturers and those using alternative refrigerants, to make comparisons and determine differences. The underlying purpose is to accelerate phase out of chemical compounds of environmental concern.

ARTI refrigerant database

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Calm, J.M.

1996-07-01

The Refrigerant Database is an information system on alternative refrigerants, associated lubricants, and their use in air conditioning and refrigeration. It consolidates and facilitates access to property, compatibility, environmental, safety, application and other information. It provides corresponding information on older refrigerants, to assist manufacturers and those using alternative refrigerants, to make comparisons and determine differences. The underlying purpose is to accelerate phase out of chemical compounds of environmental concern.

ARTI refrigerant database

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Calm, J.M.

1996-11-15

The Refrigerant Database is an information system on alternative refrigerants, associated lubricants, and their use in air conditioning and refrigeration. It consolidates and facilitates access to property, compatibility, environmental, safety, application and other information. It provides corresponding information on older refrigerants, to assist manufacturers and those using alternative refrigerants, to make comparisons and determine differences. The underlying purpose is to accelerate phase out of chemical compounds of environmental concern.

New possibilities for non-CFC refrigeration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lorentzen, G.; Pettersen, J.

1992-01-01

There is a widespread belief that the only viable refrigerants in most applications are new fluorocarbon chemicals. This trend will eventually result in emissions of several hundred thousand tons of new chemicals to the atmosphere each year, involving potential risk of unforeseen environmental effects. A number of other options exist, or may be developed. By using substances which already have a natural role in our ecosystems, some uncertainty related to the critical issue of our future environment can be avoided. By development and practical testing of a laboratory prototype it has been documented that carbon dioxide is a viable refrigerant in automobile air conditioners, completely solving all environmental problems associated with such systems. General use of CO 2 as a refrigerant may provide a number of advantages in the present situation, both from an environmental and practical point of view. It is our considered opinion that the old carbon dioxide offers a key to the complete solution of the environmental problems in many areas of refrigeration usage. 19 refs., 8 figs., 5 tabs

Natural circulation of integrated-type marine reactor at inclined attitude

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iyori, Isao; Aya, Izuo; Murata, Hiroyuki; Kobayashi, Michiyuki; Nariai, Hideki

1987-01-01

A steady-state single-phase natural circulation test was performed to clarify the effect of inclination by using a model of an integrated-type marine reactor. It was found that several types of flow pattern occur in the natural circulation loop corresponding to the range of inclination angle. Stable flow rates are sustained up to near 90 0 because of the occurrence of a driving force arising from those sections of the facility which were horizontal before the inclination. It was found that the temperature distribution in the steam generator at inclined attitude depends essentially only on the elevation z. The applicability of a one-dimensional analytical model was examined. It was clarified that employment of detailed U-turn flow paths, their correlation, and temperature-distribution function of core is essential for improvement. (orig.)

Theoretical investigation on the steady-state natural circulation characteristics of a new type of pressurized water reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gou Junli; Qiu Suizheng; Su Guanghui; Jia Dounan

2006-01-01

This article presents a theoretical investigation on the steady-state natural circulation characteristics of a new type of pressurized water reactor. Through numerically solving the one-dimensional steady-state single-phase conservative equations for the primary circuit and the steady-state two-phase drift-flux conservative equations for the secondary side of the steam generator, the natural circulation characteristics were studied. On the basis of the preliminary calculation analysis, it was found that natural circulation mass flow rate was proportional to the exponential function of the power and that the value of the exponent is related to the operating conditions of the secondary side of the steam generator. The higher the outlet pressure of the secondary side of the steam generator, the higher the primary natural circulation mass flow rate. The larger height difference between the core center and the steam generator center is favorable for the heat removal capacity of the natural circulation. (authors)

Functional Analysis of the Distribution Box of the KSTAR Helium Refrigerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, H. S.; Kim, Y. S.; Bak, J. S.

2005-01-01

KSTAR (Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research) is a tokamak device with 30 superconducting (SC) magnet coils. The main duty of the KSTAR helium refrigerator is to keep all cold components of KSTAR (SC magnet coils, magnet structures, SC bus-lines, current lead system, and thermal shields) at suitable temperatures in order to operate the SC magnet coils consistent with the operation scenario of KSTAR. A distribution box (D/B) which is equipped with helium-property-measuring sensors, cryogenic valves (CV's), cryogenic circulators, and heat exchangers (HX's) submerged in a huge liquid helium (LHe) bath (thermal damper), intervenes the cryogenic helium via cryogenic transfer lines (TL's) between the refrigerator cold box (C/B) and the KSTAR cold components. The major functions of the D/B can be classified as listed below: i) Supplying the proper cryogen to the respective cold components of KSTAR during various operation modes (including the idle mode). ii) Cool/re-cool down of the KSTAR cold components from any temperature down to their operating cryogenic temperature within the constraints of time and temperature difference between the components. iii) Protection of the KSTAR cold components and refrigerator from damaging in case of probable abnormal events. iv) Simulation of the temporal variation of the thermal load and pressure drops occurring in the KSTAR cold components to pre-commission the refrigerator and test the cryogenic circulators. v) SC coil/bus-line cable-in-conduit conductor (CICC) cleaning. Since the helium flow in the thermal shields (TS's) is rather routine and the current lead (CL) system has its own helium distribution system, in this proceeding mainly the supercritical helium (SHe) circuits of the SC magnets and bus-lines will be discussed

Proceedings of the 1993 non-fluorocarbon insulation, refrigeration and air conditioning technology workshop

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1994-09-01

Sessions included: HFC blown polyurethanes, carbon dioxide blown foam and extruded polystyrenes, plastic foam insulations, evacuated panel insulation, refrigeration and air conditioning, absorption and adsorption and stirling cycle refrigeration, innovative cooling technologies, and natural refrigerants. Selected papers have been indexed separately for inclusion in the Energy Science and Technology Database.

World's first ejector cycle for mobile refrigerators to stop global warming

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Takeuchi, Hirotsugu [Denso Corporation, Kariya (Japan); Gyoeroeg, Tibor [DENSO AUTOMOTIVE Deutschland GmbH, Eching (Germany)

2010-07-01

The development of energy-saving technologies is in great demand recently to stop global warming. We are committed to developing the Ejector Cycle as an energy-saving technology for refrigerators and air conditioners. The ejector, which is an energy-saving technological innovation, improves the efficiency of the refrigeration cycle by effectively using the expansion energy that is lost in the conventional vapor-compression cycle, and is applicable to almost all vapor-compression refrigerating air conditioners, thus improving the efficiency of the refrigeration cycle. Concerning the application of the Ejector Cycle in truck-transport refrigerators, we released Ejector Cycle products for large and medium-size freezer trucks, which have been favorably accepted by customers in 2003. Simultaneously we also developed the domestic water supply system using heat pump with natural refrigerant (CO{sub 2}). We developed a new Ejector Cycle, completed in 2007 a cool box which uses the refrigeration cycle of the mobile air-conditioning system to cool drinks and the commercial compact refrigerator. In 2008 a domestic water supply heat pump system using a heat pump with the natural refrigerant CO{sub 2} and the next-generation Ejector Cycle II that substantially improves performance was brought to the market. A new generation of Ejector Cycle is under development which will significantly improve the efficiency of mobile air conditioning systems (orig.)

Experiences with loss of natural circulation events, performed experiments, analysis, computations and development of operational documents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nagy, L.; Varju, A.; Nagy, S.

1996-01-01

The refuelling of the unit 4 was started on 18 June, 1988. At the time of the event the reactor was in cold shutdown state, with atmospheric pressure, the reactor head was removed. On June 30 the operational personnel performed a planned switch over of natural circulation from loops 4, 6 to loops 1, 3. In the meantime the effectiveness of the core cooling by natural circulation decreased sharply for about 3 hour-period. After switching over the natural circulation among the loops the operating personnel isolated the loops 4., 6. and started to drain them. Nitrogen used to drain the loops was unintentionally injected into the loops in operation and large amount of primary coolant was pushed out from the SG primary side to the reactor vessel. The operators tried to stop the disturbance of natural circulation by starting the booster pump of make-up system periodically to the working loops. During this injection the personnel performed venting few times to take away the gas-air mixture from the top of the SG primary headers. After all the restoration of the natural circulation was achieved by continuous venting the SG headers. During 1993 annual refuelling outage of Unit 2 at Paks NPP a deterioration of natural circulation in reactor coolant system occurred. A special maintenance task was being performed to repair the cladding of the sealing bellows between the reactor vessel and reactor cavity

Research on enhancement of natural circulation capability in lead–bismuth alloy cooled reactor by using gas-lift pump

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zuo, Juanli, E-mail: Jenyzuo@163.com; Tian, Wenxi, E-mail: wxtian@mail.xjtu.edu.cn; Chen, Ronghua, E-mail: ronghua.chen@stu.xjtu.edu.cn; Qiu, Suizheng; Su, Guanghui, E-mail: ghsu@mail.xjtu.edu.cn

2013-10-15

Highlights: • The gas-lift pump has been adopted to enhance the natural circulation capability. • LENAC code is developed in my study. • The calculation results by LENAC code show good agreement with experiment results. • Gas mass flow rate, bubble diameter, rising pipe length are important parameters. -- Abstract: The gas-lift pump has been adopted to enhance the natural circulation capability in the type of lead–bismuth alloy cooled reactors such as Accelerator Driven System (ADS) and Liquid–metal Fast Reactor (LMFR). The natural circulation ability and the system safety are obviously influenced by the two phase flow characteristics of liquid metal–inert gas. In this study, LENAC (LEad bismuth alloy NAtural Circulation capability) code has been developed to evaluate the natural circulation capability of lead–bismuth cooled ADS with gas-lift pump. The drift flow theory, void fraction prediction model and friction pressure drop prediction model have been incorporated into LENAC code. The calculation results by LENAC code show good agreement with experiment results of CIRCulation Experiment (CIRCE) facility. The effects of the gas mass flow rate, void fraction, gas quality, bubble diameter and the rising pipe height or the potential difference between heat exchanger and reactor core on natural circulation capability of gas-lift pump have been analyzed. The results showed that in bubbly flow pattern, for a fixed value of gas mass flow rate, the natural circulation capability increased with the decrease of the bubble diameter. In the bubbly flow, slug flow, churn flow and annular flow pattern, with the gas mass flow rate increasing, the natural circulation capability initially increased and then declined. And the flow parameters influenced the thermal hydraulic characteristics of the reactor core significantly. The present work is helpful for revealing the law of enhancing the natural circulation capability by gas-lift pump, and providing theoretical

Exergetic analysis of refrigeration system of the Pelletron-Linac particle accelerator of the University of Sao Paulo

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oliveira Filho, O.B. de

1993-01-01

The Pelletron-Linac accelerator of the University of Sao Paulo will use the existing electrostatic Pelletron accelerator as an injector for the linear superconducting accelerator (Linac), to increase the acceleration of the particles. The Linac uses a forced flow circulation helium system to promote continuous refrigeration for long periods of time, at temperatures below or equal to 4,9 K. This paper shows the exergetic analysis of the Pelletron-linac refrigerator, identifying the main sources of irreversibilities and evaluating energetic consumption of the system. An exergy-enthalpy diagram for the helium shows the thermodynamic processes that take place in the refrigeration plant and the exergy losses. (author)

A novel start-up procedure for natural-circulation boiling water reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Annalisa Manera; Frank Schaefer

2005-01-01

Full text of publication follows: The elimination of recirculation pumps and associated systems, as proposed for natural-circulation Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs), allow a great simplification in the design of BWRs. On the other hand, it has been shown both experimentally and analytically that such a new reactor configuration makes the system susceptible to thermal-hydraulic instabilities during the start-up phase (so-called flashing-induced instabilities). Therefore, appropriate start-up procedures have to be planned to avoid instabilities in natural-circulation BWRs. Not many proposals of start-up procedures for natural-circulation BWRs are reported in literature, but all authors agree on the fact that the system should be pressurized before the transition to two-phase circulation is allowed. Nayak [1] and Jiang and coauthors [2] proposed to externally pressurize the system by injecting in the pressure vessel respectively steam produced in a separate boiler or nitrogen. Once the pressure in the reactor vessel is high enough, the reactor power can be increased to achieve two-phase natural circulation. Unfortunately, the procedure suggested by Nayak requires an external boiler of adequate volume and power and the related connecting piping to the reactor vessel, while the procedure suggested by Jiang and coauthors requires an additional system for the nitrogen storage and the related connecting piping to the reactor vessel. The external pressurization does not accomplish to the requirements of simplicity that are at the very base of natural circulation BWRs design and it is thus not recommendable. Cheung and Rao [3] suggested a start-up procedure in which the reactor is first filled with water at 80 deg. C at a pressure of 0.55 bar. The reactor is made critical and is pressurized in conditions of single-phase circulation up to a pressure of 63 bar. At this pressure a sudden transition to two-phase operation is achieved by opening the MSIVs (Main Steam Isolation

ARTI refrigerant database

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Calm, J.M. [Calm (James M.), Great Falls, VA (United States)

1996-04-15

The Refrigerant Database is an information system on alternative refrigerants, associated lubricants, and their use in air conditioning and refrigeration. It consolidates and facilitates access to property, compatibility, environmental, safety, application and other information. It provides corresponding information on older refrigerants, to assist manufacturers and those using alternative refrigerants, to make comparisons and determine differences. The underlying purpose is to accelerate phase out of chemical compounds of environmental concern. The database provides bibliographic citations and abstracts for publications that may be useful in research and design of air-conditioning and refrigeration equipment. The complete documents are not included, though some may be added at a later date. The database identifies sources of specific information on refrigerants. It addresses lubricants including alkylbenzene, polyalkylene glycol, polyolester, and other synthetics as well as mineral oils. It also references documents addressing compatibility of refrigerants and lubricants with metals, plastics, elastomers, motor insulation, and other materials used in refrigerant circuits. Incomplete citations or abstracts are provided for some documents. They are included to accelerate availability of the information and will be completed or replaced in future updates. Citations in this report are divided into the following topics: thermophysical properties; materials compatibility; lubricants and tribology; application data; safety; test and analysis methods; impacts; regulatory actions; substitute refrigerants; identification; absorption and adsorption; research programs; and miscellaneous documents. Information is also presented on ordering instructions for the computerized version.

Investigation of pressure drop in capillary tube for mixed refrigerant Joule-Thomson cryocooler

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ardhapurkar, P. M.; Sridharan, Arunkumar; Atrey, M. D.

2014-01-01

A capillary tube is commonly used in small capacity refrigeration and air-conditioning systems. It is also a preferred expansion device in mixed refrigerant Joule-Thomson (MR J-T) cryocoolers, since it is inexpensive and simple in configuration. However, the flow inside a capillary tube is complex, since flashing process that occurs in case of refrigeration and air-conditioning systems is metastable. A mixture of refrigerants such as nitrogen, methane, ethane, propane and iso-butane expands below its inversion temperature in the capillary tube of MR J-T cryocooler and reaches cryogenic temperature. The mass flow rate of refrigerant mixture circulating through capillary tube depends on the pressure difference across it. There are many empirical correlations which predict pressure drop across the capillary tube. However, they have not been tested for refrigerant mixtures and for operating conditions of the cryocooler. The present paper assesses the existing empirical correlations for predicting overall pressure drop across the capillary tube for the MR J-T cryocooler. The empirical correlations refer to homogeneous as well as separated flow models. Experiments are carried out to measure the overall pressure drop across the capillary tube for the cooler. Three different compositions of refrigerant mixture are used to study the pressure drop variations. The predicted overall pressure drop across the capillary tube is compared with the experimentally obtained value. The predictions obtained using homogeneous model show better match with the experimental results compared to separated flow models

Development and validation of natural circulation based systems for new WWER designs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kurakov, Y.A.; Dragunov, Y.G.; Podshibiakin, A.K.; Fil, N.S.; Logvinov, S.A.; Sitnik, Y.K.; Berkovich, V.M.; Taranov, G.S.

2002-01-01

Elaboration and introduction of NPP designs with improved technical and economic parameters are defined as an important element of the National Program of nuclear power development approved by the Russian Federation Government in 1998. This Program considers the designs of WWER-1000/V-392 and WWER-640/ V-407 power units as the priority projects of the new generation NPPs with increased safety. A number of passive systems based on natural circulation phenomena are used in V-392 and V-407 designs to prevent or mitigate severe accidents. Design basis, configuration and effect of some naturally driven systems of V-392 design sited at Novovoronezh are mainly reflected in the present paper. One of the most important mean for severe accident prevention in V-392 design is so called SPOT - passive heat removal system designed to remove core decay heat in case of station blackout (including failure of all diesel generators). This system extracts the steam from the steam generator, condenses it and returns water to steam generator by natural circulation. The SPOT heat exchangers are cooled by atmospheric air coming by natural circulation through a special direct action control gates which operate passively as well. Extensive experimental investigation of the different aspects of this system operation has been carried out to validate its functioning under real plant conditions. In particular, full-scale section of air heat exchanger-condenser has been tested with natural circulation steam, condensate and air paths modeled. The environment air temperature and steam pressure condensing were varied in the wide range, and the relevant experimental results are being discussed in this paper. The effect of wind velocity and direction to the containment is also checked by the experiments. (author)

ARTI refrigerant database

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Calm, J.M. [Calm (James M.), Great Falls, VA (United States)

1998-08-01

The Refrigerant Database is an information system on alternative refrigerants, associated lubricants, and their use in air conditioning and refrigeration. It consolidates and facilitates access to property, compatibility, environmental, safety, application and other information. It provides corresponding information on older refrigerants, to assist manufactures and those using alternative refrigerants, to make comparisons and determine differences. The underlying purpose is to accelerate phase out of chemical compounds of environmental concern. The database provides bibliographic citations and abstracts for publications that may be useful in research and design of air-conditioning and refrigeration equipment. The complete documents are not included, though some may be added at a later date. The database identifies sources of specific information on many refrigerants including propane, ammonia, water, carbon dioxide, propylene, ethers, and others as well as azeotropic and zeotropic blends of these fluids. It addresses lubricants including alkylbenzene, polyalkylene glycol, polyolester, and other synthetics as well as mineral oils. It also references documents addressing compatibility of refrigerants and lubricants with metals, plastics, elastomers, motor insulation, and other materials used in refrigerant circuits. Incomplete citations or abstracts are provided for some documents. They are included to accelerate availability of the information and will be completed or replaced in future updates.

Absorption Refrigeration Cycles with Ammonia-Ionic Liquid Working Pairs Studied by Molecular Simulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Becker, Tim M; Wang, Meng; Kabra, Abhishek; Jamali, Seyed Hossein; Ramdin, Mahinder; Dubbeldam, David; Infante Ferreira, Carlos A; Vlugt, Thijs J H

2018-04-18

For absorption refrigeration, it has been shown that ionic liquids have the potential to replace conventional working pairs. Due to the huge number of possibilities, conducting lab experiments to find the optimal ionic liquid is infeasible. Here, we provide a proof-of-principle study of an alternative computational approach. The required thermodynamic properties, i.e., solubility, heat capacity, and heat of absorption, are determined via molecular simulations. These properties are used in a model of the absorption refrigeration cycle to estimate the circulation ratio and the coefficient of performance. We selected two ionic liquids as absorbents: [emim][Tf 2 N], and [emim][SCN]. As refrigerant NH 3 was chosen due to its favorable operating range. The results are compared to the traditional approach in which parameters of a thermodynamic model are fitted to reproduce experimental data. The work shows that simulations can be used to predict the required thermodynamic properties to estimate the performance of absorption refrigeration cycles. However, high-quality force fields are required to accurately predict the cycle performance.

Absorption Refrigeration Cycles with Ammonia–Ionic Liquid Working Pairs Studied by Molecular Simulation

Science.gov (United States)

2018-01-01

For absorption refrigeration, it has been shown that ionic liquids have the potential to replace conventional working pairs. Due to the huge number of possibilities, conducting lab experiments to find the optimal ionic liquid is infeasible. Here, we provide a proof-of-principle study of an alternative computational approach. The required thermodynamic properties, i.e., solubility, heat capacity, and heat of absorption, are determined via molecular simulations. These properties are used in a model of the absorption refrigeration cycle to estimate the circulation ratio and the coefficient of performance. We selected two ionic liquids as absorbents: [emim][Tf2N], and [emim][SCN]. As refrigerant NH3 was chosen due to its favorable operating range. The results are compared to the traditional approach in which parameters of a thermodynamic model are fitted to reproduce experimental data. The work shows that simulations can be used to predict the required thermodynamic properties to estimate the performance of absorption refrigeration cycles. However, high-quality force fields are required to accurately predict the cycle performance. PMID:29749996

Feasibility analysis of the Primary Loop of Pool-Type Natural Circulating Nuclear Reactor Dedicated to Seawater Desalination

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jeong, Woonho; Jeong, Yong Hoon [KAIST, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-05-15

In this study, the feasibility of natural circulation was evaluated for the reference plant AHR400 (Advanced Heating Reactor 400MWth). AHR400 is a pool-type desalination-dedicated nuclear reactor. As a consequence, AHR400 has low operating pressure and temperature which provides large safety margin. Removal of the reactor coolant pump from the AHR400 will enforce integrity of the reactor vessel and passive safety feature. Therefore, the study also tried to find out optimized primary loop design to achieve total natural circulation of the coolant. Natural circulation capacity of the primary loop of the desalination dedicated nuclear reactor AHR400 was evaluated. It was concluded that to remove RCP from the AHR400 and operates the reactor only by natural circulation of the coolant is impossible. Decreased core power as half make removal of RCP possible with 15m central height difference between the core and IHXs. Furthermore, validation and modification of pressure loss coefficients by small-scaled natural circulation experiment at a pool-type reactor would provide more accurate results.

Numerical modeling of supercritical CO{sub 2} natural circulation loop

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Archana, V., E-mail: archanav@barc.gov.in [Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400 094 (India); Vaidya, A.M., E-mail: avaidya@barc.gov.in [Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400 085 (India); Vijayan, P.K., E-mail: vijayanp@barc.gov.in [Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400 085 (India)

2015-11-15

Highlights: • Supercritical CO{sub 2} natural circulation loop is modeled by in-house developed 1D and 2D axi-symmetric CFD codes. • Steady state characteristics of VHVC configuration of supercritical CO{sub 2} natural circulation loop are studied over a range of power. • Improved accuracy of predictions by 2D axi-symmetric formulation over 1D formulation is demonstrated. • The validity of correlations used in 1D model such as friction factor and heat transfer correlations is analyzed. • Simulation results shows normal, enhanced and deteriorated heat transfer regimes in supercritical CO{sub 2} natural circulation loop. - Abstract: The objective of this research project is to estimate steady state characteristics of supercritical natural circulation loop (SCNCL) using computational methodology and to compliment on-going experimental investigation of the same at the authors’ organization. For computational investigation, a couple of in-house codes are developed. At first, formulation and a corresponding computer program for the SCNCL based on conservation equations written in 1D framework is developed. Comparison of 1D code results with experimental data showed that, under some operating conditions, there is deviation between computed results and experimental data. To improve predictive capability, it was thought to model the SCNCL using conservation equations in 2D axi-symmetric framework. An existing 2D axi-symmetric code (named NAFA), which was developed and validated for supercritical fluid flow in pipes, is modified for natural circulation loop (NCL) geometry. The modified code, named NAFA-Loop, is subsequently used to compute the steady state characteristics of the SCNCL. These results are compared with experimental data. The steady state characteristics such as the variation of mass flow rate with power, velocity and temperature profiles in heater and cooler are studied using NAFA-Loop. The computed velocity and temperature fields show that the

Characterization of natural circulation looping of emergency cooling systems in naval and advanced reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Macedo, Luiz Alberto; Baptista Filho, Benedito Dias

2000-01-01

This paper describes the natural circuit looping, resumes the main project characteristics, presents results of the hydraulic characterization, consisting of pressure loss measurements, and presents results from calibration tests of the power and flow measurements and the first experiments in natural circulation. Those experiments comprised transients in natural circulation with application of application of power steps. The results shown a non linear behaviour of the magnetic flow meter and a dependence on the fluid temperature as well. The assembly circuit/instrumentation/data acquisition system is suitable for the research on emergency cooling passive systems

FUZZY THERMOECONOMIC APPROACH TO NANOFLUID SELECTION IN VAPOR COMPRESSION REFRIGERATION CYCLE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. Kuleshov

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The working fluid selection in the vapour compression refrigeration cycles has been studied as a fuzzy thermoeconomic optimization problem. Three criteria: thermodynamic (COP Coefficient Of Performance, economic (LCC Life Cycle Cost, and ecologic (GWP – Global Warming Potential are chosen as target functions. The decision variables X as an information characteristics of desired refrigerant are presented by its critical parameters and normal boiling temperature. Local criteria are expressed via thermodynamic properties restored from information characteristics of refrigerant X, as well as life cycle costs are calculated by the standard economic relationships. GWP values are taken from the refrigerant database. Class of substances under consideration is presented by the natural refrigerant R600a embedded with nanostructured materials.

Coolant rate distribution in horizontal steam generator under natural circulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blagovechtchenski, A.; Leontieva, V.; Mitrioukhin, A.

1997-01-01

In the presentation the major factors determining the conditions of NCC (Natural Coolant Circulation) in the primary circuit and in particular conditions of coolant rate distribution on the horizontal tubes of PGV-1000 in NPP with VVER-1000 under NCC are considered

Experimental study of natural circulation flow instability in rectangular channels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhou, Tao; Qi, Shi; Song, Mingqiang [North China Electric Power Univ., Beijing (China). School of Nuclear Science and Engineering; Passive Nuclear Safety Technology, Beijing (China). Beijing Key Lab.; Xiao, Zejun [Nuclear, Reactor Thermal Hydraulics Technology, Chengdu (China). CNNC Key Lab.

2017-05-15

Experiments of natural circulation flow instability were conducted in rectangular channels with 5 mm and 10 mm wide gaps. Results for different heating powers were obtained. The results showed that the flow will tend to be instable with the growing of heating power. The oscillation period of pressure D-value and volume flow are the same, but their phase positions are opposite. They both can be described by trigonometric functions. The existence of edge position and secondary flow will strengthen the disturbance of fluid flow in rectangle channels, which contributes to heat transfer. The disturbance of bubble and fluid will be strengthened, especially in the saturated boiling section, which make it possible for the mixing flow. The results also showed that the resistance in 5 mm channel is bigger than that in 10 mm channel, it is less likely to form stable natural circulation in the subcooled region.

BWR Passive Containment Cooling System by condensation-driven natural circulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vierow, K.M.; Townsend, H.E.; Fitch, J.R.; Andersen, J.G.M.; Alamgir, M.; Schrock, V.E.

1991-01-01

A method of long-term decay heat removal which is safe, reliable, and passive has been incorporated into the design of the Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (SBWR). The primary functions of the Passive Containment Cooling System (PCCS) are to remove heat and maintain the containment pressure below allowable levels following a LOCA. A key component of the PCCS is the PCC condenser unit (PCC). By natural circulation, a steam-nitrogen mixture flows into the PCC heat exchanger, condensate drains to the reactor pressure vessel (RPV), and noncondensables are vented to the suppression chamber (S/C). This analysis focuses on three significant thermal-hydraulic phenomena which occur in the system. Specifically, steam condensation in the presence of a noncondensable, the PCC noncondensable venting and the natural circulation are discussed. Results of TRACG simulations are presented which show that the PCCS performs its intended functions. (author)

Density wave oscillations of a boiling natural circulation loop induced by flashing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Furuya, Masahiro; Inada, Fumio; Yasuo, Akira [Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry, Tokyo (Japan)

1995-09-01

Experiments are conducted to investigate two-phase flow instabilities in a boiling natural circulation loop with a chimney due to flashing in the chimney at lower pressure. The test facility used in this experiment is designed to have non-dimensional values which are nearly equal to those of natural circulation BWR. Stability maps in reference to the heat flux, the inlet subcooling, the system pressure are presented. This instability is suggested to be density wave oscillations due to flashing in the chimney, and the differences from other phenomena such as flow pattern oscillations and geysering phenomena are discussed by investigating the dynamic characteristics, the oscillation period, and the transient flow pattern.

Nuclear reactor lid cooling which can work by natural circulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wagner, J.

1985-01-01

The well-known air cooling of the lid of liquid metal cooled nuclear reactors is improved by the start of natural convection flow ensuring removal of heat in a sufficiently short time, if the blower fails. Go and return branches of the individual cooling circuits are arranged at different heights for this purpose. The circulation is supported by opening valves, which provide a direct path into the reactor building for the cooling air. The draught can be increased by setting up special chimneys. The start of circulation is aided by the temporary opening of another valve. (orig.) [de

Computer simulation of natural circulation in FFTF secondary loops

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beaver, T.R.; Turner, D.M.; Additon, S.L.

1979-07-01

A thermal/hydraulic model of the FFTF secondary heat transport loop has been calibrated against transient natural circulation test data collected March to May 1979. The tests verified that the transition to natural convective flow could be effected from near isothermal conditions without excessive cooling at the air dump heat exchangers. Key empirical parameters of pressure drop and heat loss were found to be at 88% and 81% of pretest estimates, respectively. Pretest piping thermal transport and flow calculational models required no further revision to produce good agreement with test data

Experimental study on thermo-hydraulic instability on reduced-moderation natural circulation BWR concept

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Watanabe, Noriyuki; Subki, M.H.; Kikura, Hiroshige; Aritomi, Masanori

2003-01-01

Reduced-moderation natural circulation BWR has been promoted to solve the recent challenges in BWR nuclear power technology problems as one of advanced small and medium-sized reactors equipped with the passive safety features in conformity with the natural law. However, the elimination of recirculation pumps and a high-density core due to the increase of conversion ratio could cause various thermo-hydraulic instabilities especially during the start-up stage. The occurrences of the thermo-hydraulic instabilities are not desirable and it is one of the main challenges in establishing reduced-moderation natural circulation BWR as a commercial reactor. The purpose of this present study is to experimentally investigate the driving mechanism of the thermo-hydraulic instabilities and the effect of system pressure on the unstable flow patterns. Hence, as the fundamental research for this study, a natural circulation loop that carries boiling fluid with parallel boiling channel has been constructed. Channel gap that has been set at 2 mm in order to simulate reduced-moderation reactor core. Pressure ranges of 0.1 up to 0.7 MPa, input heat flux range of 0 ou to 577 kW/m 2 , and inlet subcooling temperatures of 5, 10, and 15 K respectively, are imposed in the experiments. This experiment clarifies that changes in unstable flow patterns with increase in heat flux can be classified into two in response to system pressure range. In case of atmospheric pressure, unstable flow patters has been classified in beyond order, (1) in-phase geysering, (2) transition oscillation combined with both features of in-phase geysering and natural circulation oscillation, (3) natural circulation oscillation induced by hydrostatic head fluctuation, (4) density wave oscillation, and finally (5) stable boiling two-phase flow. On the other hand, in the system pressure range from 0.2 to 0.7 MPa, unstable patters have been dramatically changed in the following order (1) out-of-phase geysering, (2

Comparative study of irreversibilities in an aqua-ammonia absorption refrigeration system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ataer, O E [Gazi Univ., Ankara (TR). Mechanical Engineering Dept.; Gogus, Y [Middle East Technical Univ., Ankara (Turkey)

1991-03-01

Irreversibilities in components of an aqua-ammonia absorption refrigeration system (ARS) have been determined by second law analysis. The components of the ARS are as follows: condenser, evaporator, absorber, generator, pump, expansion valves, mixture heat exchanger and refrigerant heat exchanger. It is assumed that the ammonia concentration at the generator exit is, independent of the other parameters, equal to 0.999 and at the evaporator exit the gas is saturated vapour. Pressure losses between the generator and condenser, and the evaporator and absorber are taken into consideration. In the results the dimensionless exergy loss of each component, the exergetic coefficient of performance, the coefficient of performance and the circulation ratio are given graphically for each different generator, evaporator, condenser and absorber temperature. (author).

When are solar refrigerators less costly than on-grid refrigerators: A simulation modeling study.

Science.gov (United States)

Haidari, Leila A; Brown, Shawn T; Wedlock, Patrick; Connor, Diana L; Spiker, Marie; Lee, Bruce Y

2017-04-19

Gavi recommends solar refrigerators for vaccine storage in areas with less than eight hours of electricity per day, and WHO guidelines are more conservative. The question remains: Can solar refrigerators provide value where electrical outages are less frequent? Using a HERMES-generated computational model of the Mozambique routine immunization supply chain, we simulated the use of solar versus electric mains-powered refrigerators (hereafter referred to as "electric refrigerators") at different locations in the supply chain under various circumstances. At their current price premium, the annual cost of each solar refrigerator is 132% more than each electric refrigerator at the district level and 241% more at health facilities. Solar refrigerators provided savings over electric refrigerators when one-day electrical outages occurred more than five times per year at either the district level or the health facilities, even when the electric refrigerator holdover time exceeded the duration of the outage. Two-day outages occurring more than three times per year at the district level or more than twice per year at the health facilities also caused solar refrigerators to be cost saving. Lowering the annual cost of a solar refrigerator to 75% more than an electric refrigerator allowed solar refrigerators to be cost saving at either level when one-day outages occurred more than once per year, or when two-day outages occurred more than once per year at the district level or even once per year at the health facilities. Our study supports WHO and Gavi guidelines. In fact, solar refrigerators may provide savings in total cost per dose administered over electrical refrigerators when electrical outages are less frequent. Our study identified the frequency and duration at which electrical outages need to occur for solar refrigerators to provide savings in total cost per dose administered over electric refrigerators at different solar refrigerator prices. Copyright © 2017. Published

Coolant rate distribution in horizontal steam generator under natural circulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Blagovechtchenski, A.; Leontieva, V.; Mitrioukhin, A. [St. Petersburg State Technical Univ. (Russian Federation)

1997-12-31

In the presentation the major factors determining the conditions of NCC (Natural Coolant Circulation) in the primary circuit and in particular conditions of coolant rate distribution on the horizontal tubes of PGV-1000 in NPP with VVER-1000 under NCC are considered. 5 refs.

Coolant rate distribution in horizontal steam generator under natural circulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Blagovechtchenski, A; Leontieva, V; Mitrioukhin, A [St. Petersburg State Technical Univ. (Russian Federation)

1998-12-31

In the presentation the major factors determining the conditions of NCC (Natural Coolant Circulation) in the primary circuit and in particular conditions of coolant rate distribution on the horizontal tubes of PGV-1000 in NPP with VVER-1000 under NCC are considered. 5 refs.

Portable refrigerant charge meter and method for determining the actual refrigerant charge in HVAC systems

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Zhiming; Abdelaziz, Omar; LaClair, Tim L.

2017-08-08

A refrigerant charge meter and a method for determining the actual refrigerant charge in HVAC systems are described. The meter includes means for determining an optimum refrigerant charge from system subcooling and system component parameters. The meter also includes means for determining the ratio of the actual refrigerant charge to the optimum refrigerant charge. Finally, the meter includes means for determining the actual refrigerant charge from the optimum refrigerant charge and the ratio of the actual refrigerant charge to the optimum refrigerant charge.

Natural Circulation Capability Assessments for a Small-medium Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Sun Do

2010-02-01

Small-medium reactors have been highly evaluated to have more safe characteristics than those of large reactors. In addition, it could be used for a variety of purposes, such as small-scale power production in mountainous of island area, seawater desalination, regional heating system. For a higher safety, studies about a way of using natural circulation have being conducted around world. CAREM(Argentina), AST- 500(Russia), and NHR-200(china) etc. According to this tendency, REX- 10(Regional Energy rX-10) is designed in Korea for regional heating and small-scale power production. To investigate the thermal-hydraulic behavior of REX-10, we designed Rex-10 Test Facility (RTF), simulating REX-10, by using the scaling law. The scaling ratios of length, volume and power were set with 1/1, 1/50 and 1/50, respectively. The diameter and total length of RTF are 40 cm and approximately 6 m, respectively. The facility is composed of various components, which are a core in the bottom part, a heat exchanger in the middle part, a pressurizer and hot legs in the upper part, and chillers outside the facility. The test instrumentation is also designed to measure temperatures, flow rates, pressures, and pressure drop. The experiment parameters were adopted based on the 1-dimensional approach. There are a variety of parameters which influence natural circulation behavior such as heater power, overall flow resistance parameter, the distance between the center of the heat exchanger and the core. As the experimental geometries are fixed, it is found that the most important parameter is the heater power under the experimental conditions. In addition, to evaluate the effect of heater power, some experiments were conducted at varying heater power condition (from 70 kW to 170 kW) under constant primary pressure (2.0 MPa) and secondary flow rate (4.5 liter per minute). As the results of the experiments, the temperature and flow rate increase with increasing heater power. The flow rate is

Application of Cascade Refrigeration System with Mixing Refrigerant in Cold Air Cutting

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Y.; Tong, M. W.; Yang, G.; Wang, X. P.

In the mechanical cutting process, the replacement of traditional cutting solution with cold air can avoid the pollution of environment. In order to high efficient the refrigerating device and flexible adjust the temperature of cold air, it is necessary to use cascade refrigeration system to supply cool quantity for the compressed air. The introduction of a two-component non-azeotropic mixing refrigerant into the cryogenic part of the cascade system, can effectively solve the problems of the system working at too high pressure and the volume expanding of refrigerant in case of the cascade refrigeration sets closed down. However, the filling ratio of mixing refrigerants impact on the relationships among the closing down pressure, refrigerating output and refrigerating efficiency. On the basis of computing and experiment, the optimal mixing ratio of refrigerant R22/R13 and a low temperature of -60° were obtained in this study. A cold air injecting device possessing high efficiency in energy saving has also been designed and manufactured. The cold air, generated from this cascade system and employed in a cutting process, takes good comprehensive effects on machining and cutting.

Instability of single-phase natural circulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xie Heng; Zhang Jinling; Jia Dounan

1997-01-01

The author has investigated the instability of single-phase flows in natural circulation loops. The momentum equation and energy equation are made dimensionless according to some definitions, and some important dimensionless parameters are gotten. The authors decomposed the mean mass flowrate and temperature into a steady solution and a small disturbance equations. Through solving the disturbance equations, the authors get the neutral stability curves. The authors have studied the effect of the two parameters which represent the ratio of buoyancy force to the friction loss in the loop on the stability of loops. The authors also have studied the effect of the difference of height between the center of heat source and the heat sink on the stability

A comparison of the RELAP5/MOD3 code with the IIST natural circulation experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferng, Y.M.; Lee, C.H.

1995-01-01

A series of experiments dealing with variable secondary-side cooling conditions have been conducted at the IIST facility, including the natural circulation experiments under the secondary-side conditions of normal feedwater, loss of feedwater, and full of air. Different cooling conditions at the secondary side directly affect the primary-to-secondary heat transfer and then may influence the heat removal capability of natural circulation in the primary system. The corresponding analytical work is performed using the RELAP5/MOD3 code. Good agreement is reached both qualitatively and quantitatively between the experimental data and calculated results, demonstrating the satisfactory assessment of RELAP5/MOD3 code compared with the IIST natural circulation experiments. The cooling conditions at the secondary side have no significant effect on the heat removal capability of natural circulation as long as sufficient coolant exists on the steam generator secondary side, based on current IIST data and analytical results. Continuous increase of the core temperature and system pressure is also demonstrated experimentally and analytically in the test with the secondary side dry for the sake of deficient heat transfer capability at the steam generator secondary system

CIRCUS and DESIRE: Experimental facilities for research on natural-circulation-cooled boiling water reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kruijf, W.J.M. de; Haden, T.H.J.J. van der; Zboray, R.; Manera, A.; Mudde, R.F.

2002-01-01

At the Delft University of Technology two thermohydraulic test facilities are being used to study the characteristics of Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs) with natural circulation core cooling. The focus of the research is on the stability characteristics of the system. DESIRE is a test facility with freon-12 as scaling fluid in which one fuel bundle of a natural-circulation BWR is simulated. The neutronic feedback can be simulated artificially. DESIRE is used to study the stability of the system at nominal and beyond nominal conditions. CIRCUS is a full-height facility with water, consisting of four parallel fuel channels and four parallel bypass channels with a common riser or with parallel riser sections. It is used to study the start-up characteristics of a natural-circulation BWR at low pressures and low power. In this paper a description of both facilities is given and the research items are presented. (author)

When are solar refrigerators less costly than on-grid refrigerators: A simulation modeling study☆

Science.gov (United States)

Haidari, Leila A.; Brown, Shawn T.; Wedlock, Patrick; Connor, Diana L.; Spiker, Marie; Lee, Bruce Y.

2017-01-01

Background Gavi recommends solar refrigerators for vaccine storage in areas with less than eight hours of electricity per day, and WHO guidelines are more conservative. The question remains: Can solar refrigerators provide value where electrical outages are less frequent? Methods Using a HERMES-generated computational model of the Mozambique routine immunization supply chain, we simulated the use of solar versus electric mains-powered refrigerators (hereafter referred to as “electric refrigerators”) at different locations in the supply chain under various circumstances. Results At their current price premium, the annual cost of each solar refrigerator is 132% more than each electric refrigerator at the district level and 241% more at health facilities. Solar refrigerators provided savings over electric refrigerators when one-day electrical outages occurred more than five times per year at either the district level or the health facilities, even when the electric refrigerator holdover time exceeded the duration of the outage. Two-day outages occurring more than three times per year at the district level or more than twice per year at the health facilities also caused solar refrigerators to be cost saving. Lowering the annual cost of a solar refrigerator to 75% more than an electric refrigerator allowed solar refrigerators to be cost saving at either level when one-day outages occurred more than once per year, or when two-day outages occurred more than once per year at the district level or even once per year at the health facilities. Conclusion Our study supports WHO and Gavi guidelines. In fact, solar refrigerators may provide savings in total cost per dose administered over electrical refrigerators when electrical outages are less frequent. Our study identified the frequency and duration at which electrical outages need to occur for solar refrigerators to provide savings in total cost per dose administered over electric refrigerators at different solar

Functional Dependence of Thermodynamic and Thermokinetic Parameters of Refrigerants Used in Mine Air Refrigerators. Part 1 - Refrigerant R407C

Science.gov (United States)

Nowak, Bernard; Życzkowski, Piotr; Łuczak, Rafał

2017-03-01

The authors of this article dealt with the issue of modeling the thermodynamic and thermokinetic properties (parameters) of refrigerants. The knowledge of these parameters is essential to design refrigeration equipment, to perform their energy efficiency analysis, or to compare the efficiency of air refrigerators using different refrigerants. One of the refrigerants used in mine air compression refrigerators is R407C. For this refrigerant, 23 dependencies were developed, determining its thermodynamic and thermokinetic parameters in the states of saturated liquid, dry saturated vapour, superheated vapor, subcooled liquid, and in the two-phase region. The created formulas have been presented in Tables 2, 5, 8, 10 and 12, respectively. It should be noted that the scope of application of these formulas is wider than the range of changes of that refrigerant during the normal operation of mine refrigeration equipment. The article ends with the statistical verification of the developed dependencies. For this purpose, for each model correlation coefficients and coefficients of determination were calculated, as well as absolute and relative deviations between the given values from the program REFPROP 7 (Lemmon et al., 2002) and the calculated ones. The results of these calculations have been contained in Tables 14 and 15.

Transient analysis of a U-tube natural circulation steam generator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gaikwad, A J; Kumar, Rajesh; Bhadra, Anu; Chakraborty, G; Venkat Raj, V [Reactor Safety Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai (India)

1994-06-01

A computer code has been developed, for transient thermal-hydraulic analysis of proposed 500 MWe PHWR steam generator. The transient behaviour of a nuclear power plant is very much dependent on the steam generator performance, as it provides a thermal linkage between the primary and secondary systems. Study of dynamics of steam generator is essential for over all power plant dynamics as well as design of control systems for steam generator. A mathematical model has been developed for the simulation of thermal-hydraulic phenomena in a U tube natural circulation steam generator. Fluid model is based on one dimensional, nonlinear, single fluid conservation equations of mass, momentum, energy and equation of state. This model includes coupled two phase flow heat transfer and natural circulation. The model accounts for both compressibility and thermal expansion effects. The process simulation and results obtained for transients such as step change in load and total loss of feed water are presented. (author). 5 refs., 7 figs.

Liquid Fluoride Salt Experimentation Using a Small Natural Circulation Cell

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yoder Jr, Graydon L [ORNL; Heatherly, Dennis Wayne [ORNL; Williams, David F [ORNL; Elkassabgi, Yousri M. [Texas A& M University, Kingsville; Caja, Joseph [Electrochemical Systems, Inc.; Caja, Mario [ORNL; Jordan, John [Texas A& M University, Kingsville; Salinas, Roberto [Texas A& M University, Kingsville

2014-04-01

A small molten fluoride salt experiment has been constructed and tested to develop experimental techniques for application in liquid fluoride salt systems. There were five major objectives in developing this test apparatus: Allow visual observation of the salt during testing (how can lighting be introduced, how can pictures be taken, what can be seen) Determine if IR photography can be used to examine components submerged in the salt Determine if the experimental configuration provides salt velocity sufficient for collection of corrosion data for future experimentation Determine if a laser Doppler velocimeter can be used to quantify salt velocities. Acquire natural circulation heat transfer data in fluoride salt at temperatures up to 700oC All of these objectives were successfully achieved during testing with the exception of the fourth: acquiring velocity data using the laser Doppler velocimeter. This paper describes the experiment and experimental techniques used, and presents data taken during natural circulation testing.

Numerical simulation of losses along a natural circulation helium loop

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Knížat, Branislav, E-mail: branislav.knizat@stuba.sk; Urban, František, E-mail: frantisek.urban@stuba.sk; Mlkvik, Marek, E-mail: marek.mlkvik@stuba.sk; Ridzoň, František, E-mail: frantisek.ridzon@stuba.sk; Olšiak, Róbert, E-mail: robert.olsiak@stuba.sk [Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Nám. slobody 17, 812 31 Bratislava, Slovak Republik (Slovakia)

2016-06-30

A natural circulation helium loop appears to be a perspective passive method of a nuclear reactor cooling. When designing this device, it is important to analyze the mechanism of an internal flow. The flow of helium in the loop is set in motion due to a difference of hydrostatic pressures between cold and hot branch. Steady flow at a requested flow rate occurs when the buoyancy force is adjusted to resistances against the flow. Considering the fact that the buoyancy force is proportional to a difference of temperatures in both branches, it is important to estimate the losses correctly in the process of design. The paper deals with the calculation of losses in branches of the natural circulation helium loop by methods of CFD. The results of calculations are an important basis for the hydraulic design of both exchangers (heater and cooler). The analysis was carried out for the existing model of a helium loop of the height 10 m and nominal heat power 250 kW.

Review of magnetic refrigeration system as alternative to conventional refrigeration system

Science.gov (United States)

Mezaal, N. A.; Osintsev, K. V.; Zhirgalova, T. B.

2017-10-01

The refrigeration system is one of the most important systems in industry. Developers are constantly seeking for how to avoid the damage to the environment. Magnetic refrigeration is an emerging, environment-friendly technology based on a magnetic solid that acts as a refrigerant by magneto-caloric effect (MCE). In the case of ferromagnetic materials, MCE warms as the magnetic moments of the atom are aligned by the application of a magnetic field. There are two types of magnetic phase changes that may occur at the Curie point: first order magnetic transition (FOMT) and second order magnetic transition (SOMT). The reference cycle for magnetic refrigeration is AMR (Active Magnetic Regenerative cycle), where the magnetic material matrix works both as a refrigerating medium and as a heat regenerating medium, while the fluid flowing in the porous matrix works as a heat transfer medium. Regeneration can be accomplished by blowing a heat transfer fluid in a reciprocating fashion through the regenerator made of magnetocaloric material that is alternately magnetized and demagnetized. Many magnetic refrigeration prototypes with different designs and software models have been built in different parts of the world. In this paper, the authors try to shed light on the magnetic refrigeration and show its effectiveness compared with conventional refrigeration methods.

Overview of Air Liquide refrigeration systems between 1.8 K and 200 K

Science.gov (United States)

Gondrand, C.; Durand, F.; Delcayre, F.; Crispel, S.; Baguer, G. M. Gistau

2014-01-01

Cryogenic refrigeration systems are necessary for numerous applications. Gas purification and distillation require temperatures between 15 K and 200 K depending on the application, space simulation chambers down to 15 K, superconductivity between 1.8 K and up to 75 K (magnets, cavities or HTS devices like cables, FCL, SMES, etc), Cold Neutron Sources between 15 and 20 K, etc. Air Liquide Advanced Technologies is designing and manufacturing refrigerators since 60 years to satisfy those needs. The step by step developments achieved have led to machines with higher efficiency and reliability. In 1965, reciprocating compressors and Joule Thomson expansion valves were used. In 1969, centripetal expanders began to be used. In 1980, oil lubricated screw compressors took the place of reciprocating compressors and a standard range of Claude cycle refrigerators was developed: the HELIAL series. 1980 was also the time for cryogenic centrifugal compressor development. In 2011, driven by the need for lower operational cost (high efficiency and low maintenance), cycle oil free centrifugal compressors on magnetic bearings were introduced instead of screw compressors. The power extracted by centripetal expanders was recovered. Based on this technology, a range of Turbo-Brayton refrigerators has been designed for temperatures between 40 K and 150 K. On-going development will enable widening the range of Turbo-Brayton refrigerators to cryogenic temperatures down to 15 K.. Cryogenic centrifugal circulators have been developed in order to answer to an increasing demand of 4 K refrigerators able to distribute cold power.

Overview of Air Liquide refrigeration systems between 1.8 K and 200 K

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gondrand, C.; Durand, F.; Delcayre, F.; Crispel, S.; Baguer, G. M. Gistau

2014-01-01

Cryogenic refrigeration systems are necessary for numerous applications. Gas purification and distillation require temperatures between 15 K and 200 K depending on the application, space simulation chambers down to 15 K, superconductivity between 1.8 K and up to 75 K (magnets, cavities or HTS devices like cables, FCL, SMES, etc), Cold Neutron Sources between 15 and 20 K, etc. Air Liquide Advanced Technologies is designing and manufacturing refrigerators since 60 years to satisfy those needs. The step by step developments achieved have led to machines with higher efficiency and reliability. In 1965, reciprocating compressors and Joule Thomson expansion valves were used. In 1969, centripetal expanders began to be used. In 1980, oil lubricated screw compressors took the place of reciprocating compressors and a standard range of Claude cycle refrigerators was developed: the HELIAL series. 1980 was also the time for cryogenic centrifugal compressor development. In 2011, driven by the need for lower operational cost (high efficiency and low maintenance), cycle oil free centrifugal compressors on magnetic bearings were introduced instead of screw compressors. The power extracted by centripetal expanders was recovered. Based on this technology, a range of Turbo-Brayton refrigerators has been designed for temperatures between 40 K and 150 K. On-going development will enable widening the range of Turbo-Brayton refrigerators to cryogenic temperatures down to 15 K.. Cryogenic centrifugal circulators have been developed in order to answer to an increasing demand of 4 K refrigerators able to distribute cold power

Overview of Air Liquide refrigeration systems between 1.8 K and 200 K

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gondrand, C.; Durand, F.; Delcayre, F.; Crispel, S. [AL-AT, 2 rue de Clémencières, 38360 Sassenage (France); Baguer, G. M. Gistau [CRYOGUY, 44, chemin de la Buisse, 38330 Biviers (France)

2014-01-29

Cryogenic refrigeration systems are necessary for numerous applications. Gas purification and distillation require temperatures between 15 K and 200 K depending on the application, space simulation chambers down to 15 K, superconductivity between 1.8 K and up to 75 K (magnets, cavities or HTS devices like cables, FCL, SMES, etc), Cold Neutron Sources between 15 and 20 K, etc. Air Liquide Advanced Technologies is designing and manufacturing refrigerators since 60 years to satisfy those needs. The step by step developments achieved have led to machines with higher efficiency and reliability. In 1965, reciprocating compressors and Joule Thomson expansion valves were used. In 1969, centripetal expanders began to be used. In 1980, oil lubricated screw compressors took the place of reciprocating compressors and a standard range of Claude cycle refrigerators was developed: the HELIAL series. 1980 was also the time for cryogenic centrifugal compressor development. In 2011, driven by the need for lower operational cost (high efficiency and low maintenance), cycle oil free centrifugal compressors on magnetic bearings were introduced instead of screw compressors. The power extracted by centripetal expanders was recovered. Based on this technology, a range of Turbo-Brayton refrigerators has been designed for temperatures between 40 K and 150 K. On-going development will enable widening the range of Turbo-Brayton refrigerators to cryogenic temperatures down to 15 K.. Cryogenic centrifugal circulators have been developed in order to answer to an increasing demand of 4 K refrigerators able to distribute cold power.

Validation of SSC using the FFTF natural-circulation tests

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horak, W.C.; Guppy, J.G.; Kennett, R.J.

1982-01-01

As part of the Super System Code (SSC) validation program, the 100% power FFTF natural circulation test has been simulated using SSC. A detailed 19 channel, 2 loop model was used in SSC. Comparisons showed SSC calculations to be in good agreement with the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF), test data. Simulation of the test was obtained in real time

Microbiological Studies of Semi-Preserved Natural Condiments Paste Stored in Refrigerator and Ambient Temperature

Science.gov (United States)

Dien, H. A.; Montolalu, R. I.; Mentang, F.; Mandang, A. S. K.; Rahmi, A. D.; Berhimpon, S.

2018-01-01

The aims of this studies were to prepare juice and raw condiment to be come semipreserve pastes, and to do microbial assessments on the both pastes during storing in refrigerator and ambient temperatures. For both pastes in refrigerator, samples were taken at 0, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 days, and in ambient temperature samples were taken at 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 days. Assessment were done for TPC, total coliform and E. coli, Salmonella sp, Staphylococcus sp., Vibrio sp., pH and water content. The results shown that juice paste stored in refrigerator still good until 30 days (TPC 1,5x104 CFU/g), and in ambient temperature still good until 6 days (2x104 CFU/g). Condiment paste stored in refrigerator still good until 30 days (6.5x103 CFU/g), and in ambient temperature still good until 6 days (1.17x104 CFU/g). However, recommended that condiment paste stored in ambient temperature only until 4 days (7.3x103CFU/g), while that juice paste until 5 days (7.8x103CFU/g). There were no pathogenic bacteria found in all samples.

Classification of natural circulation two-phase flow patterns using fuzzy inference on image analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mesquita, R.N. de; Masotti, P.H.F.; Penha, R.M.L.; Andrade, D.A.; Sabundjian, G.; Torres, W.M.

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► A fuzzy classification system for two-phase flow instability patterns is developed. ► Flow patterns are classified based on images of natural circulation experiments. ► Fuzzy inference is optimized to use single grayscale profiles as input. - Abstract: Two-phase flow on natural circulation phenomenon has been an important theme on recent studies related to nuclear reactor designs. The accuracy of heat transfer estimation has been improved with new models that require precise prediction of pattern transitions of flow. In this work, visualization of natural circulation cycles is used to study two-phase flow patterns associated with phase transients and static instabilities of flow. A Fuzzy Flow-type Classification System (FFCS) was developed to classify these patterns based only on image extracted features. Image acquisition and temperature measurements were simultaneously done. Experiments in natural circulation facility were adjusted to generate a series of characteristic two-phase flow instability periodic cycles. The facility is composed of a loop of glass tubes, a heat source using electrical heaters, a cold source using a helicoidal heat exchanger, a visualization section and thermocouples positioned over different loop sections. The instability cyclic period is estimated based on temperature measurements associated with the detection of a flow transition image pattern. FFCS shows good results provided that adequate image acquisition parameters and pre-processing adjustments are used.

Two-phase natural circulation experiments in a pressurized water loop with CANDU geometry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ardron, K.H.; Krishnan, V.S.; McGee, G.R.; Anderson, J.W.D.; Hawley, E.H.

1984-07-01

A series of tests has been performed in the RD-12 loop, a 10-MPa pressurized-water loop containing two active boilers, two pumps, and two, or four, heated horizontal channels arranged in a symmetrical figure-of-eight configuration characteristic of the CANDU reactor primary heat-transport system. In the tests, single-phase natural circulation was established in the loop and void was introduced by controlled draining, with the surge tank (pressurizer) valved out of the system. Results indicate that a stable, two-phase, natural circulation flow can usually be established. However, as the void fraction in the loop is increased, large-amplitude flow oscillations can occur. The initial flow oscillations in the two halves of the loop are usually very nearly 180/sup 0/ out-of-phase. However, as the loop inventory is further decreased, an in-phase oscillation component is observed. In tests with two parallel, heated channels in each half-loop, oscillations associated with mass transfer between the channel pairs are also observed. Although flow oscillations can lead to intermittent dryout of the upper elements of the heater-rod assemblies in the horizontal channels, natural circulation cooling appears to be effective until about 50% of the loop inventory is drained; sustained flow stratification then occurs in the heated channels, leading to heater temperature excursions. The paper reviews the experimental results obtained and describes the evolution of natural circulation flow in particular cases as voidage is progressively increased. The stability behavior is discussed briefly with reference to a simple stability model.

Frequency analysis for the thermal hydraulic characterization of a natural circulation circuit

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Torres, Walmir M.; Macedo, Luiz A.; Sabundjian, Gaiane; Andrade, Delvonei A.; Umbehaun, Pedro E.; Conti, Thadeu N.; Mesquita, Roberto N.; Masotti, Paulo H.; Angelo, Gabriel, E-mail: wmtorres@ipen.b, E-mail: lamacedo@ipen.b, E-mail: gdjian@ipen.b, E-mail: delvonei@ipen.b, E-mail: umbehaun@ipen.b, E-mail: tnconti@ipen.b, E-mail: , E-mail: rnavarro@ipen.b, E-mail: pmasotti@ipen.b, E-mail: gabriel.angelo@usp.b [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)

2011-07-01

This paper presents the frequency analysis studies of the pressure signals from an experimental natural circulation circuit during a heating process. The main objective is to identify the characteristic frequencies of this process using fast Fourier transform. Video images are used to associate these frequencies to the observed phenomenology in the circuit during the process. Sub-cooled and saturated flow boiling, heaters vibrations, overall circuit vibrations, chugging and geysering were observed. Each phenomenon has its specific frequency associated. Some phenomena and their frequencies must be avoided or attenuated since they can cause damages to the natural circulation circuit and its components. Special operation procedures and devices can be developed to avoid these undesirable frequencies. (author)

Frequency analysis for the thermal hydraulic characterization of a natural circulation circuit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Torres, Walmir M.; Macedo, Luiz A.; Sabundjian, Gaiane; Andrade, Delvonei A.; Umbehaun, Pedro E.; Conti, Thadeu N.; Mesquita, Roberto N.; Masotti, Paulo H.; Angelo, Gabriel

2011-01-01

This paper presents the frequency analysis studies of the pressure signals from an experimental natural circulation circuit during a heating process. The main objective is to identify the characteristic frequencies of this process using fast Fourier transform. Video images are used to associate these frequencies to the observed phenomenology in the circuit during the process. Sub-cooled and saturated flow boiling, heaters vibrations, overall circuit vibrations, chugging and geysering were observed. Each phenomenon has its specific frequency associated. Some phenomena and their frequencies must be avoided or attenuated since they can cause damages to the natural circulation circuit and its components. Special operation procedures and devices can be developed to avoid these undesirable frequencies. (author)

Experimental study of critical heat flux enhancement with hypervapotron structure under natural circulation conditions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hou, Fangxin [Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing (China); Chang, Huajian [Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing (China); State Nuclear Power Technology R& D Center (Beijing), Beijing (China); Zhao, Yufeng, E-mail: zhaoyufeng@snptc.com.cn [State Nuclear Power Technology R& D Center (Beijing), Beijing (China); Zhang, Ming; Gao, Tianfang [State Nuclear Power Technology R& D Center (Beijing), Beijing (China); Chen, Peipei [State Power Investment Corporation, Beijing (China)

2017-05-15

Highlights: • Natural circulation tests are performed to study the effect of hypervapotron on CHF. • Hypervapotron structure improves CHF under natural circulation conditions. • Visualization data illustrate vapor blanket behavior under subcooled flow conditions. - Abstract: The enhancement of critical heat flux with a hypervapotron structure under natural circulation conditions is investigated in this study. Subcooled flow boiling CHF experiments are performed using smooth and hypervapotron surfaces at different inclination angles under natural circulation conditions. The experimental facility, TESEC (Test of External Vessel Surface with Enhanced Cooling), is designed to conduct CHF experiments in a 30 mm by 61 mm rectangular flow channel with a 200 mm long heated surface along the flow direction. The two-phase flow of subcooled flow boiling on both smooth and hypervapotron heating plates is observed and analyzed by the high-speed visualization technology. The results show that both smooth surface and hypervapotron surface CHF data exhibit a similar trend against inclination angles compared with the CHF results under forced flow condition on the same facility in earlier studies. However, the CHF enhancement of the hypervapotron structure is evidently more significant than the one under forced flow conditions. The experiments also indicate that the natural flow rates are higher with hypervapotron structure. The initiation of CHF is analyzed under transient subcooling and flow rate conditions for both smooth and hypervapotron heating surfaces. An explanation is given for the significant enhancement effect caused by the hypervapotron surface under natural circulation conditions. The visualization data are exhibited to demonstrate the behavior of the vapor blanket at various inclination angles and on different surfaces. The geometric data of the vapor blanket are quantified by an image post-processing method. It is found that the thickness of the vapor blanket

Experimental Study on the Natural Circulation Characteristics in the Primary Loop of the SMART Reactor by using the VISTA Facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Hyun-Sik; Choi, Ki-Yong; Cho, Seok; Yi, Sung-Jae; Park, Choon-Kyung; Chung, Moon-Ki

2007-01-01

The SMART uses a two-phase natural circulation in the PRHRS loop to remove the heat from the steam generators to the PRHRS heat exchangers, while a single phase natural circulation occurs in the primary loop to transfer the decay heat from the core to the steam generator. Natural circulation operation with a power range of 20 ∼ 25% was considered for SMART and nowadays the possibility of increasing the power level during the natural circulation operation is being investigated. Previously Park et al. performed several experiments by using the VISTA facility on the thermal-hydraulic characteristics of the PRHRS for the SMART-P, which includes a single-phase natural circulation in the primary loop. From the analysis with the TASS-SMR code it was shown that the reference temperature for the primary steam generator inlet temperature should be increased in order to compensate for the decreased core flow. To investigate the possibility of an increase of the power and reference temperature, it is necessary to get experimental data to characterize the natural circulation phenomena in the primary loop of the SMART. In this paper, the characteristics of natural circulation in the primary loop are experimentally investigated during various operational conditions by using the VISTA facility

Experimental study on convective heat transfer of water flow in a heated tube under natural circulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Ruichang; Liu Ruolei; Zhong Yong; Liu Tao

2006-01-01

This paper reports on an experimental study on transitional heat transfer of water flow in a heated vertical tube under natural circulation conditions. In the experiments the local and average heat transfer coefficients were obtained. The experimental data were compared with the predictions by a forced flow correlation available in the literature. The comparisons show that the Nusselt number value in the fully developed region is about 30% lower than the predictions by the forced flow correlation due to flow laminarization in the layer induced by co-current bulk natural circulation and free convection. By using the Rayleigh number Ra to represent the influence of free convection on heat transfer, the empirical correlations for the calculation of local and average heat transfer behavior in the tube at natural circulation have been developed. The empirical correlations are in good agreement with the experimental data. Based on the experimental results, the effect of the thermal entry-length behavior on heat transfer design in the tube under natural circulation was evaluated

Effect of Oven Types on the Characteristics of Biscuits Made from Refrigerated and Frozen Doughs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ismail Sait Dogan

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Characteristics of sugar snap and chocolate chip cookies, and hazelnut biscuits made from refrigerated and frozen dough were studied. Doughs were stored at 4 °C for 6 weeks and at –18 °C for 6 months, respectively. Physical characteristics of the biscuit samples such as spread, baking loss, surface colour and density were determined. Dough colour was not affected by storage time and temperatures. Biscuit characteristics did not change significantly during storage. Spread ratio was significantly lower for the biscuits baked in the gas oven than for the biscuits baked in the electric oven. Biscuit dough can be refrigerated for 6 weeks, and frozen for 6 months. Results also suggest that unique quality differences exist between the two ovens. For sugar snap cookies and hazelnut biscuits the electric oven without air circulation was better, while for chocolate chip cookies gas oven with air circulation was more suitable.

Natural circulation and stratification in the various passive safety systems of the SWR 1000

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meseth, J.

2002-01-01

In some of the passive safety systems of Siemens' SWR 1000 boiling water reactor (i.e. the emergency condensers and containment cooling condensers), natural circulation is the main effect on both the primary and secondary sides by which optimum system efficiency is achieved. Other passive safety systems of the SWR 1000 require natural circulation on the secondary side only (condensation of steam discharged by the safety and relief valves; cooling of the Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV) by flooding from the outside in case of core melt), while still other systems require stratification to be effective (i.e. the passive pressure pulse transmitters and steam-driven scram tanks). Complex natural circulation and stratification can take place simultaneously if fluids with different densities are enclosed in a single volume (in a core melt accident, for example, the nitrogen, steam and hydrogen in the containment). Related problems and the solutions thereto planned for the SWR 1000 are reported from the designer's viewpoint. (author)

Velocity Fields Measurement of Natural Circulation Flow inside a Pool Using PIV Technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Seok; Kim, Dong Eok; Youn, Young Jung; Euh, Dong Jin; Song, Chul Hwa

2012-01-01

Thermal stratification is encountered in large pool of water increasingly being used as heat sink in new generation of advanced reactors. These large pools at near atmospheric pressure provide a heat sink for heat removal from the reactor or steam generator, and the containment by natural circulation as well as a source of water for core cooling. For examples, the PAFS (passive auxiliary feedwater system) is one of the advanced safety features adopted in the APR+ (Advanced Power Reactor Plus), which is intended to completely replace the conventional active auxiliary feedwater system. The PAFS cools down the steam generator secondary side and eventually removes the decay heat from the reactor core by adopting a natural convection mechanism. In a pool, the heat transfer from the PCHX (passive condensation heat exchanger) contributed to increase the pool temperature up to the saturation condition and induce the natural circulation flow of the PCCT (passive condensate cooling tank) pool water. When a heat rod is placed horizontally in a pool of water, the fluid adjacent to the heat rod gets heated up. In the process, its density reduces and by virtue of the buoyancy force, the fluid in this region moves up. After reaching the top free surface, the heated water moves towards the other side wall of the pool along the free surface. Since this heated water is cooling, it goes downward along the wall at the other side wall. Above heater rod, a natural circulation flow is formed. However, there is no flow below heater rod until pool water temperature increases to saturation temperature. In this study, velocity measurement was conducted to reveal a natural circulation flow structure in a small pool using PIV (particle image velocimetry) measurement technique

Computational simulation of flow and heat transfer in single-phase natural circulation loops

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pinheiro, Larissa Cunha

2017-01-01

Passive decay heat removal systems based on natural circulation are essential assets for the new Gen III+ nuclear power reactors and nuclear spent fuel pools. The aim of the present work is to study both laminar and turbulent flow and heat transfer in single-phase natural circulation systems through computational fluid dynamics simulations. The working fluid is considered to be incompressible with constant properties. In the way, the Boussinesq Natural Convection Hypothesis was applied. The model chosen for the turbulence closure problem was the k -- εThe commercial computational fluid dynamics code ANSYS CFX 15.0 was used to obtain the numerical solution of the governing equations. Two single-phase natural circulation circuits were studied, a 2D toroidal loop and a 3D rectangular loop, both with the same boundary conditions of: prescribed heat flux at the heater and fixed wall temperature at the cooler. The validation and verification was performed with the numerical data provided by DESRAYAUD et al. [1] and the experimental data provided by MISALE et al. [2] and KUMAR et al. [3]. An excellent agreement between the Reynolds number (Re) and the modified Grashof number (Gr_m), independently of Prandtl Pr number was observed. However, the convergence interval was observed to be variable with Pr, thus indicating that Pr is a stability governing parameter for natural circulation. Multiple steady states was obtained for Pr = 0,7. Finally, the effect of inclination was studied for the 3D circuit, both in-plane and out-of-plane inclinations were verified for the steady state laminar regime. As a conclusion, the Re for the out-of-plane inclination was in perfect agreement with the correlation found for the zero inclination system, while for the in-plane inclined system the results differ from that of the corresponding vertical loop. (author)

Effect of the inlet throttling on the thermal-hydraulic instability of the natural circulation BWR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Furuya, Masahiro; Inada, Fumio; Yoneda, Kimitoshi

1997-01-01

Although it is well-established that inlet restriction has a stabilizing for forced circulation BWR, the effect of inlet on the thermal-hydraulic stability of natural circulation BWR remains unknown since increasing inlet restriction affect thermal-hydraulic stability due to reduction of the recirculation flow rate. Therefore experiments have been conducted to investigate the effect of inlet restriction on the thermal-hydraulic stability. A test facility used in this experiments was designed and constructed to have non-dimensional values which are nearly equal to those of natural circulation BWR. Experimental results showed that driving force of the natural circulation was described as a function of heat flux and inlet subcooling independent of inlet restriction. Stability maps in reference to the channel inlet subcooling, heat flux were presented for various inlet restriction which were carried out by an analysis based on the homogeneous flow various using this function. Instability region during the inlet subcooling shifted to the higher inlet subcooling with increasing inlet restriction and became larger with increasing heat flux. (author)

Refrigeration and global warming

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1997-01-01

Some aspects of global warming in general, and the implications for refrigerants and refrigerator efficiency in particular, are briefly considered in a question and answer format. The concepts of Global Warming Potential (GWP) and Total Equivalent Warming Impact (TEWI) are explained. GWP is an index which allows a simple comparison to be make between the warming effects of different gases on a kg to kg basis relative to carbon. The GWP depends both on the lifetime of a substance in the atmosphere and its infra-red absorption capacity. The overall warming effect of operating a refrigeration system for its entire life is measured by its TEWI. Chloroflourocarbons (CFCs) which have been widely used as refrigerants are powerful greenhouse gases with high GWPs. Because of the bank of CFCs in refrigerating systems, their levels in the atmosphere are still increasing and it will be some time before refrigerant changes will be effective in reducing the warming effects of refrigerant releases. Hydrocarbons, hydroflourocarbons and ammonia all have a part to play as substitute refrigerants. Refrigerator efficiency is very important in terms of reducing CO 2 emissions. (UK)

Non-linear time series analysis on flow instability of natural circulation under rolling motion condition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Wenchao; Tan, Sichao; Gao, Puzhen; Wang, Zhanwei; Zhang, Liansheng; Zhang, Hong

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Natural circulation flow instabilities in rolling motion are studied. • The method of non-linear time series analysis is used. • Non-linear evolution characteristic of flow instability is analyzed. • Irregular complex flow oscillations are chaotic oscillations. • The effect of rolling parameter on the threshold of chaotic oscillation is studied. - Abstract: Non-linear characteristics of natural circulation flow instabilities under rolling motion conditions were studied by the method of non-linear time series analysis. Experimental flow time series of different dimensionless power and rolling parameters were analyzed based on phase space reconstruction theory. Attractors which were reconstructed in phase space and the geometric invariants, including correlation dimension, Kolmogorov entropy and largest Lyapunov exponent, were determined. Non-linear characteristics of natural circulation flow instabilities under rolling motion conditions was studied based on the results of the geometric invariant analysis. The results indicated that the values of the geometric invariants first increase and then decrease as dimensionless power increases which indicated the non-linear characteristics of the system first enhance and then weaken. The irregular complex flow oscillation is typical chaotic oscillation because the value of geometric invariants is at maximum. The threshold of chaotic oscillation becomes larger as the rolling frequency or rolling amplitude becomes big. The main influencing factors that influence the non-linear characteristics of the natural circulation system under rolling motion are thermal driving force, flow resistance and the additional forces caused by rolling motion. The non-linear characteristics of the natural circulation system under rolling motion changes caused by the change of the feedback and coupling degree among these influencing factors when the dimensionless power or rolling parameters changes

Adequacy of power-to-volume scaling philosophy to simulate natural circulation in Integral Test Facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nayak, A.K.; Vijayan, P.K.; Saha, D.; Venkat Raj, V.; Aritomi, Masanori

1998-01-01

Theoretical and experimental investigations were carried out to study the adequacy of power-to-volume scaling philosophy for the simulation of natural circulation and to establish the scaling philosophy applicable for the design of the Integral Test Facility (ITF-AHWR) for the Indian Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR). The results indicate that a reduction in the flow channel diameter of the scaled facility as required by the power-to-volume scaling philosophy may affect the simulation of natural circulation behaviour of the prototype plants. This is caused by the distortions due to the inability to simulate the frictional resistance of the scaled facility. Hence, it is recommended that the flow channel diameter of the scaled facility should be as close as possible to the prototype. This was verified by comparing the natural circulation behaviour of a prototype 220 MWe Indian PHWR and its scaled facility (FISBE-1) designed based on power-to-volume scaling philosophy. It is suggested from examinations using a mathematical model and a computer code that the FISBE-1 simulates the steady state and the general trend of transient natural circulation behaviour of the prototype reactor adequately. Finally the proposed scaling method was applied for the design of the ITF-AHWR. (author)

Integral test facilities for validation of the performance of passive safety systems and natural circulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, J. H.

2010-10-01

Passive safety systems are becoming an important component in advanced reactor designs. This has led to an international interest in examining natural circulation phenomena as this may play an important role in the operation of these passive safety systems. Understanding reactor system behaviour is a challenging process due to the complex interactions between components and associated phenomena. Properly scaled integral test facilities can be used to explore these complex interactions. In addition, system analysis computer codes can be used as predictive tools in understanding the complex reactor system behaviour. However, before the application of system analysis computer codes for reactor design, it is capability in making predictions needs to be validated against the experimental data from a properly scaled integral test facility. The IAEA has organized a coordinated research project (CRP) on natural circulation phenomena, modeling and reliability of passive systems that utilize natural circulation. This paper is a part of research results from this CRP and describes representative international integral test facilities that can be used for data collection for reactor types in which natural circulation may play an important role. Example experiments were described along with the analyses of these example cases in order to examine the ability of system codes to model the phenomena that are occurring in the test facilities. (Author)

Preliminary Study of Single-Phase Natural Circulation for Lab-scaled Molten Salt Application

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shin, Yukyung; Kang, Sarah; Kim, In Guk; Seo, Seok Bin; Bang, In Cheol [UNIST, Ulsan (Korea, Republic of); Park, Seong Dae [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2015-10-15

Advanced reactors such as MSR (FHR), VHTR and AHTR utilized molten salt as a coolant for efficiency and safety which has advantages in higher heat capacity, lower pumping power and scale compared to liquid metal. It becomes more necessary to study on the characteristics of molten salt. However, due to several characteristics such as high operating temperature, large-scale facility and preventing solidification, satisfying that condition for study has difficulties. Thus simulant fluid was used with scaling method for lab-scale experiment. Scaled experiment enables simulant fluid to simulate fluid mechanics and heat transfer behavior of molten salt on lower operating temperature and reduced scale. In this paper, as a proof test of the scaled experiment, simplified single-phase natural circulation loop was designed in a lab-scale and applied to the passive safety system in advanced reactor in which molten salt is considered as a major coolant of the system. For the application of the improved safety system, prototype was based on the primary loop of the test-scale DRACS, the main passive safety system in FHR, developed at the OSU. For preliminary experiment, single-phase natural circulation under low power was performed. DOWTHERM A and DOWTHERM RP were selected as simulant candidates. Then, study of feasibility with simulant was conducted based on the scaling law for heat transfer characteristics and geometric parameters. Additionally, simulation with MARS code and ANSYS-CFX with the same condition of natural circulation was carried out as verification. For the accurate code simulation, thermo-physical properties of DOWTHERM A and RP were developed and implemented into MARS code. In this study, single-phase natural circulation experiment was performed with simulant oil, DOWTHERM RP, based on the passive safety system of FHR. Feasibility of similarity experiment for molten salt with oil simulant was confirmed by scaling method. In addition, simulation with two

Analyses of natural circulation during a Surry station blackout using SCDAP/RELAP5

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bayless, P.D.

1988-10-01

The effects of reactor coolant system natural circulation on the response of the Surry nuclear power plant during a station blackout transient were investigated. A TMLB' sequence (loss of all ac power, immediate loss of auxillary feedwater) was simulated from transient initiation until after fuel rod relocation had begun. Integral analyses of the system thermal-hydraulics and the core damage behavior were performed using the SCDAP/RELAP5 computer code and several different models of the plant. Three scoping calculations were performed in which the complexity of the plant model was progressively increased to determine the overall effects of in-vessel and hot leg natural circulation flows on the plant response. The natural circulation flows extended the transient, slowing the core heatup and delaying core damage by transferring energy from the core to structures in the upper plenum and coolant loops. Increased temperatures in the ex-core structures indicated that they may fail, however. Nine sensitivity calculations were then performed to investigate the effects of modeling uncertainties on the multidimensional natural circulation flows and the system response. Creep rupture failure of the pressurizer surge line was predicted to occur in eight of the calculations, with the hot leg failing in the ninth. The failure time was fairly insensitive to the parameters varied. The failures occurred near the time that fuel rod relocation began, well before failure of the reactor vessel would be expected. A calculation was also performed in which creep rupture failure of the surge line was modeled. The subsequent blowdown led to rapid accumulator injection and quenching of the entire core. 18 refs., 105 figs., 17 tabs

Studies on the Effect of Pomegranate Rind Powder Extract as Natural Antioxidant in Chicken Meat Balls During Refrigerated Storage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Savala Chandralekha

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Trials were conducted to study the effect of pomegranate rind powder extract as natural antioxidant in chicken meat balls during refrigerated storage. Significantly (p<0.05 lower values for cooking loss, pH and 2-thiobarbituric acid (2-TBARS values and higher values for emulsion stability were obtained due to the incorporation of pomegranate rind powder extract at 5 percent level followed by 2.5 percent level than the other treatments. There was a significant (p<0.05 increase in cooking loss, pH, 2-TBARS values and free fatty acid content as the storage period progressed from 0 to 8 days, however emulsion stability of chicken meat balls decreased significantly (p<0.05 during the course of refrigeration. Microbial quality evaluation revealed that chicken meat balls incorporated with pomegranate rind powder extract at 5 percent level had significantly (p<0.05 lower standard plate count during refrigerated storage and a significant (p<0.05 increase in microbial load was observed. Organoleptic evaluation indicated that addition of pomegranate rind powder extract at 5 and 2.5 percent levels to chicken meat balls registered significantly (p<0.05 higher sensory scores for various eating quality attributes than the other treatments. However there was a significant (p<0.05 in all the organoleptic attributes of the product as the storage period increased.

Analysis of SBO accident and natural circulation of 49-2 swimming pool reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu Yuanyuan; Liu Tiancai; Sun Wei

2012-01-01

The transient thermal hydraulic characteristics of 49-2 Swimming Pool Reactor (SPR) were analyzed by RELAP5/MOD3.3 code to verify the capability of natural circulation and minus reactivity feedback for accident mitigation under the condition of station blackout (SBO). Then, the effects on accident consequence and sequence for core channels and primary pumps were briefly discussed. The calculation results show that the reactor can be shutdown by the effect of minus reactivity feedback, and the residual heat can be removed through the stable natural circulation. Therefore, it demonstrates that the 49-2 SPR is safe during the accident of SBO. (authors)

Experimental evaluation of SWCNT-water nanofluid as a secondary fluid in a refrigeration system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vasconcelos, Adriano Akel; Cárdenas Gómez, Abdul Orlando; Bandarra Filho, Enio Pedone; Parise, José Alberto Reis

2017-01-01

Highlights: • SWCNT-water nanofluid was used as secondary fluid for a refrigeration system. • For a given HTFS mass flow rate and inlet temperature, nanofluid performed better than base fluid. • Total power consumption was not significantly affected by volume concentration. • Nanoparticle volume fraction ranged from 0 to 0.21%. - Abstract: SWCNT-water (single walled carbon nanotube) nanofluid was tested as a secondary fluid for a 4–9 kW indirect vapor compression refrigeration system. The evaporator, with boiling refrigerant HCFC-22 extracting heat from the nanofluid, was of the brazed plate counter-flow type. A semi-hermetic compressor, an electronic expansion valve (EEV) and an air-cooled condenser were the other main components of the refrigeration cycle. Tests were carried out with the experimental apparatus operating over a range of different volumetric fractions of nanoparticles (0–0.21%) as well as nanofluid inlet temperatures (30–40 °C) and mass flow rates (40–80 g/s). Overall, the performance of the system working with nanofluid as a secondary fluid was superior to that where just the base fluid (i.e., pure water) circulated in the secondary fluid loop, at the same mass flow rate and inlet temperature. The enhanced thermal conductivity of the nanofluid is believed to be the main reason why the refrigeration system with the nanofluid loop, if compared to that with pure water, presented a higher refrigerating capacity.

Elimination of wet return lines in ammonia systems. High-efficiency systems for energy reduction in industrial refrigeration plants with ammonia

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moensted, A.

2011-01-15

The industrial refrigeration system design for ammonia plants has changed very little in the past years and the regulation system for each individual evaporator station is kept at a minimum with a solenoid for the liquid line and a regulator for the hot gas defrost. However, in the machine room there has been extensive development with the introduction of high-performance screw compressors with speed regulators and more efficient regulation systems. With this project, Danish Technological Institute has evaluated that possibilities exist for building more advanced systems at each evaporator system as the savings potential lies in the low-temperature control. There are some technical challenges involved in the development of cost-effective pumps and ejectors for this purpose and the work has commenced. It is possible that the components will be available in the market within few years. The measurement gave some basic data for Koerting to develop an ejector for the refrigeration market. Similarly, the project has provided Grundfos with basic knowledge about the performance requirements for small refrigerant circulation pumps used for establishing local circulation. It is a clear conclusion of the project that using small pumps for local ammonia circulation is beneficial to the performance as well as the energy efficiency of the system. The overall savings potential of the three evaporators amounts to between 13 and 19%. (LN)

Automated scoping methodology for liquid metal natural circulation small reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Son, Hyung M.; Suh, Kune Y.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Automated scoping methodology for natural circulation small modular reactor is developed. • In-house code is developed to carry out system analysis and core geometry generation during scoping. • Adjustment relations are obtained to correct the critical core geometry out of diffusion theory. • Optimized design specification is found using objective function value. • Convex hull volume is utilized to quantify the impact of different constraints on the scope range. - Abstract: A novel scoping method is proposed that can automatically generate design variable range of the natural circulation driven liquid metal cooled small reactor. From performance requirements based upon Generation IV system roadmap, appropriate structure materials are selected and engineering constraints are compiled based upon literature. Utilizing ASME codes and standards, appropriate geometric sizing criteria on constituting components are developed to ensure integrity of the system during its lifetime. In-house one dimensional thermo-hydraulic system analysis code is developed based upon momentum integral model and finite element methods to deal with non-uniform descritization of temperature nodes for convection and thermal diffusion equation of liquid metal coolant. In order to quickly generate critical core dimensions out of given unit cell information, an adjustment relation that relates the critical geometry estimated from one-group diffusion and that from MCNP code is constructed and utilized throughout the process. For the selected unit cell dimension ranges, burnup calculations are carried out to check the cores can generate energy over the reactor lifetime. Utilizing random method, sizing criteria, and in-house analysis codes, an automated scoping methodology is developed. The methodology is applied to nitride fueled integral type lead cooled natural circulation reactor concept to generate design scopes which satisfies given constraints. Three dimensional convex

Artificial intelligent methods for thermodynamic evaluation of ammonia-water refrigeration systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sencan, Arzu

2006-01-01

In this paper, Linear Regression and M5'Rules models within Data Mining Process and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model for thermodynamic evaluation of ammonia-water absorption refrigeration systems was carried out. A new formulation based on ANN model is presented for the analysis of ammonia-water absorption refrigeration systems (AWRS) because the optimal result was obtained by using ANN Model. Thermodynamic analysis of the AWRS is very complex because of analytic functions used for calculating the properties of fluid couples and simulation programs. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to perform analysis of this system. COP and f are estimated depending on the temperatures of system component and concentration values. Using the weights obtained from the trained network a new formulation is presented for the calculation of the COP and f; the use of ANN is proliferating with high speed in simulation. The R 2 -values obtained when unknown data were used to the networks was 0.9996 and 0.9873 for the circulation ratio and COP respectively which is very satisfactory. The use of this new formulation, which can be employed with any programming language or spreadsheet program for the estimation of the circulation ratio and COP of AWRS, as described in this paper, may make the use of dedicated ANN software unnecessary

Performance of refrigerating machineries with new refrigerants; Performance des machines frigorifiques avec les nouveaux refrigerants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bailly, A; Jurkowski, R [CIAT, 01 - Culoz (France)

1998-12-31

This paper reports on a comparative study of the thermal performances of different refrigerants like R-22, R-134a, R-404A and R-407C when used as possible substitutes for the HCFC22 refrigerant in a given refrigerating machinery equipped with compact high performance plate exchangers. Thermal performances are compared in identical operating conditions. The behaviour of the two-phase exchange coefficient is analyzed with respect to the different parameters. The composition of the mixture after one year of operation has been analyzed too and the influence of oil on the performances is studied. (J.S.)

Performance of refrigerating machineries with new refrigerants; Performance des machines frigorifiques avec les nouveaux refrigerants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bailly, A.; Jurkowski, R. [CIAT, 01 - Culoz (France)

1997-12-31

This paper reports on a comparative study of the thermal performances of different refrigerants like R-22, R-134a, R-404A and R-407C when used as possible substitutes for the HCFC22 refrigerant in a given refrigerating machinery equipped with compact high performance plate exchangers. Thermal performances are compared in identical operating conditions. The behaviour of the two-phase exchange coefficient is analyzed with respect to the different parameters. The composition of the mixture after one year of operation has been analyzed too and the influence of oil on the performances is studied. (J.S.)

Changes in equatorial zonal circulations and precipitation in the context of the global warming and natural modes

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, B. H.; Ha, K. J.

2017-12-01

The strengthening and westward shift of Pacific Walker Circulation (PWC) is observed during the recent decades. However, the relative roles of global warming and natural variability on the change in PWC unclearly remain. By conducting numerical atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) experiments using the spatial SST patterns in the global warming and natural modes which are obtained by the multi-variate EOF analysis from three variables including precipitation, sea surface temperature (SST), and divergent zonal wind, we indicated that the westward shift and strengthening of PWC are caused by the global warming SST pattern in the global warming mode and the negative Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation-like SST pattern in the natural mode. The SST distribution of the Pacific Ocean (PO) has more influence on the changes in equatorial zonal circulations and tropical precipitation than that of the Indian Ocean (IO) and Atlantic Ocean (AO). The change in precipitation is also related to the equatorial zonal circulations variation through the upward and downward motions of the circulations. The IO and AO SST anomalies in the global warming mode can affect on the changes in equatorial zonal circulations, but the influence of PO SST disturbs the Indian Walker circulation and Atlantic Walker circulation changes by the IO and AO. The zonal shift of PWC is found to be highly associated with a zonal gradient of SST over the PO through the idealized numerical AGCM experiments and predictions of CMIP5 models.

Behavior of FFC refrigerants in the presence of refrigerant oils. Oelverhalten chlorfreier Kaeltemittel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Burke, M.; Kruse, H. (Hannover Univ. (Germany, F.R.). Inst. fuer Kaeltetechnik und Angewandte Waermetechnik)

1990-01-01

Looking for substitutes for the ozone-depleting refrigerants R12 and R22, investigations were made of the miscibility of FFC refrigerants (R23 - trifluoromethane CHF{sub 3}, R134a - tetrafluoroethane CH{sub 3}-CHF{sub 2}, and R152a - difluoroethane CH{sub 3}-CHF{sub 2}) with refrigerator oils. First experimental results reveal the refrigerants' behavior when mixed with mineral oils, alkylbenzene, PAG and ester-based oils. Mixtures of above refrigerants, especially R134a/R152a and R23/R152a as binary nonazeotropic mixtures, are considered conceivable substitutes. While addition of R23 reduces the mixture's flammability, addition of R152a improves the solubility of R134a in refrigerant oils. (orig./HW).

Thermalhydraulic instability analysis of a two phase natural circulation loop

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sesini, Paula Aida

1998-01-01

This work presents an analysis of a loop operating in natural circulation regime. Experiments were done in a rectangular closed circuit in one and two-phase flows. Numerical analysis were performed initially with the CIRNAT code and afterwards with RELAP5/MOD2. The limitations of CIRNAT were studied and new developments for this code are proposed. (author)

Numerical analysis of the fluid dynamics in a natural circulation loop; Analise numerica da dinamica do escoamento em circuitos de circulacao natural

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Angelo, Gabriel

2013-07-01

Natural circulation loops apply to many engineering applications such as: water heating solar energy system (thermo-siphons), thermal management of electrical components (voltage converter), geothermal energy, nuclear reactors, etc. In pressurized water nuclear reactors, known as PWR's, the natural circulation loops are employed to ensure passive safety. In critical situations, the heat transfer will occur only by natural convection, without any external control or mechanical devices. This feature is desired and has been considered in modern nuclear reactor projects. This work consists of a numerical study of the natural circulation loop, located at the Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares / Comissao Nacional de Energia Nuclear in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in order to establish the flow pattern in single phase conditions. The comparison of numerical results to experiments in transient condition revealed significant deviations for the Zero Equation turbulence model. Intermediate deviations for the Eddy Viscosity Turbulence Equation (EVTE), k - {omega}, SST e SSG models. And the best results are obtained by the k - {epsilon} e DES models (with better results for the k - {epsilon} model). (author)

Comparison of auxiliary feedwater and EDRS operation during natural circulation of MRX

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Jae Hak; Park, Goon Cherl

1997-01-01

The MRX is an integral type ship reactor with 100 MWt power, which is designed by Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute. It is characterized by integral type PWR, in-vessel type control rod drive mechanism, water-filled containment vessel and passive decay heat removal system. Marine reactor should have high passive safety. Therefore, in this study, we simulated the loss of flow accident to verify the passive decay heat removal by natural circulation using RETRAN-03 code. auxiliary feed water systems are used for decay heat removal mechanism and results are compared with the loss of flow accident analysis using emergency decay heat removal system by JAERI. Results are very similar to case of EDRS 1 loop operation in JAERI analysis and decay heat is successfully removed by natural circulation

Refrigerants and environment

Science.gov (United States)

Tsvetkov, O. B.; Laptev, Yu A.

2017-11-01

The refrigeration and air-conditioning industries are important sectors of the economy and represents about 15 % of global electricity consumptions. The chlorofluorocarbons also called CFCs are a class of refrigerants containing the halogens chlorine and/or fluorine on a carbon skeleton. Because of their environmental impact the Montreal Protocol was negotiated in 1987 to limit the production of certain CFCs and hydrochlirofluorocarbons (HCFCs) in developed and developing countries. The halogenated refrigerants are depleting the ozone layer also major contribution to the greenhouse effect. To be acceptable as a refrigerant a fluid must satisfy a variety of thermodynamic criteria and should be environment friendly with zero Ozone Depletion Potential and low Global Warming Potential. The perspective of a future phase down of HFCs is considered in this report taking into account a strategy for the phase out of HCFCs and perspective of choosing of various refrigerant followed by safety issues.

Prediction of Dangerous Time in Case Hydrocarbon Refrigerant Leaks into Household Refrigerator Cabinet

Science.gov (United States)

Meguro, Takatoshi; Kaji, Nobufuji; Miyake, Kunihiro

Hydrocarbon refrigerators are now on sale in European countries. However, hydrocarbons are flammable. A common claim is that concentration of hydrocarbon in the refrigerator could exceed the lower explosive limit by a sudden leak and then a spark ignites a flame causing overpressure. There is the need of the studies on potential risks originated from the use of flammable refrigerants. Thus, the flow rate of the fresh air into the refrigerator cabinet has been defined experimentally, and the spatial average concentration in the refrigerator cabinet has been analyzed theoretically to predict the dangerous time in excess of the lower explosive limit.

Theoretical study on a novel dual-nozzle ejector enhanced refrigeration cycle for household refrigerator-freezers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou, Mengliu; Wang, Xiao; Yu, Jianlin

2013-01-01

Highlights: • A novel dual-nozzle ejector enhanced refrigeration cycle is proposed. • The novel cycle is evaluated by using the developed mathematical model. • The results show the performances of the novel cycle could be significantly improved. • The novel cycle shows its promise in household refrigerator-freezers applications. - Abstract: In this study, a novel dual-nozzle ejector enhanced refrigeration cycle is presented for dual evaporator household refrigerator-freezers. The proposed ejector equipped with two nozzles can efficiently recover the expansion work from cycle throttling processes and enhance cycle performances. The performances of the novel cycle are evaluated by using the developed mathematical model, and then compared with that of the conventional ejector enhanced refrigeration cycle and basic vapor-compression refrigeration cycle. The simulation results show that for the given operating conditions, the coefficient of performance (COP) of the novel cycle using refrigerant R134a is improved by 22.9–50.8% compared with that of the basic vapor-compression refrigeration cycle, and the COP improvement is 10.5–30.8% larger than that of the conventional ejector enhanced refrigeration cycle. The further simulation results of the novel cycle using refrigerant R600a indicate that the cycle COP and volumetric refrigeration capacity could be significantly improved

Application of noise analysis to stability determination of a natural circulation cooled BWR

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hagen, T.H.J.J. van der; Dam, H. van; Hoogenboom, J.E.; Nissen, W.H.M.; Oosterkamp, W.J.

1988-01-01

Experiments were performed on the Dodewaard natural circulation cooled BWR at different conditions. The absolute stability was determined by measuring system responses to control rod and steam flow valve steps. Changes in core stability were studied using the signal of an average power range monitor (APRM) in time domain (auto-correlation function and impulse response) and in frequency domain (power spectral density and peaking factor), the outlet void fraction and variations of the incore coolant velocity. It is shown that the reactor is very stable and that cooling by natural circulation improves load following. Stability monitoring can be performed by all mentioned methods but using APRM signals in frequency domain is preferred.

Thermal-hydraulics stability of natural circulation BWR under startup. Flashing effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hu, Rui; Kazimi, Mujid S.

2009-01-01

To help achieve the necessary natural circulation flow, a fairly long chimney is installed in a boiling natural circulation reactor like the ESBWR. In such systems, thermal-hydraulic stability during low pressure start-up should be examined while considering the flashing induced by the pressure drop in the channel and the chimney due to gravity head. In this work, a BWR stability analysis code in the frequency domain, named FISTAB (Flashing-Induced STability Analysis for BWR), was developed to address the issue of flashing-induced instability. A thermal-hydraulics non-homogeneous equilibrium model (NHEM) based on a drift flux formulation along with a lumped fuel dynamics model is incorporated in the work. The vapor generation rate is derived from the mixture energy conservation equation while considering the effect of flashing. The functionality of the FISTAB code was confirmed by comparison to experimental results from SIRIUS-N facility at CRIEPI, Japan. Both stationary and perturbation results agree well with the experimental results. (author)

On Stability of Natural-circulation-cooled Boiling Water Reactors during Start-up (Experimental Results)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manera, A.; Van der Hagen, T.H.J.J.

2002-01-01

The characteristics of flashing-induced instabilities, which are of importance during the start-up phase of natural-circulation Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs), are studied. Experiments at typical start-up conditions (low power and low pressure) are carried out on a steam/water natural circulation loop. The mechanism of flashing-induced instability is analyzed in detail and it is found that non-equilibrium between phases and enthalpy transport plays an important role in the instability process. Pressure and steam volume in the steam dome are found to have a stabilizing effect. The main characteristics of the instabilities have been analyzed. (authors)

A potential of boiling water power reactors with a natural circulation of a coolant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Osmachkin, V.S.; Sokolov, I.N.

1998-01-01

The use of the natural circulation of coolant in the boiling water reactors simplifies a reactor control and facilities the service of the equipment components. The moderated core power loads allows the long fuel burnup, good control ability and large water stock set up the enhancement of safety level. That is considered to be very important for isolated regions or small countries. In the paper a high safety level and effectiveness of BWRs with natural circulation are reviewed. The limitations of flow stability and protection measures are being discussed. Some recent efforts in designing of such reactors are described.(author)

Optimisation of expansion liquefaction processes using mixed refrigerant N_2–CH_4

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ding, He; Sun, Heng; He, Ming

2016-01-01

Highlights: • A refrigerant composition matching method for N_2–CH_4 expansion processes. • Efficiency improvements for propane pre-cooled N_2–CH_4 expansion processes. • The process shows good adaptability to varying natural gas compositions. - Abstract: An expansion process with a pre-cooling system is simulated and optimised by Aspen HYSYS and MATLAB"™. Taking advantage of higher specific refrigeration effect of methane and easily reduced refrigeration temperature of nitrogen, the designed process adopts N_2–CH_4 as a mixed refrigerant. Based on the different thermodynamic properties and sensitivity difference of N_2 and CH_4 over the same heat transfer temperature range, this work proposes a novel method of matching refrigerant composition which aims at single-stage or multi-stage series expansion liquefaction processes with pre-cooling systems. This novel method is applied successfully in propane pre-cooled N_2–CH_4 expansion process, and the unit power consumption is reduced to 7.09 kWh/kmol, which is only 5.35% higher than the global optimised solutions obtained by genetic algorithm. This novel method can fulfil the accomplishments of low energy consumption and high liquefaction rate, and thus decreases the gap between the mixed refrigerant and expansion processes in energy consumption. Furthermore, the high exergy efficiency of the process indicates good adaptability to varying natural gas compositions.

The low-power low-pressure flow resonance in a natural circulation cooled boiling water reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hagen, T.H.J.J. van der; Stekelenburg, A.J.C. [Delft Univ. of Technology (Netherlands)

1995-09-01

The last few years the possibility of flow resonances during the start-up phase of natural circulation cooled BWRs has been put forward by several authors. The present paper reports on actual oscillations observed at the Dodewaard reactor, the world`s only operating BWR cooled by natural circulation. In addition, results of a parameter study performed by means of a simple theoretical model are presented. The influence of relevant parameters on the resonance characteristics, being the decay ratio and the resonance frequency, is investigated and explained.

Developments in magnetocaloric refrigeration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brueck, Ekkes

2005-01-01

Modern society relies on readily available refrigeration. Magnetic refrigeration has three prominent advantages compared with compressor-based refrigeration. First, there are no harmful gases involved; second, it may be built more compactly as the working material is a solid; and third, magnetic refrigerators generate much less noise. Recently a new class of magnetic refrigerant-materials for room-temperature applications was discovered. These new materials have important advantages over existing magnetic coolants: they exhibit a large magnetocaloric effect (MCE) in conjunction with a magnetic phase-transition of first order. This MCE is larger than that of Gd metal, which is used in the demonstration refrigerators built to explore the potential of this evolving technology. In the present review we compare the different materials considering both scientific aspects and industrial applicability. Because fundamental aspects of MCE are not so widely discussed, we also give some theoretical considerations. (topical review)

Integrated Refrigeration and Storage for Advanced Liquid Hydrogen Operations

Science.gov (United States)

Swanger, A. M.; Notardonato, W. U.; Johnson, W. L.; Tomsik, T. M.

2016-01-01

NASA has used liquefied hydrogen (LH2) on a large scale since the beginning of the space program as fuel for the Centaur and Apollo upper stages, and more recently to feed the three space shuttle main engines. The LH2 systems currently in place at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) launch pads are aging and inefficient compared to the state-of-the-art. Therefore, the need exists to explore advanced technologies and operations that can drive commodity costs down, and provide increased capabilities. The Ground Operations Demonstration Unit for Liquid Hydrogen (GODU-LH2) was developed at KSC to pursue these goals by demonstrating active thermal control of the propellant state by direct removal of heat using a cryocooler. The project has multiple objectives including zero loss storage and transfer, liquefaction of gaseous hydrogen, and densification of liquid hydrogen. The key technology challenge was efficiently integrating the cryogenic refrigerator into the LH2 storage tank. A Linde LR1620 Brayton cycle refrigerator is used to produce up to 900W cooling at 20K, circulating approximately 22 g/s gaseous helium through the hydrogen via approximately 300 m of heat exchanger tubing. The GODU-LH2 system is fully operational, and is currently under test. This paper will discuss the design features of the refrigerator and storage system, as well as the current test results.

RETRAN-02 analysis of upper head cooling during controlled natural circulation cooldown of Yankee Nuclear Power Station

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fujita, N.; Helrich, R.E.; Bergeron, P.A.

1982-01-01

RETRAN-02 is particularly well-suited for investigating the fluid conditions in the upper head during a natural circulation cooldown. The RETRAN input model was developed with four basic objectives: (1) accurate description of the upper head cooling mechanisms; (2) proper simulation of natural circulation; (3) respresentations of operator actions required to proceed from full-power to shutdown-cooling-system conditions using both automatic and manual controls; and (4) reduction of the computer cost of simulating this evolution of approximately 10-hour duration. The response of the upper head fluid temperature calculated by RETRAN was in close agreement with measured data obtained from a natural circulation cooldown experiment performed for the Connecticut Yankee Plant, whose design is very similar to the Yankee Nuclear Power Station

Solution procedure and performance evaluation for a water–LiBr absorption refrigeration machine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wonchala, Jason; Hazledine, Maxwell; Goni Boulama, Kiari

2014-01-01

The water–lithium bromide absorption cooling machine was investigated theoretically in this paper. A detailed solution procedure was proposed and validated. A parametric study was conducted over the entire admissible ranges of the desorber, condenser, absorber and evaporator temperatures. The performance of the machine was evaluated based on the circulation ratio which is a measure of the system size and cost, the first law coefficient of performance and the second law exergy efficiency. The circulation ratio and the coefficient of performance were seen to improve as the temperature of the heat source increased, while the second law performance deteriorated. The same qualitative responses were obtained when the temperature of the refrigerated environment was increased. On the other hand, simultaneously raising the condenser and absorber temperatures was seen to result in a severe deterioration of both the circulation ratio and first law coefficient of performance, while the second law performance indicator improved significantly. The influence of the difference between the condenser and absorber exit temperatures, as well as that of the internal recovery heat exchanger on the different performance indicators was also calculated and discussed. - Highlights: • Analysis of a water–LiBr absorption machine, including detailed solution procedure. • Performance assessed using first and second law considerations, as well as flow ratio. • Effects of heat source and refrigerated environment temperatures on the performance. • Effects of the difference between condenser and absorber temperatures. • Effects of internal heat exchanger efficiency on overall cooling machine performance

Scaling Analysis of the Single-Phase Natural Circulation: the Hydraulic Similarity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu, Xin-Guo; Choi, Ki-Yong

2015-01-01

These passive safety systems all rely on the natural circulation to cool down the reactor cores during an accident. Thus, a robust and accurate scaling methodology must be developed and employed to both assist in the design of a scaled-down test facility and guide the tests in order to mimic the natural circulation flow of its prototype. The natural circulation system generally consists of a heat source, the connecting pipes and several heat sinks. Although many applauding scaling methodologies have been proposed during last several decades, few works have been dedicated to systematically analyze and exactly preserve the hydraulic similarity. In the present study, the hydraulic similarity analyses are performed at both system and local level. By this mean, the scaling criteria for the exact hydraulic similarity in a full-pressure model have been sought. In other words, not only the system-level but also the local-level hydraulic similarities are pursued. As the hydraulic characteristics of a fluid system is governed by the momentum equation, the scaling analysis starts with it. A dimensionless integral loop momentum equation is derived to obtain the dimensionless numbers. In the dimensionless momentum equation, two dimensionless numbers, the dimensionless flow resistance number and the dimensionless gravitational force number, are identified along with a unique hydraulic time scale, characterizing the system hydraulic response. A full-height full-pressure model is also made to see which model among the full-height model and reduced-height model can preserve the hydraulic behavior of the prototype. From the dimensionless integral momentum equation, a unique hydraulic time scale, which characterizes the hydraulic response of a single-phase natural circulation system, is identified along with two dimensionless parameters: the dimensionless flow resistance number and the dimensionless gravitational force number. By satisfying the equality of both dimensionless numbers

Scaling Analysis of the Single-Phase Natural Circulation: the Hydraulic Similarity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yu, Xin-Guo; Choi, Ki-Yong [KAERI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2015-05-15

These passive safety systems all rely on the natural circulation to cool down the reactor cores during an accident. Thus, a robust and accurate scaling methodology must be developed and employed to both assist in the design of a scaled-down test facility and guide the tests in order to mimic the natural circulation flow of its prototype. The natural circulation system generally consists of a heat source, the connecting pipes and several heat sinks. Although many applauding scaling methodologies have been proposed during last several decades, few works have been dedicated to systematically analyze and exactly preserve the hydraulic similarity. In the present study, the hydraulic similarity analyses are performed at both system and local level. By this mean, the scaling criteria for the exact hydraulic similarity in a full-pressure model have been sought. In other words, not only the system-level but also the local-level hydraulic similarities are pursued. As the hydraulic characteristics of a fluid system is governed by the momentum equation, the scaling analysis starts with it. A dimensionless integral loop momentum equation is derived to obtain the dimensionless numbers. In the dimensionless momentum equation, two dimensionless numbers, the dimensionless flow resistance number and the dimensionless gravitational force number, are identified along with a unique hydraulic time scale, characterizing the system hydraulic response. A full-height full-pressure model is also made to see which model among the full-height model and reduced-height model can preserve the hydraulic behavior of the prototype. From the dimensionless integral momentum equation, a unique hydraulic time scale, which characterizes the hydraulic response of a single-phase natural circulation system, is identified along with two dimensionless parameters: the dimensionless flow resistance number and the dimensionless gravitational force number. By satisfying the equality of both dimensionless numbers

Non linear stability analysis of parallel channels with natural circulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mishra, Ashish Mani; Singh, Suneet, E-mail: suneet.singh@iitb.ac.in

2016-12-01

Highlights: • Nonlinear instabilities in natural circulation loop are studied. • Generalized Hopf points, Sub and Supercritical Hopf bifurcations are identified. • Bogdanov–Taken Point (BT Point) is observed by nonlinear stability analysis. • Effect of parameters on stability of system is studied. - Abstract: Linear stability analysis of two-phase flow in natural circulation loop is quite extensively studied by many researchers in past few years. It can be noted that linear stability analysis is limited to the small perturbations only. It is pointed out that such systems typically undergo Hopf bifurcation. If the Hopf bifurcation is subcritical, then for relatively large perturbation, the system has unstable limit cycles in the (linearly) stable region in the parameter space. Hence, linear stability analysis capturing only infinitesimally small perturbations is not sufficient. In this paper, bifurcation analysis is carried out to capture the non-linear instability of the dynamical system and both subcritical and supercritical bifurcations are observed. The regions in the parameter space for which subcritical and supercritical bifurcations exist are identified. These regions are verified by numerical simulation of the time-dependent, nonlinear ODEs for the selected points in the operating parameter space using MATLAB ODE solver.

COP improvement of refrigerator/freezers, air-conditioners, and heat pumps using nonazeotropic refrigerant mixtures

Science.gov (United States)

Westra, Douglas G.

1993-01-01

With the February, 1992 announcement by President Bush to move the deadline for outlawing CFC (chloro-fluoro-carbon) refrigerants from the year 2000 to the year 1996, the refrigeration and air-conditioning industries have been accelerating their efforts to find alternative refrigerants. Many of the alternative refrigerants being evaluated require synthetic lubricants, are less efficient, and have toxicity problems. One option to developing new, alternative refrigerants is to combine existing non-CFC refrigerants to form a nonazeotropic mixture, with the concentration optimized for the given application so that system COP (Coefficient Of Performance) may be maintained or even improved. This paper will discuss the dilemma that industry is facing regarding CFC phase-out and the problems associated with CFC alternatives presently under development. A definition of nonazeotropic mixtures will be provided, and the characteristics and COP benefits of nonazeotropic refrigerant mixtures will be explained using thermodynamic principles. Limitations and disadvantages of nonazeotropic mixtures will be discussed, and example systems using such mixtures will be reviewed.

Flow visualization of bubble behavior under two-phase natural circulation flow conditions using high speed digital camera

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lemos, Wanderley F.; Su, Jian, E-mail: wlemos@con.ufrj.br, E-mail: sujian@lasme.coppe.ufrj.br [Coordenacao dos Programas de Pos-Graduacao em Engenharia (COPPE/UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Programa de Engenharia Nuclear; Faccini, Jose L.H., E-mail: faccini@ien.gov.br [Instituto de Engenharia Nuclear (IEN/CNEN-RJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Lab. de Termo-Hidraulica Experimental

2013-07-01

The The present work aims at identifying flow patterns and measuring interfacial parameters in two-phase natural circulation by using visualization technique with high-speed digital camera. The experiments were conducted in the Natural Circulation Circuit (CCN), installed at Nuclear Engineering Institute/CNEN. The thermo-hydraulic circuit comprises heater, heat exchanger, expansion tank, the pressure relief valve and pipes to interconnect the components. A glass tube is installed at the midpoint of the riser connected to the heater outlet. The natural circulation circuit is complemented by acquisition system of values of temperatures, flow and graphic interface. The instrumentation has thermocouples, volumetric flow meter, rotameter and high-speed digital camera. The experimental study is performed through analysis of information from measurements of temperatures at strategic points along the hydraulic circuit, besides natural circulation flow rates. The comparisons between analytical and experimental values are validated by viewing, recording and processing of the images for the flows patterns. Variables involved in the process of identification of flow regimes, dimensionless parameters, the phase velocity of the flow, initial boiling point, the phenomenon of 'flashing' pre-slug flow type were obtained experimentally. (author)

Flow visualization of bubble behavior under two-phase natural circulation flow conditions using high speed digital camera

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lemos, Wanderley F.; Su, Jian; Faccini, Jose L.H.

2013-01-01

The The present work aims at identifying flow patterns and measuring interfacial parameters in two-phase natural circulation by using visualization technique with high-speed digital camera. The experiments were conducted in the Natural Circulation Circuit (CCN), installed at Nuclear Engineering Institute/CNEN. The thermo-hydraulic circuit comprises heater, heat exchanger, expansion tank, the pressure relief valve and pipes to interconnect the components. A glass tube is installed at the midpoint of the riser connected to the heater outlet. The natural circulation circuit is complemented by acquisition system of values of temperatures, flow and graphic interface. The instrumentation has thermocouples, volumetric flow meter, rotameter and high-speed digital camera. The experimental study is performed through analysis of information from measurements of temperatures at strategic points along the hydraulic circuit, besides natural circulation flow rates. The comparisons between analytical and experimental values are validated by viewing, recording and processing of the images for the flows patterns. Variables involved in the process of identification of flow regimes, dimensionless parameters, the phase velocity of the flow, initial boiling point, the phenomenon of 'flashing' pre-slug flow type were obtained experimentally. (author)

Fermilab tevatron five refrigerator system tests

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rode, C.; Ferry, R.; Leiniger, M.; Makara, J.; Misek, J.; Mizicko, D.; Richied, D.; Theilacker, J.

1982-01-01

The Fermilab Tevatron refrigeration system is described with the layout illustrated. The compressor control loops, the refrigerator control loops, and magnet control loops (two per refrigerator) are described and each illustrated. The mobile purifier is described. A five refrigerator test is presented, using two compressor buildings, satellite refrigerator concept test and the test current to the writing. The configuration of the five refrigerator test is diagramed

ARTI Refrigerant Database

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cain, J.M. (Calm (James M.), Great Falls, VA (United States))

1993-04-30

The Refrigerant Database consolidates and facilitates access to information to assist industry in developing equipment using alternative refrigerants. The underlying purpose is to accelerate phase out of chemical compounds of environmental concern. The database provides bibliographic citations and abstracts for publications that may be useful in research and design of air-conditioning and refrigeration equipment. The complete documents are not included. The database identifies sources of specific information on R-32, R-123, R-124, R-125, R-134, R-134a, R-141b, R-142b, R-143a, R-152a, R-245ca, R-290 (propane), R-717 (ammonia), ethers, and others as well as azeotropic and zeotropic blends of these fluids. It addresses lubricants including alkylbenzene, polyalkylene glycol, ester, and other synthetics as well as mineral oils. It also references documents addressing compatibility of refrigerants and lubricants with metals, plastics, elastomers, motor insulation, and other materials used in refrigerant circuits. Incomplete citations or abstracts are provided for some documents to accelerate availability of the information and will be completed or replaced in future updates.

Thermodynamic, Environmental and Economic Analyses of Solar Ejector Refrigeration System Application for Cold Storage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

İbrahim ÜÇGÜL

2009-02-01

Full Text Available The refrigeration processes have been widely applied for especially in cold storages. In these plants, the systems working with compressed vapour cooling cycles have been used as a classical method. In general, electrical energy is used for compressing in these processes. Although, mainly the electricity itself has no pollution effect on the environment, the fossil fuels that are widely used to produce electricity in the most of the world, affect the nature terribly. In short, these refrigeration plants, because of the source of the electricity pollute the nature indirectly. However, for compression an ejector refrigeration system requires one of the important renewable energy sources with negligible pollution impact on the environment, namely solar energy from a thermal source. Thermodynamical, environmental and economical aspects of the ejector refrigeration system working with solar energy was investigated in this study. As a pilot case, apple cold storage plants widely used in ISPARTA city, which 1/5 th of apple production of TURKEY has been provided from, was chosen. Enviromental and economical advantages of solar ejector refrigeration system application for cold storage dictated by thermodynamic, economic and enviromental analyses in this research.

Transient modelling of a natural circulation loop under variable pressure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vianna, Andre L.B.; Faccini, Jose L.H.; Su, Jian; Instituto de Engenharia Nuclear

2017-01-01

The objective of the present work is to model the transient operation of a natural circulation loop, which is one-tenth scale in height to a typical Passive Residual Heat Removal system (PRHR) of an Advanced Pressurized Water Nuclear Reactor and was designed to meet the single and two-phase flow similarity criteria to it. The loop consists of a core barrel with electrically heated rods, upper and lower plena interconnected by hot and cold pipe legs to a seven-tube shell heat exchanger of countercurrent design, and an expansion tank with a descending tube. A long transient characterized the loop operation, during which a phenomenon of self-pressurization, without self-regulation of the pressure, was experimentally observed. This represented a unique situation, named natural circulation under variable pressure (NCVP). The self-pressurization was originated in the air trapped in the expansion tank and compressed by the loop water dilatation, as it heated up during each experiment. The mathematical model, initially oriented to the single-phase flow, included the heat capacity of the structure and employed a cubic polynomial approximation for the density, in the buoyancy term calculation. The heater was modelled taking into account the different heat capacities of the heating elements and the heater walls. The heat exchanger was modelled considering the coolant heating, during the heat exchanging process. The self-pressurization was modelled as an isentropic compression of a perfect gas. The whole model was computationally implemented via a set of finite difference equations. The corresponding computational algorithm of solution was of the explicit, marching type, as for the time discretization, in an upwind scheme, regarding the space discretization. The computational program was implemented in MATLAB. Several experiments were carried out in the natural circulation loop, having the coolant flow rate and the heating power as control parameters. The variables used in the

Transient modelling of a natural circulation loop under variable pressure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vianna, Andre L.B.; Faccini, Jose L.H.; Su, Jian, E-mail: avianna@nuclear.ufrj.br, E-mail: sujian@nuclear.ufrj.br, E-mail: faccini@ien.gov.br [Coordenacao de Pos-Graduacao e Pesquisa de Engenharia (COPPE/UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Programa de Engenharia Nuclear; Instituto de Engenharia Nuclear (IEN/CNEN-RJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Lab. de Termo-Hidraulica Experimental

2017-07-01

The objective of the present work is to model the transient operation of a natural circulation loop, which is one-tenth scale in height to a typical Passive Residual Heat Removal system (PRHR) of an Advanced Pressurized Water Nuclear Reactor and was designed to meet the single and two-phase flow similarity criteria to it. The loop consists of a core barrel with electrically heated rods, upper and lower plena interconnected by hot and cold pipe legs to a seven-tube shell heat exchanger of countercurrent design, and an expansion tank with a descending tube. A long transient characterized the loop operation, during which a phenomenon of self-pressurization, without self-regulation of the pressure, was experimentally observed. This represented a unique situation, named natural circulation under variable pressure (NCVP). The self-pressurization was originated in the air trapped in the expansion tank and compressed by the loop water dilatation, as it heated up during each experiment. The mathematical model, initially oriented to the single-phase flow, included the heat capacity of the structure and employed a cubic polynomial approximation for the density, in the buoyancy term calculation. The heater was modelled taking into account the different heat capacities of the heating elements and the heater walls. The heat exchanger was modelled considering the coolant heating, during the heat exchanging process. The self-pressurization was modelled as an isentropic compression of a perfect gas. The whole model was computationally implemented via a set of finite difference equations. The corresponding computational algorithm of solution was of the explicit, marching type, as for the time discretization, in an upwind scheme, regarding the space discretization. The computational program was implemented in MATLAB. Several experiments were carried out in the natural circulation loop, having the coolant flow rate and the heating power as control parameters. The variables used in the

ARTI Refrigerant Database

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Calm, J.M. [Calm (James M.), Great Falls, VA (United States)

1994-05-27

The Refrigerant Database consolidates and facilitates access to information to assist industry in developing equipment using alternative refrigerants. The underlying purpose is to accelerate phase out of chemical compounds of environmental concern.

Computational simulation of the natural circulation occurring in an experimental test section of a pool type research reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nascimento, Francisco R.T. do; Lima Junior, Carlos A.S.; Oliveira, Andre F.S. de; Affonso, Renato R.W.; Faccini, Jose L.H.; Moreira, Maria L., E-mail: rogerio.tdn@gmail.com, E-mail: souzalima_ca@ien.gov.br, E-mail: oliveira.afelipe@gmail.com, E-mail: raoniwa@yahoo.com.br, E-mail: faccini@ien.gov.br, E-mail: malu@ien.gov.br [Instituto de Engenharia Nuclear (IEN/CNEN-RJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

2015-07-01

The present work presents a computational simulation of the natural circulation phenomenon developing in an experimental test section of a pool type research reactor. The test section has been designed using a reduced scale in height 1:4.7 in relation to a pool type 30 MW research reactor prototype. It comprises a cylindrical vessel, which is opened to atmosphere, and representing the reactor pool; a natural circulation pipe, a lower plenum, and a heater containing electrical resistors in rectangular plate format, which represents the fuel elements, with a chimney positioned on the top of the resistor assembly. In the computational simulation, it was used a commercial CFD software, without any turbulence model. Besides, in the presence of the natural circulation, a laminar flow has been assumed and the equations of the mass conservation, momentum and energy were solved by the finite element method. In addition, the results of the simulation are presented in terms of velocities and temperatures differences, respectively: at inlet and outlet of the heater and of the natural circulation pipe. (author)

Computational simulation of the natural circulation occurring in an experimental test section of a pool type research reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nascimento, Francisco R.T. do; Lima Junior, Carlos A.S.; Oliveira, Andre F.S. de; Affonso, Renato R.W.; Faccini, Jose L.H.; Moreira, Maria L.

2015-01-01

The present work presents a computational simulation of the natural circulation phenomenon developing in an experimental test section of a pool type research reactor. The test section has been designed using a reduced scale in height 1:4.7 in relation to a pool type 30 MW research reactor prototype. It comprises a cylindrical vessel, which is opened to atmosphere, and representing the reactor pool; a natural circulation pipe, a lower plenum, and a heater containing electrical resistors in rectangular plate format, which represents the fuel elements, with a chimney positioned on the top of the resistor assembly. In the computational simulation, it was used a commercial CFD software, without any turbulence model. Besides, in the presence of the natural circulation, a laminar flow has been assumed and the equations of the mass conservation, momentum and energy were solved by the finite element method. In addition, the results of the simulation are presented in terms of velocities and temperatures differences, respectively: at inlet and outlet of the heater and of the natural circulation pipe. (author)

Magnon-driven quantum dot refrigerators

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Yuan; Huang, Chuankun; Liao, Tianjun; Chen, Jincan, E-mail: jcchen@xmu.edu.cn

2015-12-18

Highlights: • A three-terminal quantum dot refrigerator is proposed. • The effects of magnetic field, applied voltage, and polarization are considered. • The region that the system can work as a refrigerator is determined. • Two different magnon-driven quantum dot refrigerators are compared. - Abstract: A new model of refrigerator consisting of a spin-splitting quantum dot coupled with two ferromagnetic reservoirs and a ferromagnetic insulator is proposed. The rate equation is used to calculate the occupation probabilities of the quantum dot. The expressions of the electron and magnon currents are obtained. The region that the system can work in as a refrigerator is determined. The cooling power and coefficient of performance (COP) of the refrigerator are derived. The influences of the magnetic field, applied voltage, and polarization of two leads on the performance are discussed. The performances of two different magnon-driven quantum dot refrigerators are compared.

Applicability of ASST-A helium refrigeration system for JLab End Station Refrigerator

Science.gov (United States)

Hasan, N.; Knudsen, P.; Ganni, V.

2017-12-01

The MØLLER experiment at Jefferson Lab (JLab) is a high power (5 kW) liquid hydrogen target scheduled to be operational in the 12 GeV-era. At present, cryogenic loads and targets at three of JLab’s four experimental halls are supported by the End Station Refrigerator (ESR) - a CTI/Helix 1.5 kW 4.5 K refrigerator. It is not capable of supporting the high power target load and a capacity upgrade of the ESR cryogenic system is essential. The ASST-A helium refrigeration system is a 4 kW 4.5 K refrigerator. It was designed and used for the Superconducting Super Collider Lab (SSCL) magnet string test and later obtained by JLab after the cancellation of that project. The modified ASST-A refrigeration system, which will be called ESR-II along with a support flow from JLab’s Central Helium Liquefier (CHL) is considered as an option for the End Station Refrigerator capacity upgrade. The applicability of this system for ESR-II under varying load conditions is investigated. The present paper outlines the findings of this process study.

Oxygen concentration diffusion analysis of lead-bismuth-cooled, natural-circulation reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ito, Kei; Sakai, Takaaki

2001-11-01

The feasibility study on fast breeder reactors in Japan has been conducted at JNC and related organizations. The Phase-I study has finished in March, 2001. During the Phase-I activity, lead-bismuth eutectic coolant has been selected as one of the possible coolant options and a medium-scale plant, cooled by a lead-bismuth natural circulation flow was studied. On the other side, it is known that lead-bismuth eutectic has a problem of structural material corrosiveness. It was found that oxygen concentration control in the eutectic plays an important role on the corrosion protection. In this report, we have developed a concentration diffusion analysis code (COCOA: COncentration COntrol Analysis code) in order to carry out the oxygen concentration control analysis. This code solves a two-dimensional concentration diffusion equation by the finite differential method. It is possible to simulate reaction of oxygen and hydrogen by the code. We verified the basic performance of the code and carried out oxygen concentration diffusion analysis for the case of an oxygen increase by a refueling process in the natural circulation reactor. In addition, characteristics of the oxygen control system was discussed for a different type of the control system as well. It is concluded that the COCOA code can simulate diffusion of oxygen concentration in the reactor. By the analysis of a natural circulation medium-scale reactor, we make clear that the ON-OFF control and PID control can well control oxygen concentration by choosing an appropriate concentration measurement point. In addition, even when a trouble occurs in the oxygen emission or hydrogen emission system, it observes that control characteristic drops away. It is still possible, however, to control oxygen concentration in such case. (author)

A study of alternative refrigerants for the refrigeration and air conditioning sector in Mauritius

Science.gov (United States)

Dreepaul, R. K.

2017-11-01

The most frequently used refrigerants in the refrigeration and air conditioning (RAC) sector in Mauritius are currently hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC) and hydrofluorocarbons (HFC). However, because of their strong influence on global warming and the impact of HCFCs on the ozone layer, refrigerants such as ammonia (NH3), carbon dioxide (CO2) and Hydrocarbons (HC), having minimal impact on the environment, are being considered. So far, HCs have only been safely used in domestic refrigeration. Ammonia has been used mainly for industrial refrigeration whereas CO2 is still under study. In this paper, a comparative study of the various feasible alternatives is presented in a survey that was undertaken with major stake holders in the field. The retrofitting possibility of existing equipment was assessed and safety issues associated with each refrigerant were analysed. The major setback of hydrocarbons as a widely accepted refrigerant is its flammability which was considered as a major safety hazard by the majority of respondents in the survey and the main advantages are the improved equipment coefficient of performance (COP) and better TEWI factor. This resulted in a 12 % drop in energy consumption. Despite the excellent thermodynamic properties of ammonia, its use has mainly been confined to industrial refrigeration due to its toxicity. In Mauritius, the performance of ammonia in air conditioning is being evaluated on a pilot basis. The major setback of carbon dioxide as a refrigerant is the high operating pressure which is considered a safety hazard. The high initial investment cost and the lack of qualified maintenance technician is also an issue. The use of CO2 is mainly being considered in the commercial refrigeration sector.

Operating experience of natural circulation core cooling in boiling water reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kullberg, C.; Jones, K.; Heath, C.

1993-01-01

General Electric (GE) has proposed an advanced boiling water reactor, the Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (SBWR), which will utilize passive, gravity-driven safety systems for emergency core coolant injection. The SBWR design includes no recirculation loops or recirculation pumps. Therefore the SBWR will operate in a natural circulation (NC) mode at full power conditions. This design poses some concerns relative to stability during startup, shutdown, and at power conditions. As a consequence, the NRC has directed personnel at several national labs to help investigate SBWR stability issues. This paper will focus on some of the preliminary findings made at the INEL. Because of the broad range of stability issues this paper will mainly focus on potential geysering instabilities during startup. The two NC designs examined in detail are the US Humboldt Bay Unit 3 BWR-1 plant and Dodewaard plant in the Netherlands. The objective of this paper will be to review operating experience of these two plants and evaluate their relevance to planned SBWR operational procedures. For completeness, experimental work with early natural circulation GE test facilities will also be briefly discussed

2017 German refrigeration and air conditioning meeting. Proceedings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2017-01-01

This year's lecture programme includes 117 presentations in the five working departments of DKV and 10 lectures at the special event ''Energy-efficient air conditioning in data centres''. The main topics in the respective departments were: (1) Cryogenics: Space applications; Cryogenic plants; Cryomedicine and cryobiology; Components, developments; Processes and plants; Valves, design. (2) Basics: Evaporation, material values; evaporation, condensation; absorption; adsorption, latent storage; cycle simulation. (3) Components: CO 2 plant engineering and components; refrigerants; process control, adsorption, sublimation and storage technology; refrigerating machine oils, heat exchangers and corrosion; components 4.0, sensors and control technology; simulation of plant processes. (4) Cold application: Application; Application / Natural Refrigerants; Mobile Applications Car; Mobile Applications; Supermarket / Efficiency; Optimization / Efficiency. (5) Air conditioning and heat pump applications: load shifting, smart home, flexibility; heat sources and industrial heat pumps; modelling, simulations; energy concepts heat pumps and photovoltaics; monitoring, evaluation; technology trends / working materials. Six papers are separately analyzed for this database. [de

Evaluation method for core thermohydraulics during natural circulation in fast reactors numerical predictions of inter-wrapper flow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kamide, H.; Kimura, N.; Miyakoshi, H.; Nagasawa, K.

2001-01-01

Decay heat removal using natural circulation is one of the important functions for the safety of fast reactors. As a decay heat removal system, direct reactor auxiliary cooling system has been selected in current designs of fast reactors. In this design, dumped heat exchanger provides cold sodium and it covers the reactor core outlet. The cold sodium can penetrate into the gap region between the subassemblies. This gap flow is referred as inter-wrapper flow (IWF). A numerical estimation method for such natural circulation phenomena in a reactor core has been developed, which models each subassembly as a rectangular duct with gap region between the subassemblies and also the upper plenum in a reactor vessel. This numerical simulation method was verified based on experimental data of a sodium test using 7- subassembly core model and also a water test which simulates IWF using the 1/12 sector model of a reactor core. We applied the estimation method to the natural circulation in a 600 MW class fast reactor. The temperature in the core strongly depended on IWF, flow redistribution in the core, and inter-subassembly heat transfer. It is desired for prediction methods on the natural circulation to simulate these phenomena. (author)

Simulation of Transcritical CO2 Refrigeration System with Booster Hot Gas Bypass in Tropical Climate

Science.gov (United States)

Santosa, I. D. M. C.; Sudirman; Waisnawa, IGNS; Sunu, PW; Temaja, IW

2018-01-01

A Simulation computer becomes significant important for performance analysis since there is high cost and time allocation to build an experimental rig, especially for CO2 refrigeration system. Besides, to modify the rig also need additional cos and time. One of computer program simulation that is very eligible to refrigeration system is Engineering Equation System (EES). In term of CO2 refrigeration system, environmental issues becomes priority on the refrigeration system development since the Carbon dioxide (CO2) is natural and clean refrigerant. This study aims is to analysis the EES simulation effectiveness to perform CO2 transcritical refrigeration system with booster hot gas bypass in high outdoor temperature. The research was carried out by theoretical study and numerical analysis of the refrigeration system using the EES program. Data input and simulation validation were obtained from experimental and secondary data. The result showed that the coefficient of performance (COP) decreased gradually with the outdoor temperature variation increasing. The results show the program can calculate the performance of the refrigeration system with quick running time and accurate. So, it will be significant important for the preliminary reference to improve the CO2 refrigeration system design for the hot climate temperature.

Investigation of Natural Circulation Instability and Transients in Passively Safe Small Modular Reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ishii, Mamoru [Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United State

2016-11-30

The NEUP funded project, NEUP-3496, aims to experimentally investigate two-phase natural circulation flow instability that could occur in Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), especially for natural circulation SMRs. The objective has been achieved by systematically performing tests to study the general natural circulation instability characteristics and the natural circulation behavior under start-up or design basis accident conditions. Experimental data sets highlighting the effect of void reactivity feedback as well as the effect of power ramp-up rate and system pressure have been used to develop a comprehensive stability map. The safety analysis code, RELAP5, has been used to evaluate experimental results and models. Improvements to the constitutive relations for flashing have been made in order to develop a reliable analysis tool. This research has been focusing on two generic SMR designs, i.e. a small modular Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (SBWR) like design and a small integral Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) like design. A BWR-type natural circulation test facility was firstly built based on the three-level scaling analysis of the Purdue Novel Modular Reactor (NMR) with an electric output of 50 MWe, namely NMR-50, which represents a BWR-type SMR with a significantly reduced reactor pressure vessel (RPV) height. The experimental facility was installed with various equipment to measure thermalhydraulic parameters such as pressure, temperature, mass flow rate and void fraction. Characterization tests were performed before the startup transient tests and quasi-steady tests to determine the loop flow resistance. The control system and data acquisition system were programmed with LabVIEW to realize the realtime control and data storage. The thermal-hydraulic and nuclear coupled startup transients were performed to investigate the flow instabilities at low pressure and low power conditions for NMR-50. Two different power ramps were chosen to study the effect of startup

Assessment of RELAP5/MOD2 against a natural circulation experiment in Nuclear Power Plant Borssele

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Winters, L.

1993-07-01

As part of the ICAP (International Code Assessment and Applications Program) agreement between ECN (Netherlands Energy Research Foundation) and USNRC, ECN has performed a number of assessment calculations for the thermohydraulic system analysis code RELAP5/MOD2/36.05. This document describes the assessment of this computer program versus a natural circulation experiment as conducted at the Borssele Nuclear Power Plant. The results of this comparison show that the code RELAP5/MOD2 predicts well the natural circulation behaviour of Nuclear Power Plant Borssele

Thermodynamic performance of an auto-cascade ejector refrigeration cycle with mixed refrigerant R32 + R236fa

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tan, Yingying; Wang, Lin; Liang, Kunfeng

2015-01-01

In this paper, an auto-cascade ejector refrigeration cycle (ACERC) is proposed to obtain lower refrigeration temperature based on conventional ejector refrigeration and auto-cascade refrigeration principle. The thermodynamic performance of ACERC is investigated theoretically. The zeotropic refrigerant mixture R32 + R236fa is used as its working fluid. A parametric analysis is conducted to evaluate the effects of some thermodynamic parameters on the cycle performance. The study shows that refrigerant mixture composition, condenser outlet temperature and evaporation pressure have effects on performance of ACERC. The theoretical results also indicate that the ACERC can achieve the lowest refrigeration temperature at the temperature level of −30 °C. The application of zeotropic refrigerant mixture auto-cascade refrigeration in the ejector refrigeration cycle can provide a new way to obtain lower refrigeration temperature utilizing low-grade thermal energy. - Highlights: • An auto-cascade ejector refrigerator with R32 + R236fa mixed refrigerant is proposed. • The cycle can obtain a refrigeration temperature at −30 °C temperature range. • The effects of some thermodynamic parameters on the cycle performance are evaluated

High Efficiency, Low Emission Refrigeration System

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fricke, Brian A [ORNL; Sharma, Vishaldeep [ORNL

2016-08-01

Supermarket refrigeration systems account for approximately 50% of supermarket energy use, placing this class of equipment among the highest energy consumers in the commercial building domain. In addition, the commonly used refrigeration system in supermarket applications is the multiplex direct expansion (DX) system, which is prone to refrigerant leaks due to its long lengths of refrigerant piping. This leakage reduces the efficiency of the system and increases the impact of the system on the environment. The high Global Warming Potential (GWP) of the hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants commonly used in these systems, coupled with the large refrigerant charge and the high refrigerant leakage rates leads to significant direct emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Methods for reducing refrigerant leakage and energy consumption are available, but underutilized. Further work needs to be done to reduce costs of advanced system designs to improve market utilization. In addition, refrigeration system retrofits that result in reduced energy consumption are needed since the majority of applications address retrofits rather than new stores. The retrofit market is also of most concern since it involves large-volume refrigerant systems with high leak rates. Finally, alternative refrigerants for new and retrofit applications are needed to reduce emissions and reduce the impact on the environment. The objective of this Collaborative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Hill Phoenix is to develop a supermarket refrigeration system that reduces greenhouse gas emissions and has 25 to 30 percent lower energy consumption than existing systems. The outcomes of this project will include the design of a low emission, high efficiency commercial refrigeration system suitable for use in current U.S. supermarkets. In addition, a prototype low emission, high efficiency supermarket refrigeration system will be produced for

Analysis of a Natural Circulation in the Reactor Coolant System Following a High Pressure Severe Accident at APR1400

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Han Chul; Cho, Yong Jin; Park, Jae Hong; Cho, Song Won

2011-01-01

Under a high temperature and pressure condition during a severe accident, hot leg pipes or steam generator tubes could fail due to creep rupture following natural circulation in the Reactor Coolant System (RCS) unless depressurization of the system is performed at a proper time. Natural circulation in the RCS can be a multi-dimensional circulation in the reactor vessel, a partial loop circulation of two-phase flow from the core up to steam generators (SGs), or circulation in the total loop. It can delay the reactor vessel failure time by removing heat from the reactor core. This natural phenomenon can be hardly simulated with a single flow path model for the hot spots of the RCS, since it cannot deal with the counter-current flow. Thus it may estimate accident progression faster than reality, which may cause troubles for optimized implementation of severe accident management strategies. An earlier damage in the RCS other than the reactor pressure vessel may make subsequent behaviors of hydrogen or fission products in the containment quite different from the single reactor vessel failure. Therefore, a RCS model which treats natural circulation is needed to evaluate the RCS response and the safety depressurization strategy in a best-estimate way. The aim of this study is to develop a detailed model which allows natural circulation between the reactor vessel and steam generators through hot legs, based on the existing APR1400 RCS model. The station blackout sequence was selected to be the representative high-pressure scenario. Sensitivity study on the effect of node configuration of the upper plenum and addition of cross flow paths from the upper plenum to the hot legs were carried out. This model is described herein and representative calculation results are presented

Evaluations of two-phase natural circulation flow induced in the reactor vessel annular gap under ERVC conditions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ha, Kwang Soon, E-mail: tomo@kaeri.re.kr [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, 1045 Daedeok-daero, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-353 (Korea, Republic of); Cheung, Fan-Bill [The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States); Park, Rae Joon; Kim, Sang Baik [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, 1045 Daedeok-daero, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-353 (Korea, Republic of)

2012-12-15

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Two-phase natural circulation flow induced in insulation gap was investigated. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Half-scaled non-heating experiments were performed to evaluate flow behavior. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The loop-integrated momentum equation was formulated and solved asymptotically. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer First-order approximate solution was obtained and agreed with experimental data. - Abstract: The process of two-phase natural circulation flow induced in the annular gap between the reactor vessel and the insulation under external reactor vessel cooling conditions was investigated experimentally and analytically in this study. HERMES-HALF experiments were performed to observe and quantify the induced two-phase natural circulation flow in the annular gap. A half-scaled non-heating experimental facility was designed by utilizing the results of a scaling analysis to simulate the APR1400 reactor and its insulation system. The behavior of the boiling-induced two-phase natural circulation flow in the annular gap was observed, and the liquid mass flow rates driven by the natural circulation loop and the void fraction distribution were measured. Direct flow visualization revealed that choking would occur under certain flow conditions in the minimum gap region near the shear keys. Specifically, large recirculation flows were observed in the minimum gap region for large air injection rates and small outlet areas. Under such conditions, the injected air could not pass through the minimum gap region, resulting in the occurrence of choking near the minimum gap with a periodical air back flow being generated. Therefore, a design modification of the minimum gap region needs to be done to facilitate steam venting and to prevent choking from occurring. To complement the HERMES-HALF experimental effort, an analytical study of the dependence of the induced natural circulation mass flow rate on the inlet area and the

Development of thermohydraulic software for PWR reactors with natural circulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chasseur, Alfredo F.; Rauschert, A.; Delmastro, Dario F.

2009-01-01

The basics concepts about the development of software for steady state analysis of a reactor with natural circulations, in the primary circuit, are exposed. The reactor type is pressurized light water. The equations, correlations and flux diagrams of the source code of the software developed are shown. The source code of the software was written in FORTRAN 77 making use of modular technique, this save development effort and release of news versions is simplified. (author)

Methodology for studies of natural circulation in closed circuits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Araujo, Rafael de Oliveira Pessoa de

2009-01-01

This work presents the results obtained from the analysis of stability of the phenomenon of the natural circulation for one-dimension single-phase flow in a closed loop, by a computer program with the method of finite element. The Navier-Stokes equations in cartesian geometry were used for the balance of mass, momentum and one equation for energy. The formulation has been implemented in a computer code developed at the Nuclear Engineering Institute(IEN-CNEN-RJ) and is now available either for futures analysis or design of nuclear systems. (author)

10 CFR 431.62 - Definitions concerning commercial refrigerators, freezers and refrigerator-freezers.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... functional characteristics that affect energy consumption. Commercial refrigerator, freezer, and refrigerator... formed by the plane of the door, when the equipment is viewed in cross-section; and (2) For equipment...

Thermodynamic analysis of a novel exhaust heat-driven non-adiabatic ejection-absorption refrigeration cycle using R290/oil mixture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Keqiao; Cai, Dehua; Liu, Yue; Jiang, Jingkai; Sun, Wei; He, Guogeng

2017-01-01

Graphical abstract: A novel air-cooled non-adiabatic ejection-absorption refrigeration cycle using R290/refrigeration oil has been thermodynamically analyzed. Influences of the ejector and the non-adiabatic absorber applications on the system performance and other system operation parameters have been investigated. The simulation results will be of great help to the miniaturization and practical application of the air-cooled absorption refrigeration system. - Highlights: • A novel air-cooled non-adiabatic ejection-absorption refrigeration cycle is proposed. • Influences of the ejector and the air-cooled non-adiabatic absorber applications on the system performance are investigated. • Variations of system performance and other system operation parameters are investigated. • R290/refrigeration oil mixture used as working pairs is analyzed. - Abstract: This paper thermodynamically analyzes a novel air-cooled non-adiabatic ejection-absorption refrigeration cycle with R290/oil mixture driven by exhaust heat. An ejector located at the upstream of the non-adiabatic absorber is employed to improve the cycle performance. Variations of COP, circulation ratio and component heat load of the system as a function of generating temperature, pressure ratio, absorption temperature, condensing temperature and evaporating temperature have been investigated in this work. The simulation results show that, compared with the conventional absorption refrigeration cycle, this non-adiabatic ejection-absorption refrigeration cycle has higher absorption efficiency, better performance, wider working condition range and lower total heat load and its COP can reach as high as 0.5297. The implementation of the ejector and the non-adiabatic absorber helps to realize the miniaturization and wider application of the absorption refrigeration system. In addition, R290/oil mixture is a kind of highly potential working pairs for absorption refrigeration.

Commissioning and Operational Experience with 1 kW Class Helium Refrigerator/Liquefier for SST-1

Science.gov (United States)

Dhard, C. P.; Sarkar, B.; Misra, Ruchi; Sahu, A. K.; Tanna, V. L.; Tank, J.; Panchal, P.; Patel, J. C.; Phadke, G. D.; Saxena, Y. C.

2004-06-01

The helium refrigerator/liquefier (R/L) for the Steady State Super conducting Tokamak (SST-1) has been developed with very stringent specifications for the different operational modes. The total refrigeration capacity is 650 W at 4.5 K and liquefaction capacity of 200 l/h. A cold circulation pump is used for the forced flow cooling of 300 g/s supercritical helium (SHe) for the magnet system (SCMS). The R/L has been designed also to absorb a 200 W transient heat load of the SCMS. The plant consists of a compressor station, oil removal system, on-line purifier, Main Control Dewar (MCD) with associated heat exchangers, cold circulation pump and warm gas management system. An Integrated Flow Control and Distribution System (IFDCS) has been designed, fabricated and installed for distribution of SHe in the toroidal and poloidal field coils as well as liquid helium for cooling of 10 pairs of current leads. A SCADA based control system has been designed using PLC for R/L as well as IFDCS. The R/L has been commissioned and required parameters were achieved confirming to the process. All the test results and commissioning experiences are discussed in this paper.

Online sequential condition prediction method of natural circulation systems based on EOS-ELM and phase space reconstruction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Hanying; Gao, Puzhen; Tan, Sichao; Tang, Jiguo; Yuan, Hongsheng

2017-01-01

Highlights: •An online condition prediction method for natural circulation systems in NPP was proposed based on EOS-ELM. •The proposed online prediction method was validated using experimental data. •The training speed of the proposed method is significantly fast. •The proposed method can achieve good accuracy in wide parameter range. -- Abstract: Natural circulation design is widely used in the passive safety systems of advanced nuclear power reactors. The irregular and chaotic flow oscillations are often observed in boiling natural circulation systems so it is difficult for operators to monitor and predict the condition of these systems. An online condition forecasting method for natural circulation system is proposed in this study as an assisting technique for plant operators. The proposed prediction approach was developed based on Ensemble of Online Sequential Extreme Learning Machine (EOS-ELM) and phase space reconstruction. Online Sequential Extreme Learning Machine (OS-ELM) is an online sequential learning neural network algorithm and EOS-ELM is the ensemble method of it. The proposed condition prediction method can be initiated by a small chunk of monitoring data and it can be updated by newly arrived data at very fast speed during the online prediction. Simulation experiments were conducted on the data of two natural circulation loops to validate the performance of the proposed method. The simulation results show that the proposed predication model can successfully recognize different types of flow oscillations and accurately forecast the trend of monitored plant variables. The influence of the number of hidden nodes and neural network inputs on prediction performance was studied and the proposed model can achieve good accuracy in a wide parameter range. Moreover, the comparison results show that the proposed condition prediction method has much faster online learning speed and better prediction accuracy than conventional neural network model.

The control system of the ecological hybrid two stages refrigerating cycle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cyklis Piotr

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The compression anticlockwise cycle is mostly used for refrigeration. However due to the environmental regulations, the use of classic refrigerants: F-gases is limited by international agreements. Therefore the combined compression-adsorption hybrid cycle with natural liquids: water/carbon dioxide working as the energy carriers is a promising solution. This allows to utilize the solar or waste energy for the refrigeration purpose. In this paper application of the solar collectors as the energy source for the adsorption cycle, coupled with the low temperature (LT refrigerating carbon dioxide compression cycle is shown. The control of the system is an essential issue to reduce the electric power consumption. The control of the solar heat supply and water sprayed cooling tower, for the adsorption cycle re-cooling, is presented in this paper. The designed control system and algorithm is related to the LT compression cycle, which operates according to the need of cold for the refrigeration chamber. The results of the laboratory investigations of the full system, showing the reduction of the energy consumption and maximum utilization of the solar heat for different control methods are presented.

Parametric study of natural circulation flow in molten salt fuel in molten salt reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pauzi, Anas Muhamad, E-mail: Anas@uniten.edu.my [Centre of Nuclear Energy, Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN), Jalan IKRAM-UNITEN, 43000 Kajang, Selangor (Malaysia); Cioncolini, Andrea; Iacovides, Hector [School of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Civil Engineering (MACE), University of Manchester, Oxford Road, M13 9PL Manchester (United Kingdom)

2015-04-29

The Molten Salt Reactor (MSR) is one of the most promising system proposed by Generation IV Forum (GIF) for future nuclear reactor systems. Advantages of the MSR are significantly larger compared to other reactor system, and is mainly achieved from its liquid nature of fuel and coolant. Further improvement to this system, which is a natural circulating molten fuel salt inside its tube in the reactor core is proposed, to achieve advantages of reducing and simplifying the MSR design proposed by GIF. Thermal hydraulic analysis on the proposed system was completed using a commercial computation fluid dynamics (CFD) software called FLUENT by ANSYS Inc. An understanding on theory behind this unique natural circulation flow inside the tube caused by fission heat generated in molten fuel salt and tube cooling was briefly introduced. Currently, no commercial CFD software could perfectly simulate natural circulation flow, hence, modeling this flow problem in FLUENT is introduced and analyzed to obtain best simulation results. Results obtained demonstrate the existence of periodical transient nature of flow problem, hence improvements in tube design is proposed based on the analysis on temperature and velocity profile. Results show that the proposed system could operate at up to 750MW core power, given that turbulence are enhanced throughout flow region, and precise molten fuel salt physical properties could be defined. At the request of the authors and the Proceedings Editor the name of the co-author Andrea Cioncolini was corrected from Andrea Coincolini. The same name correction was made in the Acknowledgement section on page 030004-10 and in reference number 4. The updated article was published on 11 May 2015.

Design optimization of single mixed refrigerant LNG process using a hybrid modified coordinate descent algorithm

Science.gov (United States)

Qyyum, Muhammad Abdul; Long, Nguyen Van Duc; Minh, Le Quang; Lee, Moonyong

2018-01-01

Design optimization of the single mixed refrigerant (SMR) natural gas liquefaction (LNG) process involves highly non-linear interactions between decision variables, constraints, and the objective function. These non-linear interactions lead to an irreversibility, which deteriorates the energy efficiency of the LNG process. In this study, a simple and highly efficient hybrid modified coordinate descent (HMCD) algorithm was proposed to cope with the optimization of the natural gas liquefaction process. The single mixed refrigerant process was modeled in Aspen Hysys® and then connected to a Microsoft Visual Studio environment. The proposed optimization algorithm provided an improved result compared to the other existing methodologies to find the optimal condition of the complex mixed refrigerant natural gas liquefaction process. By applying the proposed optimization algorithm, the SMR process can be designed with the 0.2555 kW specific compression power which is equivalent to 44.3% energy saving as compared to the base case. Furthermore, in terms of coefficient of performance (COP), it can be enhanced up to 34.7% as compared to the base case. The proposed optimization algorithm provides a deep understanding of the optimization of the liquefaction process in both technical and numerical perspectives. In addition, the HMCD algorithm can be employed to any mixed refrigerant based liquefaction process in the natural gas industry.

Effect of Loop Diameter on the Steady State and Stability Behaviour of Single-Phase and Two-Phase Natural Circulation Loops

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. K. Vijayan

2008-01-01

Full Text Available In natural circulation loops, the driving force is usually low as it depends on the riser height which is generally of the order of a few meters. The heat transport capability of natural circulation loops (NCLs is directly proportional to the flow rate it can generate. With low driving force, the straightforward way to enhance the flow is to reduce the frictional losses. A simple way to do this is to increase the loop diameter which can be easily adopted in pressure tube designs such as the AHWR and the natural circulation boilers employed in fossil-fuelled power plants. Further, the loop diameter also plays an important role on the stability behavior. An extensive experimental and theoretical investigation of the effect of loop diameter on the steady state and stability behavior of single- and two-phase natural circulation loops have been carried out and the results of this study are presented in this paper.

An experimental study on the two-phase natural circulation flow through the gap between reactor vessel and insulation under ERVC

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ha, Kwang-Soon; Park, Rae-Joon; Cho, Young-Ro; Kim, Sang-Baik; Kim, Hwan-Yeol; Kim, Hee-dong

2005-04-01

As part of a study on a two-phase natural circulation flow between the outer reactor vessel and the insulation material in the reactor cavity under an external reactor vessel cooling of APR1400, T-HERMES-SMALL and HERMES-HALF experiments have been performed. For the T-HERMES-SMALL experiments, an 1/21.6 scaled experimental facility was prepared utilizing the results of a scaling analysis to simulate the APR1400 reactor and insulation system. The liquid mass flow rates driven by natural circulation loop were measured by varying the wall heat flux, upper outlet area and configuration, and water head condition. The experimental data were also compared with numerical ones given by simple loop analysis. And non-heating small-scaled experiments have also been performed to certify the hydraulic similarity of the heating experiments by injecting air equivalent to the steam generated in the heating experimental condition. The HERMES-HALF experiment is a half-scaled / non-heating experimental study on the two-phase natural circulation through the annular gap between the reactor vessel and the insulation. The behaviors of the two-phase natural circulation flow in the insulation gap were observed, and the liquid mass flow rates driven by natural circulation loop were measured by varying the air injection rate, the coolant inlet area and configuration, and the outlet area and also the water head condition of coolant reservoir. From the experimental flow observation, the recirculation flows in the near region of the shear key were identified. At a higher air injection rate condition, higher recirculation flows and choking phenomenon in the near region of the shear key were observed. As the water inlet areas increased, the natural circulation mass flow rates asymptotically increased, that is, they converged at a specific value. And the experimental correlations for the natural circulation mass flow rates along with a variation of the inlet / outlet area and wall heat flux were

Experimental analysis of the natural circulation phenomenon at the monophase system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santos, Thiago A. dos; Stefanni, Giovanni Laranjo de; Conti, Thadeu das Neves

2011-01-01

The present work study the phenomenology of the natural circulation, which is the flow circulation without help of any mechanical device. One of the possible application of this study would be a new way of nuclear reactor cooling, and this practice is fundamental for the maintenance and safe of the reactor. For this study, a therma balance in the circuit was performed, which consist of evaluate the behavior of the circuit, observing if not exist excessive energy loss. The balance was made only for power values considered small (up to 4000 W), were the fluid is at the monophasic state. This methodology is extremely important for the evaluation of the equipment and determining therefore if the energy is conserved in order to work with a more complex system such as the two-phase one

Thermoelectric refrigerator having improved temperature stabilization means

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Falco, C.M.

1982-01-01

A control system for thermoelectric refrigerators is disclosed. The thermoelectric refrigerator includes at least one thermoelectric element that undergoes a first order change at a predetermined critical temperature. The element functions as a thermoelectric refrigerator element above the critical temperature, but discontinuously ceases to function as a thermoelectric refrigerator element below the critical temperature. One example of such an arrangement includes thermoelectric refrigerator elements which are superconductors. The transition temperature of one of the superconductor elements is selected as the temperature control point of the refrigerator. When the refrigerator attempts to cool below the point, the metals become superconductors losing their ability to perform as a thermoelectric refrigerator. An extremely accurate, first-order control is realized

Environment-friendly refrigeration - Switzerland moves forward

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stohler, F.

2003-01-01

This article presents an interview with Silvan Schaller, president of the Swiss Refrigeration Society SVK and head of a leading Swiss industrial refrigeration company, on the subject of the implementation of new Swiss materials legislation that regulates the use of various refrigerants. In particular, the co-operation between the Society and the regulatory authorities is stressed. The reasons behind the regulations - the protection of the environment and, in particular, the ozone layer - are discussed as are the efforts required by industry to meet them. Future refrigeration technologies and the choice of refrigerants are examined. Measures that will have to be taken by the companies in the refrigeration sector, such as the additional training of personnel and the monitoring of the disposal of wastes, are examined. For the future, the goal of reducing the energy consumption of refrigeration installations is noted

3. Workshop for IAEA ICSP on Integral PWR Design Natural Circulation Flow Stability and Thermo-hydraulic Coupling of Containment and Primary System during Accidents. Presentations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2012-04-01

Most advanced nuclear power plant designs adopted several kinds of passive systems. Natural circulation is used as a key driving force for many passive systems and even for core heat removal during normal operation such as NuScale, CAREM, ESBWR and Indian AHWR designs. Simulation of natural circulation phenomena is very challenging since the driving force of it is weak compared to forced circulation and involves a coupling between primary system and containment for integral type reactor. The IAEA ICSP (International Collaborative Standard Problem) on 'Integral PWR Design Natural Circulation Flow Stability and Thermo-hydraulic Coupling of Containment and Primary System during Accidents' was proposed within the CRP on 'Natural Circulation Phenomena, Modelling, and Reliability of Passive Systems that utilize Natural Circulation'. Oregon State University (OSU) of USA offered to host this ICSP. This ICSP plans to conduct the following experiments and blind/open simulations with system codes: 1. Quasi-steady state operation with different core power levels: Conduct quasi-steady state operation with step-wise increase of core power level in order to observe single phase natural circulation flow according to power level. The experimental facility and operating conditions for an integral PWR will be used. 2. Thermo-hydraulic Coupling between Primary system and Containment: Conduct a loss of feedwater transient with subsequent ADS blowdown and long term cooling to determine the progression of a loss of feedwater transient by natural circulation through primary and containment systems. These tests would examine the blowdown phase as well as the long term cooling using sump natural circulation by coupling the primary to containment systems. This data could be used for the evaluation of system codes to determine if they model specific phenomena in an accurate manner. OSU completed planned two ICSP tests in July 2011 and real initial and boundary conditions measured from the

Fault diagnosis and refrigerant leak detection in vapour compression refrigeration systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tassou, S.A.; Grace, I.N. [Brunel University, Uxbridge (United Kingdom). Department of Mechanical Engineering

2005-08-01

The environmental impact of refrigeration systems can be reduced by operation at higher efficiency and reduction of refrigerant leakage. Refrigerant loss contributes both directly and indirectly to global warming through inefficient system operation, increased power consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and higher maintenance costs. Existing sensor-based leak detection methods are limited by the inability to detect gradual leakage and the need for careful sensor location. There is a requirement for a real-time performance monitoring approach to leak detection and fault diagnosis which overcomes these disadvantages. This paper reports on the development of a fault diagnosis and refrigerant leak detection system based on artificial intelligence and real-time performance monitoring. The system has been used successfully to distinguish between faulty and fault free operation, steady-state and transient operation, leakage and over charge conditions. Work currently underway is aimed at testing additional fault conditions and establishing further rules to distinguish between these patterns. (author)

PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF VCR SYSTEM WITH VARYING THE DIAMETERS OF HELICAL CONDENSER COIL BY USING R-134A REFRIGERANT

OpenAIRE

R.Hussain Vali; P.Yagnasri; S.Naresh Kumar Reddy

2016-01-01

Vapor compression machine is a refrigerator in which the heat removed from the cold by evaporation of the refrigerant is given a thermal potential so that it can gravitate to a natural sink by compressing the vapor produced. Majority of the refrigerators works on the Vapor compression refrigeration system. The system consists of components like compressor, condenser, expansion valve and evaporator. The performance of the system depends on the performance of all the components of the system. ...

Simulation of single phase instability behaviour in a rectangular natural circulation loop using RELAP5/ MOD 3.2 computer code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sharma, Manish; Pilkhwal, D.S.; Vijayan, P.K.; Saha, D.; Sinha, R.K.

2002-06-01

Occurrence of instability in natural circulation loops can lead to problems in control and occurrence of critical heat flux (CHF) during low flow periods. Remaining within an identified stable zone operation is therefore desirable. Natural circulation loops can pass through an unstable zone during start-up and power raising. In the present work RELAPS / MOD 3.2 computer code has been used to simulate the unstable oscillatory behavior observed in a rectangular natural circulation loop having horizontal heater and horizontal cooler (HHHC) orientation. The results were compared with the experimental data. This report describes the nodalization scheme adopted tor this work and results of the analysis in detail. (author)

Experimental System of Solar Adsorption Refrigeration with Concentrated Collector.

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, Z X; Li, Y X; Du, C X

2017-10-18

To improve the performance of solar adsorption refrigeration, an experimental system with a solar concentration collector was set up and investigated. The main components of the system were the adsorbent bed, the condenser, the evaporator, the cooling sub-system, and the solar collector. In the first step of the experiment, the vapor-saturated bed was heated by the solar radiation under closed conditions, which caused the bed temperature and pressure to increase. When the bed pressure became high enough, the bed was switched to connect to the condenser, thus water vapor flowed continually from the bed to the condenser to be liquefied. Next, the bed needed to cool down after the desorption. In the solar-shielded condition, achieved by aluminum foil, the circulating water loop was opened to the bed. With the water continually circulating in the bed, the stored heat in the bed was took out and the bed pressure decreased accordingly. When the bed pressure dropped below the saturation pressure at the evaporation temperature, the valve to the evaporator was opened. A mass of water vapor rushed into the bed and was adsorbed by the zeolite material. With the massive vaporization of the water in the evaporator, the refrigeration effect was generated finally. The experimental result has revealed that both the COP (coefficient of the performance of the system) and the SCP (specific cooling power of the system) of the SAPO-34 zeolite was greater than that of the ZSM-5 zeolite, no matter whether the adsorption time was longer or shorter. The system of the SAPO-34 zeolite generated a maximum COP of 0.169.

Experimental study of gas–liquid two-phase flow through packed bed under natural circulation conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Shao-Wen; Miwa, Shuichiro; Griffiths, Matt

2016-01-01

Dry-out phenomena in packed beds or porous media may cause a significant digression of cooling/reaction performance in heat transfer/chemical reactor systems. One of the phenomena responsible for the dry-out in packed beds is known as the counter-current flow limitation (CCFL). In order to investigate the CCFL phenomena induced by gas–liquid two-phase flow in packed beds inside a pool, a natural circulation packed bed test facility was designed and constructed. A total of 27 experimental conditions covering various packing media sizes (sphere diameters: 3.0, 6.4 and 9.5 mm), packed bed heights (15, 35 and 50 cm) and water level heights (1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 m) were tested to examine the CCFL criteria with adiabatic air–water two-phase flow under natural circulation conditions. Both CCFL and flow reversal phenomena were observed, and the experimental data including instantaneous and time-averaged void fraction, differential pressure and superficial gas–liquid velocities were collected. The CCFL criteria were determined when periodical oscillations of void fraction and differential pressure appear. In addition, the Wallis correlation for CCFL was utilized for data analysis, and the Wallis coefficient, C, was determined experimentally from the packed bed CCFL tests. Compared to the existing data-sets in literature, the higher C values obtained in the present experiment suggest a possibly higher dry-out heat flux for natural circulation debris systems, which may be due to the water supply from both top and bottom surfaces of the packed beds. Considering the effects of bed height and hydraulic diameter of the packing media, a newly developed model for the Wallis coefficient, C, under natural circulation CCFL is presented. The present model can predict the experimental data with an averaged absolute error of ±7.9%. (author)

Scaling of the steady state and stability behaviour of single and two-phase natural circulation systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vijayan, P.K.; Nayak, A.K.; Bade, M.H.; Kumar, N.; Saha, D.; Sinha, R.K.

2002-01-01

Scaling methods for both single-phase and two-phase natural circulation systems have been presented. For single-phase systems, simulation of the steady state flow can be achieved by preserving just one nondimensional parameter. For uniform diameter two-phase systems also, it is possible to simulate the steady state behaviour with just one non-dimensional parameter. Simulation of the stability behaviour requires geometric similarity in addition to the similarity of the physical parameters appearing in the governing equations. The scaling laws proposed have been tested with experimental data in case of single-phase natural circulation. (author)

Comparison between RELAP5 versions for a two-phase natural circulation analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Braz Filho, Francisco A.; Ribeiro, Guilherme B.; Sabundjian, Gaianê; Caldeira, Alexandre D., E-mail: fbraz@ieav.cta.br, E-mail: gbribeiro@ieav.cta.br, E-mail: alexdc@ieav.cta.br, E-mail: gdjian@ipen.br [Instituto de Estudos Avançados (IEAv), São José dos Campos, SP (Brazil). Div. de Energia Nuclear; Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)

2017-11-01

RELAP5 is one of the most used numerical tools to predict thermal-hydraulic and neutronic phenomena in nuclear reactors. RELAP5-3D is the latest version of this software family, but RELAP5-mod3 is still widely used in Brazilian research institutes and it is also used as benchmark for several nuclear applications. Among these applications, the use of passive heat transfer mechanisms, such as natural circulation, has drawn attention of several studies, especially after the Fukushima-Daiichi accident. Considering this aforementioned aspect, this study proposes a comparison of RELAP5-3D and RELAP5-mod3 versions, focusing on a two-phase natural circulation loop. For comparison purposes, an experimental data set is part of the analysis. Results showed that during the single-phase regime, the temperature difference between versions is negligible. However, when the two-phase flow regime takes place, different wavelengths and amplitudes of flow instabilities were obtained for each version. When compared to the experimental data set, the RELAP5-3D version provided the best prediction results. (author)

Transition to New Refrigerants

Science.gov (United States)

Overview page provides information on the refrigerants that motor vehicle air conditioners have used over time, with information on environmental impacts, refrigerant fitting sizes, label colors, and alternatives to ozone-depleting substances.

Heat transfer property of refrigerant-oil mixture in a flooded evaporator: The role of bubble formation and oil retention

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koo, Kyoung-Min; Kim, Sung-Gyu; Jeong, Young-Man; Lee, Jae-Keun; Kim, Soo Hyung; Lee, Soowon; Park, Nae-Hyun; Na, Byung-Chul; Hwang, Yoon-Jae; Kim, Byung-Soon; Hwang, Joon-Hyun

2013-01-01

We examined the effect of oil retention on the heat transfer performance of a shell-and-tube-type evaporator which had 26 inner tubes and was filled with the refrigerant R-134a. The refrigerant was boiled on the surface of the inner tubes in the evaporator, while chilled water circulated through these tubes. An experimental apparatus was designed to measure both the pressure and temperature profiles at the inlet and outlet of the flooded evaporator. Four windows were installed for observing the operation of the flooded evaporator. A series of experiments were carried out under the following conditions: the refrigerant saturation temperature, 5 .deg. C; refrigerant inlet quality, 0.1; heat fluxes from water to the refrigerant, 5-7 kW/m"2.. The concentration of the oil retained in the refrigerant was then varied up to approximately 10% to observe the effect on the heat transfer performance of the flooded evaporator. Increasing the oil content (i.e., increasing the concentration up to a maximum of approximately 10%) in the refrigerant R134a did not lead to any appreciable reduction in the overall heat transfer coefficient of a flooded evaporator with multiple-inner-tubes. When the oil concentration in the refrigerant was approximately 10%, the heat transfer degradation in the case of the flooded evaporator with multiple-inner-tubes was approximately 11%, which was found to be much smaller than the heat transfer degradation in the case of a flooded evaporator with a single-tube (26-49%). This observation suggested that the oil retained in the refrigerant did not significantly deteriorate the heat transfer performance of the flooded evaporator, presumably because the presence of tube bundles promoted forced convection by agitating bubbles

Detailed evaluation of the natural circulation mass flow rate of water propelled by using an air injection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Rae-Joon; Ha, Kwang-Soon; Kim, Jae-Cheol; Hong, Seong-Wan; Kim, Sang-Baik

2008-01-01

One-dimensional (1D) air-water two-phase natural circulation flow in the thermohydraulic evaluation of reactor cooling mechanism by external self-induced flow - one-dimensional' (THERMES-1D) experiment has been verified and evaluated by using the RELAP5/MOD3 computer code. Experimental results on the 1D natural circulation mass flow rate of water propelled by using an air injection have been evaluated in detail. The RELAP5 results have shown that an increase in the air injection rate to 50% of the total heat flux leads to an increase in the water circulation mass flow rate. However, an increase in the air injection rate from 50 to 100% does not affect the water circulation mass flow rate, because of the inlet area condition. As the height increases in the air injection part, the void fraction increases. However, the void fraction in the upper part of the air injector maintains a constant value. An increase in the air injection mass flow rate leads to an increase in the local void fraction, but it has no influence on the local pressure. An increase in the coolant inlet area leads to an increase in the water circulation mass flow rate. However, the water outlet area does not have an influence on the water circulation mass flow rate. As the coolant outlet moves to a lower position, the water circulation mass flow rate decreases. (author)

Condensation of pure and near-azeotropic refrigerants in microfin tubes: A new computational procedure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cavallini, A; Del Col, D; Mancin, S; Rossetto, L [Dipartimento di Fisica Tecnica, University of Padova, Via Venezia 1, Padova 35131 (Italy)

2009-01-15

Microfin tubes are widely used in air cooled and water cooled heat exchangers for heat pump and refrigeration applications during condensation or evaporation of refrigerants. In order to design heat exchangers and to optimize heat transfer surfaces, accurate procedures for computing pressure drops and heat transfer coefficients are necessary. This paper presents a new simple model for the prediction of the heat transfer coefficient to be applied to condensation in horizontal microfin tubes of halogenated and natural refrigerants, pure fluids or nearly azeotropic mixtures. The updated model accounts for refrigerant physical properties, two-phase flow patterns in microfin tubes and geometrical characteristics of the tubes. It is validated against a data bank of 3115 experimental heat transfer coefficients measured in different independent laboratories all over the world including diverse inside tube geometries and different condensing refrigerants among which R22, R134a, R123, R410A and CO{sub 2}. (author)

Influence of the nozzle angle on refrigeration performance of a gas wave refrigerator

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, P.; Zhu, Y.; Wang, H.; Zhu, C.; Zou, J.; Wu, J.; Hu, D.

2017-05-01

A gas wave refrigerator (GWR) is a novel refrigerating device that refrigerates a medium by shock waves and expansion waves generated by gas pressure energy. In a typical GWR, the injection energy losses between the nozzle and the expansion tube are essential factors which influence the refrigeration efficiency. In this study, numerical simulations are used to analyze the underlying mechanism of the injection energy losses. The results of simulations show that the vortex loss, mixing energy loss, and oblique shock wave reflection loss are the main factors contributing to the injection energy losses in the expansion tube. Furthermore, the jet angle of the gas is found to dominate the injection energy losses. Therefore, the optimum jet angle is theoretically calculated based on the velocity triangle method. The value of the optimum jet angle is found to be 4^{circ }, 8^{circ }, and 12^{circ } when the refrigeration efficiency is the first-order, second-order, and third-order maximum value over all working ranges of jet frequency, respectively. Finally, a series of experiments are conducted with the jet angle ranging from -4^{circ } to 12^{circ } at a constant expansion ratio. The results indicate the optimal jet angle obtained by the experiments is in good agreement with the calculated value. The isentropic refrigeration efficiency increased by about 4 % after the jet angle was optimized.

Experimental Observations of Natural Circulation Flow in the NSTF at Steady-State Conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lisowski, Darius D.; Farmer, Mitch T.

2014-01-01

A ½ scale test facility has been constructed at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) to study the heat removal performance and natural circulation flow patterns in a Reactor Cavity Cooling System (RCCS). Our test facility, the Natural convection Shutdown heat removal Test Facility (NSTF), supports the broader goal of developing an inherently safe and fully passive ex-vessel decay heat removal for advanced reactor designs. The project, initiated in 2010 to support the Advanced Reactor Concepts (ARC), Small Modular Reactor (SMR), and Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) programs, has been conducting experimental operations since early 2014. The following paper provides a summary of some primary design features of the 26-m tall test facility along with a description of the data acquisition suite that guides our experimental practices. Specifics of the distributed fiber optic temperature measurements will be discussed, which introduces an unparalleled level of data density that has never before been implemented in a large scale natural circulation test facility. Results from our first test series will then be presented, which provide insight into the thermal hydraulic behavior at steady-state conditions for varying heat flux levels and exhaust chimney configuration states. (author)

Refrigeration generation using expander-generator units

Science.gov (United States)

Klimenko, A. V.; Agababov, V. S.; Koryagin, A. V.; Baidakova, Yu. O.

2016-05-01

The problems of using the expander-generator unit (EGU) to generate refrigeration, along with electricity were considered. It is shown that, on the level of the temperatures of refrigeration flows using the EGU, one can provide the refrigeration supply of the different consumers: ventilation and air conditioning plants and industrial refrigerators and freezers. The analysis of influence of process parameters on the cooling power of the EGU, which depends on the parameters of the gas expansion process in the expander and temperatures of cooled environment, was carried out. The schematic diagram of refrigeration generation plant based on EGU is presented. The features and advantages of EGU to generate refrigeration compared with thermotransformer of steam compressive and absorption types were shown, namely: there is no need to use the energy generated by burning fuel to operate the EGU; beneficial use of the heat delivered to gas from the flow being cooled in equipment operating on gas; energy production along with refrigeration generation, which makes it possible to create, using EGU, the trigeneration plants without using the energy power equipment. It is shown that the level of the temperatures of refrigeration flows, which can be obtained by using the EGU on existing technological decompression stations of the transported gas, allows providing the refrigeration supply of various consumers. The information that the refrigeration capacity of an expander-generator unit not only depends on the parameters of the process of expansion of gas flowing in the expander (flow rate, temperatures and pressures at the inlet and outlet) but it is also determined by the temperature needed for a consumer and the initial temperature of the flow of the refrigeration-carrier being cooled. The conclusion was made that the expander-generator units can be used to create trigeneration plants both at major power plants and at small energy.

A generalised correlation for the steady state flow in single-phase natural circulation loops

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vijayan, P.K.; Bade, M.H.; Saha, D.; Sinha, R.K.; Venkat Raj, V.

2000-08-01

To establish the heat transport capability of natural circulation loops, it is essential to know the flow rate. A generalized correlation for steady state flow valid for uniform and non-uniform diameter loops has been theoretically derived

Reliability analysis of 2400 MWth gas-cooled fast reactor natural circulation decay heat removal system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marques, M.; Bassi, C.; Bentivoglio, F.

2012-01-01

In support to a PSA (Probability Safety Assessment) performed at the design level on the 2400 MWth Gas-cooled Fast Reactor, the functional reliability of the decay heat removal system (DHR) working in natural circulation has been estimated in two transient situations corresponding to an 'aggravated' Loss of Flow Accident (LOFA) and a Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA). The reliability analysis was based on the RMPS methodology. Reliability and global sensitivity analyses use uncertainty propagation by Monte Carlo techniques. The DHR system consists of 1) 3 dedicated DHR loops: the choice of 3 loops (3*100% redundancy) is made in assuming that one could be lost due to the accident initiating event (break for example) and that another one must be supposed unavailable (single failure criterion); 2) a metallic guard containment enclosing the primary system (referred as close containment), not pressurized in normal operation, having a free volume such as the fast primary helium expansion gives an equilibrium pressure of 1.0 MPa, in the first part of the transient (few hours). Each dedicated DHR loop designed to work in forced circulation with blowers or in natural circulation, is composed of 1) a primary loop (cross-duct connected to the core vessel), with a driving height of 10 meters between core and DHX mid-plan; 2) a secondary circuit filled with pressurized water at 1.0 MPa (driving height of 5 meters for natural circulation DHR); 3) a ternary pool, initially at 50 C. degrees, whose volume is determined to handle one day heat extraction (after this time delay, additional measures are foreseen to fill up the pool). The results obtained on the reliability of the DHR system and on the most important input parameters are very different from one scenario to the other showing the necessity for the PSA to perform specific reliability analysis of the passive system for each considered scenario. The analysis shows that the DHR system working in natural circulation is

Theoretical and experimental investigations into natural circulation behaviour in a simulated facility of the Indian PHWR under reduced inventory conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Satish Kumar, N.V.; Nayak, A.K.; Vijayan, P.K.; Pal, A.K.; Saha, D.; Sinha, R.K.

2004-01-01

A theoretical and experimental investigation has been carried out to study natural circulation characteristics of an Indian PHWR under reduced inventory conditions. The theoretical model incorporates a quasi-steady state analysis of natural circulation at different system inventories. It predicts the system flow rate under single-phase and two-phase conditions and the inventory at which reflux condensation occurs. The model predictions were compared with test data obtained from FISBE (facility for integral system behaviour experiments), which simulates the thermal hydraulic behaviour of the Indian 220 MWe PHWR. The experimental results were found to be in close agreement with the predictions. It was also found that the natural circulation could be oscillatory under reduced inventory conditions. (orig.)

Efficiency improvement of commercial refrigeration systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Denecke, Julius [NTNU, Trondheim (Norway); Hafner, Armin [SINTEF Energy Research, Trondheim (Norway)

2011-07-01

This work presents a historical review of carbon dioxide refrigeration systems. Further a literature survey is carried out to get a status of existing refrigeration technology related to supermarkets. In the next step various energy saving options are stated. A heat recovery model, basing on a R744 booster refrigeration system is established and described. Simplified demand curves for refrigeration, air conditioning and heating will base this model to calculate different heat recovery layouts. Supermarket future trends will be considered and integrated in the calculation. Finally the calculated energy consumptions will be compared with real energy consumptions of selected supermarket refrigeration systems.

THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES OF SELECTED HFC REFRIGERANTS

Science.gov (United States)

Hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants are possible alternatives to replace ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbon and hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) refrigerants. The flammability of a proposed new refrigerant is a major consideration in assessing its utility for a particular applicat...

General review of solar-powered closed sorption refrigeration systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sarbu, Ioan; Sebarchievici, Calin

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Provide review of development in solar sorption refrigeration technologies. • Theoretical basis and applications of absorption and adsorption cycles are discussed. • Thermodynamic properties of most common working pairs have been reviewed. • Development of hybrid or thermal energy storage adsorption systems was explored. • A comparison between solar-powered absorption and adsorption systems was performed. - Abstract: The negative environmental impacts of burning fossil fuels have forced the energy research community seriously to consider renewable sources, such as naturally available solar energy. Thermally powered refrigeration technologies are classified into two categories: thermo-mechanical technology and sorption technology (open systems or closed systems). This paper provides a detailed review of the solar closed sorption (absorption and adsorption) refrigeration systems, which utilise working pairs (fluids). After an introduction of the basic principles of these systems, the history of development and recent advances in solar sorption refrigeration technologies are reported. The adsorption cooling typically has a lower heat source temperature requirement than the absorption cooling. Based on the coefficient of performance (COP), the absorption systems are preferred over the adsorption systems, and the higher temperature issues can be easily handled with solar adsorption systems. The thermodynamic properties of most common working fluids, as well as the use of ternary mixtures in solar-powered absorption systems, have been reviewed in this study. The paper also refers to new approaches to increase the efficiency and sustainability of the basic adsorption cycles, such as the development of hybrid or thermal energy storage adsorption systems. This research shows that solar-powered closed sorption refrigeration technologies can be attractive alternatives not only to serve the needs for air-conditioning, refrigeration, ice making, thermal

Overall performance of the duplex Stirling refrigerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Erbay, L. Berrin; Ozturk, M. Mete; Doğan, Bahadır

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Overall performance coefficient of duplex Stirling refrigerator was investigated. • A definite region for the coefficient of performance of the refrigerator in duplex Stirling is identified. • A definite region for the thermal efficiency of the heat engine in duplex Stirling is identified. • Benchmark values and design bounds of the duplex Stirling refrigerator were obtained. - Abstract: The duplex Stirling refrigerator is an integrated refrigerator consists of Stirling cycle engine and Stirling cycle refrigerator used for cooling. The equality of the work generation of the heat engine to the work consumption of the refrigerator is the primary constraint of the duplex Stirling. The duplex Stirling refrigerator is investigated thermodynamically by considering the effects of constructional and operational parameters which are namely the temperature ratios for heat engine and refrigerator, and the compression ratios for both sides. The primary concern is given to the parametric effects on the overall coefficient of performance of the duplex Stirling refrigerator. The given diagrams provide a design bounds and benchmark results that allows seeing the big picture about the cooling load and heat input relation. Moreover they ease to determine the corresponding work rate to the target cooling load. As regard to the obtained results, a definite region for coefficient of performance of the refrigerator and a definite region for the thermal efficiency of the heat engine of the duplex Stirling are identified.

An experimental investigation on a novel ejector enhanced refrigeration cycle applied in the domestic refrigerator-freezer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Xiao; Yu, Jianlin

2015-01-01

This paper presents an experimental investigation on a NERC (novel ejector enhanced refrigeration cycle) applied in the domestic refrigerator-freezer (BCD-249). Experimental studies were conducted to validate the NERC system feasibility in a practical NERC based refrigerator-freezer prototype. The system performances of energy consumption, ejector pressure lift ratio and compressor power were compared under different combinations of system configuration parameters. The results showed that the NERC system could effectively reduce the thermodynamic losses in the throttle processing. The minimum energy consumption of 0.520 kWh 24 h"−"1 was obtained for the NERC prototype, indicating 5.45% energy consumption reduction compared with the conventional domestic refrigerator-freezer. Furthermore, the effects of system configuration parameters including the refrigerant charge amount, the compressor displacement and the length of capillary tube were investigated. This study aims at providing deep insight into ejector-expansion technology applied in domestic refrigerator-freezers. - Highlights: • A NERC (novel ejector enhanced refrigeration cycle) was experimentally studied. • 73 experimental data points with different system configuration were acquired. • Energy consumption could be reduced with optimum system configuration. • 5.45% energy consumption reduction is obtained compared with the conventional system.

Improving the energy efficiency of industrial refrigeration systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oh, Jin-Sik; Binns, Michael; Park, Sangmin; Kim, Jin-Kuk

2016-01-01

Various retrofit design options are available for improving the energy efficiency and economics of industrial refrigeration systems. This study considers a novel retrofit option using a mixed refrigerant (MR) in refrigeration cycles designed for use with a pure refrigerant (PR). In this way energy savings can be realized by switching refrigerants without requiring extensive and expensive reconfiguration of equipment. Hence, the aim here is to test the common thinking that equipment should always be extensively reconfigured when switching from pure to mixed refrigerants. To determine the most energy-efficient operating conditions for each refrigeration design an optimization framework is utilized linking a process simulator with an external optimization method. A case study is presented to demonstrate how the proposed process modeling and optimization framework can be applied and to illustrate the economic benefits of using the retrofit design options considered here. For the case considered in this paper, savings of shaft power required for the refrigeration cycle can be achieved from 16.3% to 27.2% when the pure refrigerant is replaced with mixed refrigerants and operating conditions are re-optimized. - Highlights: • Design methods for the design of refrigeration cycles in retrofit cases. • Consideration of mixed refrigerants to the existing multi-level pure-refrigerant cycles. • Optimization of refrigeration cycles with integrated use of a process simulator with an optimizer.

Hydrodynamic Instability and Dynamic Burnout in Natural Circulation Two-Phase Flow. An Experimental and Theoretical Study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Becker, Kurt M; Jahnberg, S; Haga, I; Hansson, P T; Mathisen, R P

1964-09-15

A theoretical model for predicting the threshold of instability for two phase flow in a natural circulation loop is presented. The model calculates the flow transient caused by a step disturbance of the heat input, and is based upon the conservation laws of mass, momentum and energy in one dimensional form. Empirical correlations are used in the model for estimating the void fractions and the two-phase flow pressure drops. The equations are solved numerically in a finite difference approximation coded for a digital computer. An experimental study of the hydrodynamic instability and dynamic burnout in two-phase flow has been performed in a natural circulation loop in the pressure range from 10 to 70 atg. The test sections were round ducts of 20, 30 and 36 mm inner diameter and 4890 mm heated length. The experimental results showed that within the ranges tested, the stability of the flow increases with increasing pressure and increasing throttling before the test section, but decreases with increasing Inlet subcooling and increasing throttling after the test section. Comparing the natural circulation burnout steam qualities with corresponding forced circulation data shoved that the former data were low by a factor up to 2.5. However, by applying inlet throttling of the flow the burnout values approached and finally coincided with the forced circulation data. The present experimental results as well as data available from other sources have been compared with the stability thresholds obtained with the theoretical model. The comparisons included circular, annular and rod cluster geometries, and the agreement between the experimental and theoretical stability limits was good. Finally the application of the experimental and theoretical results on the assessment of boiling heavy water reactor design is discussed.

Hydrodynamic Instability and Dynamic Burnout in Natural Circulation Two-Phase Flow. An Experimental and Theoretical Study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Becker, Kurt M.; Jahnberg, S.; Haga, I.; Hansson, P.T.; Mathisen, R.P.

1964-09-01

A theoretical model for predicting the threshold of instability for two phase flow in a natural circulation loop is presented. The model calculates the flow transient caused by a step disturbance of the heat input, and is based upon the conservation laws of mass, momentum and energy in one dimensional form. Empirical correlations are used in the model for estimating the void fractions and the two-phase flow pressure drops. The equations are solved numerically in a finite difference approximation coded for a digital computer. An experimental study of the hydrodynamic instability and dynamic burnout in two-phase flow has been performed in a natural circulation loop in the pressure range from 10 to 70 atg. The test sections were round ducts of 20, 30 and 36 mm inner diameter and 4890 mm heated length. The experimental results showed that within the ranges tested, the stability of the flow increases with increasing pressure and increasing throttling before the test section, but decreases with increasing Inlet subcooling and increasing throttling after the test section. Comparing the natural circulation burnout steam qualities with corresponding forced circulation data shoved that the former data were low by a factor up to 2.5. However, by applying inlet throttling of the flow the burnout values approached and finally coincided with the forced circulation data. The present experimental results as well as data available from other sources have been compared with the stability thresholds obtained with the theoretical model. The comparisons included circular, annular and rod cluster geometries, and the agreement between the experimental and theoretical stability limits was good. Finally the application of the experimental and theoretical results on the assessment of boiling heavy water reactor design is discussed

Reduced scaling of thermal-hydraulic circuits for studies of PWR reactors natural circulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Botelho, D.A.

1993-01-01

The Ishii et al. hydrodynamic similarity criteria for natural circulation were used for scaling reduced models of prototype passive residual heat removal system of a 600 M We PWR. The physical scales of the thermohydraulic parameters obtained presented a reasonable agreement when compared with simplified analytic models of the systems. (author)

Verification of RELAP5-3D code in natural circulation loop as function of the initial water inventory

Science.gov (United States)

Bertani, C.; Falcone, N.; Bersano, A.; Caramello, M.; Matsushita, T.; De Salve, M.; Panella, B.

2017-11-01

High safety and reliability of advanced nuclear reactors, Generation IV and Small Modular Reactors (SMR), have a crucial role in the acceptance of these new plants design. Among all the possible safety systems, particular efforts are dedicated to the study of passive systems because they rely on simple physical principles like natural circulation, without the need of external energy source to operate. Taking inspiration from the second Decay Heat Removal system (DHR2) of ALFRED, the European Generation IV demonstrator of the fast lead cooled reactor, an experimental facility has been built at the Energy Department of Politecnico di Torino (PROPHET facility) to study single and two-phase flow natural circulation. The facility behavior is simulated using the thermal-hydraulic system code RELAP5-3D, which is widely used in nuclear applications. In this paper, the effect of the initial water inventory on natural circulation is analyzed. The experimental time behaviors of temperatures and pressures are analyzed. The experimental matrix ranges between 69 % and 93%; the influence of the opposite effects related to the increase of the volume available for the expansion and the pressure raise due to phase change is discussed. Simulations of the experimental tests are carried out by using a 1D model at constant heat power and fixed liquid and air mass; the code predictions are compared with experimental results. Two typical responses are observed: subcooled or two phase saturated circulation. The steady state pressure is a strong function of liquid and air mass inventory. The numerical results show that, at low initial liquid mass inventory, the natural circulation is not stable but pulsated.

A study of natural circulation cooling using a flow visualization rig

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bowman, W.C.; Ferch, R.L.; Omar, A.M.

1985-01-01

A flow visualization rig has been built at Monserco Limited to provide visual insight into the thermalhydraulic phenomena which occur during single phase and two phase thermosyphoning in a figure-of-eight heat transport loop. Tests performed with the rig have provided design information for the scaling and instrumentation of a high pressure rig being investigated for simulating CANDU reactor conditions during natural circulation cooling. A videotape was produced, for viewing at this presentation, to show important thermalhydraulic features of the thermosyphoning process. The rig is a standard figure-of-eight loop with two steam generators and three heated channels per pass. An elevated surge tank open to atmosphere was used for pressure control. Two variable speed pumps provided forced circulation for warming up the rig, and for establishing the desired initial conditions for testing. Test rig power could be varied between 0 and 15 kW

An analytical and experimental investigation of natural circulation transients in a model pressurized water reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Massoud, M.

1987-01-01

Natural Circulation phenomena in a simulated PWR was investigated experimentally and analytically. The experimental investigation included determination of system characteristics as well as system response to the imposed transient under symmetric and asymmetric operations. System characteristics were used to obtain correlation for heat transfer coefficient in heat exchangers, system flow resistance, and system buoyancy heat. Asymmetric transients were imposed to study flow oscillation and possible instability. The analytical investigation encompassed development of mathematical model for single-phase, steady-state and transient natural circulation as well as modification of existing model for two-phase flow analysis of phenomena such as small break LOCA, high pressure coolant injection and pump coast down. The developed mathematical model for single-phase analysis was computer coded to simulate the imposed transients. The computer program, entitled ''Symmetric and Asymmetric Analysis of Single-Phase Flow (SAS),'' were employed to simulate the imposed transients. It closely emulated the system behavior throughout the transient and subsequent steady-state. Modifications for two-phase flow analysis included addition of models for once-through steam generator and electric heater rods. Both programs are faster than real time. Off-line, they can be used for prediction and training applications while on-line they serve for simulation and signal validation. The programs can also be used to determine the sensitivity of natural circulation behavior to variation of inputs such as secondary distribution and power transients

HeREF-2003: Helium Refrigeration Techniques

CERN Multimedia

2003-01-01

CERN Technical Training 2003: Learning for the LHC ! Theory, Technology, Maintenance and Control of Helium Refrigerators HeREF-2003 is a course in the framework of the 2002 Technical Training Programme, that will provide a complete introduction to Helium refrigeration, with a practical approach to theory, technology, maintenance and control of Helium refrigeration installations. Theoretical aspects and equations will be limited to a minimum. HeREF-2003 targets an audience of technicians and operators of Helium refrigeration plants at CERN, as well as physicists and engineers needing an overview of current Helium refrigeration techniques. HeREF-2003 will address, among other, issues related to component technology, installation maintenance, process control and Helium purity. A commented visit to a couple of CERN Helium refrigeration or liquefaction plants will also take place. Duration: 7 half days (4 mornings and 3 afternoons), 6-10 October, 2003 Cost per participant: 500.- CHF Language: Bilingual English...

HeREF-2003 : Helium Refrigeration Techniques

CERN Multimedia

2003-01-01

CERN Technical Training 2003: Learning for the LHC ! Theory, Technology, Maintenance and Control of Helium Refrigerators HeREF-2003 is a course in the framework of the 2002 Technical Training Programme, that will provide a complete introduction to Helium refrigeration, with a practical approach to theory, technology, maintenance and control of Helium refrigeration installations. Theoretical aspects and equations will be limited to a minimum. HeREF-2003 targets an audience of technicians and operators of Helium refrigeration plants at CERN, as well as physicists and engineers needing an overview of current Helium refrigeration techniques. HeREF-2003 will address, among other, issues related to component technology, installation maintenance, process control and Helium purity. A commented visit to a couple of CERN Helium refrigeration or liquefaction plants will also take place. • Duration: 7 half days (4 mornings and 3 afternoons), 6-10 October, 2003 • Cost per participant: 500.- CHF
...

Magnetocaloric refrigeration near room temperature (invited)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brueck, E.; Tegus, O.; Thanh, D.T.C.; Buschow, K.H.J.

2007-01-01

Modern society relies on readily available refrigeration. The ideal cooling machine would be a compact, solid state, silent and energy-efficient heat pump that does not require maintenance. Magnetic refrigeration has three prominent advantages compared to compressor-based refrigeration. First, there are no harmful gases involved, second it may be built more compact as the working material is a solid and third magnetic refrigerators generate much less noise. Recently, a new class of magnetic refrigerant materials for room-temperature applications was discovered. These new materials have important advantages over existing magnetic coolants: They exhibit a large magnetocaloric effect (MCE) in conjunction with a magnetic phase transition of first order. This MCE is, larger than that of Gd metal, which is used in the demonstration refrigerators built to explore the potential of this evolving technology. In the present review, we compare the different materials considering both scientific aspects and industrial applicability

Analysis of Refrigeration Cycle Performance with an Ejector

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wani J. R.

2016-01-01

Full Text Available A conventional refrigeration cycle uses expansion device between the condenser and the evaporator which has losses during the expansion process. A refrigeration cycle with ejector is a promising modification to improve the performance of conventional refrigeration cycle. The ejector is used to recover some of the available work so that the compressor suction pressure increases. To investigate the enhancement a model with R134a refrigerant was developed. To solve the set of equations and simulate the cycle performance a subroutine was written on engineering equation solver (EES environment. At specific conditions, the refrigerant properties are obtained from EES. At the design conditions the ejector refrigeration cycle achieved 5.141 COP compared to 4.609 COP of the conventional refrigeration cycle. This means that ejector refrigeration cycle offers better COP with 10.35% improvement compared to conventional refrigeration cycle. Parametric analysis of ejector refrigeration cycle indicated that COP was influenced significantly by evaporator and condenser temperatures, entrainment ratio and diffuser efficiency.

Performance and energy saving analysis of a refrigerator using hydrocarbon mixture (HC-R134a) as working fluid

Science.gov (United States)

Mohtar, M. N.; Nasution, H.; Aziz, A. A.

2015-12-01

The use of hydrocarbon mixture as a working fluid in a refrigerator system is rarely explored. Almost all domestic refrigerators use hydroflourocarbon R134a (HFC-R134a) as refrigerants. In this study, hydrocarbon gas (HC-R134a) is used as the alternative refrigerant to replace HFC-R134a. It has a composition of R290 (56%), R600a (54.39%) and additive (0.1%wt) blended for the trials. The experiments were conducted with 105 g and 52.5 g refrigerant mass charge, subjected to internal heat load of 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 kg respectively. The study investigates the coefficient of performance of the refrigerator (COPR) and energy consumption. The results show that the use of HC-R134a as the replaceable refrigerant can save energy ranging from 2.04% to 7.09%, as compared to the conventional HFC-R134a refrigerant. Naturally, the COPR improvement and temperature distribution using HC-R134a are much better than HFC-R134a

Magnetic Refrigeration – an Energy Efficient Technology for the Future

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bahl, Christian Robert Haffenden; Smith, Anders; Pryds, Nini

2009-01-01

. This magnetocaloric effect is inherent to all magnetic materials, but manifests itself stronger in some materials. The thermodynamically reversible nature of the magnetocaloric effect holds out the promise of a more energy efficient method of refrigeration compared to conventional compressor technology. Coupling...

Development of Low Global Warming Potential Refrigerant Solutions for Commercial Refrigeration Systems using a Life Cycle Climate Performance Design Tool

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abdelaziz, Omar [ORNL; Fricke, Brian A [ORNL; Vineyard, Edward Allan [ORNL

2012-01-01

Commercial refrigeration systems are known to be prone to high leak rates and to consume large amounts of electricity. As such, direct emissions related to refrigerant leakage and indirect emissions resulting from primary energy consumption contribute greatly to their Life Cycle Climate Performance (LCCP). In this paper, an LCCP design tool is used to evaluate the performance of a typical commercial refrigeration system with alternative refrigerants and minor system modifications to provide lower Global Warming Potential (GWP) refrigerant solutions with improved LCCP compared to baseline systems. The LCCP design tool accounts for system performance, ambient temperature, and system load; system performance is evaluated using a validated vapor compression system simulation tool while ambient temperature and system load are devised from a widely used building energy modeling tool (EnergyPlus). The LCCP design tool also accounts for the change in hourly electricity emission rate to yield an accurate prediction of indirect emissions. The analysis shows that conventional commercial refrigeration system life cycle emissions are largely due to direct emissions associated with refrigerant leaks and that system efficiency plays a smaller role in the LCCP. However, as a transition occurs to low GWP refrigerants, the indirect emissions become more relevant. Low GWP refrigerants may not be suitable for drop-in replacements in conventional commercial refrigeration systems; however some mixtures may be introduced as transitional drop-in replacements. These transitional refrigerants have a significantly lower GWP than baseline refrigerants and as such, improved LCCP. The paper concludes with a brief discussion on the tradeoffs between refrigerant GWP, efficiency and capacity.

49 CFR 173.174 - Refrigerating machines.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Refrigerating machines. 173.174 Section 173.174 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation PIPELINE AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS SAFETY... Refrigerating machines. A refrigerating machine assembled for shipment and containing 7 kg (15 pounds) or less...

'TEWI' concept for estimation of the global warming from the refrigerating and air conditioning systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ciconkov, Risto

2002-01-01

The most applied CFC refrigerants and their HFC alternatives. values of ODP (Ozone Depletion Potential) and GWP (Global Warming Potential) of the most used refrigerants. natural working fluids and their properties. Montreal Protocol and Kyoto Protocol, illogical relations between them concerning to the HFC fluids. Confusion and polemics on the international level about the appliance of HFCs which, by the Kyoto Protocol, are liable to reduction. Introduction of the TEWI concept as a method for estimating the overall influence of refrigerating and air conditioning systems on the greenhouse effect: the direct emission (refrigerant leakage in the atmosphere) and indirect emission as a result of the electrical energy consumption. A demonstration of the TEWI concept on the concrete example in several variants. A discussion about the appliance of the TEWI concept. Meaning of the energy efficiency of the refrigerating systems (indirect CO 2 emission). One of the main measures: prevention of refrigerant leakage (direct CO 2 emission). A need of permanent education and training courses of the people who work on refrigerating and air conditioning systems. A necessity for constitution of an expert body in the country, preparation of a strategy to lay obligations on the new changes of the Kyoto Protocol and news on the world market. Introduction of country regulations, certification of the companies and people involved in refrigeration and air conditioning. (Author)

Thermodynamic analysis of hydrocarbon refrigerants in a sub-cooling refrigeration system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

BUKOLA O. BOLAJI

2013-06-01

Full Text Available In this study, the performance simulation of some hydrocarbon refrigerants (R290, R600 and R600a as alternatives to R134a in refrigeration system with sub-cooling is conducted by thermodynamic calculation of performance parameters using the REFPROP software. The results obtained showed that the saturated vapour pressure and temperature characteristic profiles for R600 and R600a are very close to that of R134a. The three hydrocarbon refrigerants exhibited very high refrigerating effect and condenser duty than R134a. The best of these parameters was obtained using R600. The discharge temperatures obtained using R600 and R600a were low, while that of R290 was very much higher. The highest coefficient of performance (COP and relative capacity index were obtained using R600. Average COPs of R600 and R600a are 4.6 and 2.2% higher than that of R134a, respectively. The performances of R600 and R600a in system were better than those of R134a and R290. The best performance was obtained using R600 in the system.

ARTI Refrigerant Database

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Calm, J.M.

1992-11-09

The database provides bibliographic citations and abstracts for publications that may be useful in research and design of air- conditioning and refrigeration equipment. The database identifies sources of specific information on R-32, R-123, R-124, R-125, R-134, R-134a, R-141b, R-142b, R-143a, R-152a, R-245ca, R-290 (propane), R- 717 (ammonia), ethers, and others as well as azeotropic and zeotropic and zeotropic blends of these fluids. It addresses lubricants including alkylbenzene, polyalkylene glycol, ester, and other synthetics as well as mineral oils. It also references documents on compatibility of refrigerants and lubricants with metals, plastics, elastomers, motor insulation, and other materials used in refrigerant circuits. A computerized version is available that includes retrieval software.

Data-Driven Control of Refrigeration System

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vinther, Kasper

Refrigeration is used in a wide range of applications, e.g., for storage of food at low temperatures to prolong shelf life and in air conditioning for occupancy comfort. The main focus of this thesis is control of supermarket refrigeration systems. This market is very competitive and it is import......Refrigeration is used in a wide range of applications, e.g., for storage of food at low temperatures to prolong shelf life and in air conditioning for occupancy comfort. The main focus of this thesis is control of supermarket refrigeration systems. This market is very competitive...... traditionally are a pressure and a temperature sensor. In this thesis, a novel maximum slope-seeking (MSS) control method is developed. This has resulted in a control implementation, which successfully has been able to control the evaporator superheat in four widely different refrigeration system test...... problems. The method utilizes the qualitative nonlinearity in the system and harmonic analysis of a perturbation signal to reach an unknown, but suitable, operating point. Another important control task in refrigeration systems is to maintain the temperature of the refrigerated space or foodstuff within...

Analysis on natural circulation capacity of the CARR

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

TIAN Wenxi; QIU Suizheng; WANG Jiaqiang; SU Guanghui; JIA Dounan; ZHANG Jianwei

2007-01-01

The investigation on natural circulation (NC) characteristics of the China Advanced Research Reactor(CARR) is very valuable for practical engineering application and also a key subject for the CARR. In this study, a computer code was developed to calculate the NC capacity of the CARR under different pool water temperatures. Effects of the pool water temperature on NC characteristics were analyzed. The results show that with increasing pool water temperature, the NC flow rate increases while the NC capacity decreases. Based on the computation results and theoretical deduction, a correlation was proposed on predicting the relationship between the NC mass flow and the core power under different conditions. The correlation prediction agrees well with the computational result within ±10% for the maximal deviation. This work is instructive for the actual operation of the CARR.

A miniature adsorption3HE refrigerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duband, L.; Ravex, A.; Lange, A.

1991-01-01

A self-contained, recyclable laboratory 3 He refrigerator has been developed. The refrigerator is very compact, portable and is designed to be safe and reliable. The unit can easily be installed on the cold plate of a superfluid 4 He cryostat. Once bolted on the cold plate, operation of the refrigerator is controlled by a single heater. In this new design the refrigerator has a cylindrical geometry. The adsorption pump is placed above the condensation point to prevent convection during the condensation phase and to improve the pumping speed. The inhibition of convection reduces the load on the 4 He bath and increases the condensation efficiency. This refrigeration technique has great potential for space applications. The absence of moving parts makes the system reliable and vibration free. Its simplicity and the absence of external components facilitate its integration on a cryostat. In fact, a rocket-borne 3 He refrigerator has already been successfully flown and has demonstrated the feasibility of this method

Development and verification of a space-dependent dynamic model of a natural circulation steam generator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mewdell, C.G.; Harrison, W.C.; Hawley, E.H.

1980-01-01

This paper describes the development and verification of a Non-Linear Space-Dependent Dynamic Model of a Natural Circulation Steam Generator typical of boilers used in CANDU nuclear power stations. The model contains a detailed one-dimensional dynamic description of both the primary and secondary sides of an integral pre-heater natural circulation boiler. Two-phase flow effects on the primary side are included. The secondary side uses a drift-flux model in the boiling sections and a detailed non-equilibrium point model for the steam drum. The paper presents the essential features of the final model called BOILER-2, its solution scheme, the RD-12 loop and test boiler, the boiler steady-state and transient experiments, and the comparison of the model predictions with experimental results. (author)

Not all counterclockwise thermodynamic cycles are refrigerators

Science.gov (United States)

Dickerson, R. H.; Mottmann, J.

2016-06-01

Clockwise cycles on PV diagrams always represent heat engines. It is therefore tempting to assume that counterclockwise cycles always represent refrigerators. This common assumption is incorrect: most counterclockwise cycles cannot be refrigerators. This surprising result is explored here for quasi-static ideal gas cycles, and the necessary conditions for refrigeration cycles are clarified. Three logically self-consistent criteria can be used to determine if a counterclockwise cycle is a refrigerator. The most fundamental test compares the counterclockwise cycle with a correctly determined corresponding Carnot cycle. Other criteria we employ include a widely accepted description of the functional behavior of refrigerators, and a corollary to the second law that limits a refrigerator's coefficient of performance.

Cryogenic mixed refrigerant processes

CERN Document Server

Venkatarathnam, Gadhiraju

2010-01-01

Teaches the need for refrigerant mixtures, the type of mixtures that can be used for different refrigeration and liquefaction applications, the different processes that can be used and the methods to be adopted for choosing the components of a mixture and their concentration for different applications.

The EU directive for eco-design of circulation pumps; Die EG-Verordnung fuer die umweltgerechte Gestaltung von Umwaelzpumpen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schuberth, Jens [Umweltbundesamt, Dessau (Germany); Akkermann, Floris [Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin (Germany)

2009-05-15

The EU directive belongs to a bundle of measures concerning electrical equipment such as circulation pumps, heating systems, electric motors, filament bulbs and refrigerators. It was issued with the intention to significantly reduce energy consumption of these appliances. (AKB)

Thermoacoustic engines and refrigerators

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Swift, G.

1996-12-31

This report is a transcript of a practice lecture given in preparation for a review lecture on the operation of thermoacoustic engines and refrigerators. The author begins by a brief review of the thermodynamic principles underlying the operation of thermoacoustic engines and refrigerators. Remember from thermodynamics class that there are two kinds of heat engines, the heat engine or the prime mover which produces work from heat, and the refrigerator or heat pump that uses work to pump heat. The device operates between two thermal reservoirs at temperatures T{sub hot} and T{sub cold}. In the heat engine, heat flows into the device from the reservoir at T{sub hot}, produces work, and delivers waste heat into the reservoir at T{sub cold}. In the refrigerator, work flows into the device, lifting heat Q{sub cold} from reservoir at T{sub cold} and rejecting waste heat into the reservoir at T{sub hot}.

United States: refrigeration industry blows hot

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Crawford, J.

1997-01-01

In the framework of the Kyoto convention on global warming, the american refrigeration industries have undertaken several organizations and contacts with governments and agencies in order to explain the real issues concerning the effects of refrigerant utilization in refrigerating machines on the greenhouse effect, taking into consideration the commercial impact that a ban on certain refrigerants could have on the industry's business. They argue that HFC utilization in this industry is fundamentally non-emissive and that important improvements have been realized concerning tightness and energy consumption

CFD simulations and reduced order modeling of a refrigerator compartment including radiation effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bayer, Ozgur; Oskay, Ruknettin; Paksoy, Akin; Aradag, Selin

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► Free convection in a refrigerator is simulated including radiation effects. ► Heat rates are affected drastically when radiation effects are considered. ► 95% of the flow energy can be represented by using one spatial POD mode. - Abstract: Considering the engineering problem of natural convection in domestic refrigerator applications, this study aims to simulate the fluid flow and temperature distribution in a single commercial refrigerator compartment by using the experimentally determined temperature values as the specified constant wall temperature boundary conditions. The free convection in refrigerator applications is evaluated as a three-dimensional (3D), turbulent, transient and coupled non-linear flow problem. Radiation heat transfer mode is also included in the analysis. According to the results, taking radiation effects into consideration does not change the temperature distribution inside the refrigerator significantly; however the heat rates are affected drastically. The flow inside the compartment is further analyzed with a reduced order modeling method called Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) and the energy contents of several spatial and temporal modes that exist in the flow are examined. The results show that approximately 95% of all the flow energy can be represented by only using one spatial mode

Sorption compressor/mechanical expander hybrid refrigeration

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, J. A.; Britcliffe, M.

1987-01-01

Experience with Deep Space Network (DSN) ground-based cryogenic refrigerators has proved the reliability of the basic two-stage Gifford-McMahon helium refrigerator. A very long life cryogenic refrigeration system appears possible by combining this expansion system or a turbo expansion system with a hydride sorption compressor in place of the usual motor driven piston compressor. To test the feasibility of this system, a commercial Gifford-McMahon refrigerator was tested using hydrogen gas as the working fluid. Although no attempt was made to optimize the system for hydrogen operation, the refrigerator developed 1.3 W at 30 K and 6.6 W at 60 K. The results of the test and of theoretical performances of the hybrid compressor coupled to these expansion systems are presented.

Development of a butterfly check valve model under natural circulation conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rao, Yuxian; Yu, Lei; Fu, Shengwei; Zhang, Fan

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Bases on Lim’s swing check valve model, a butterfly check valve model was developed. • The method to quantify the friction torque T F in Li’s model was corrected. • The developed model was implemented into the RELAP5 code and verified. - Abstract: A butterfly check valve is widely used to prevent a reverse flow in the pipe lines of a marine nuclear power plant. Under some conditions, the natural circulation conditions in particular, the fluid velocity through the butterfly check valve might become too low to hold the valve disk fully open, thereby the flow resistance of the butterfly check valve varies with the location of the valve disk and as a result the fluid flow is significantly affected by the dynamic motion of the valve disk. Simulation of a pipe line that includes some butterfly check valves, especially under natural circulation conditions, is thus complicated. This paper focuses on the development of a butterfly check valve model to enhance the capability of the thermal–hydraulic system code and the developed model is implemented into the RELAP5 code. Both steady-state calculations and transient calculations were carried out for the primary loop system of a marine nuclear power plant and the calculation results are compared with the experimental data for verification purpose. The simulation results show an agreement with the experimental data

Study of flow instabilities in double-channel natural circulation boiling systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Durga Prasad, Gonella V.; Pandey, Manmohan; Pradhan, Santosh K.; Gupta, Satish K.

2008-01-01

Natural circulation boiling systems consisting of parallel channels can undergo different types of oscillations (in-phase or out-of-phase) depending on the geometric parameters and operating conditions. Disturbances in one channel affect the flow in other channels, which triggers thermal-hydraulic oscillations. In the present work, the modes of oscillation under different operating conditions and channel-to-channel interaction during power fluctuations and on-power refueling in a double-channel natural circulation boiling system are investigated. The system is modeled using a lumped parameter mathematical model and RELAP5/MOD3.4. Parametric studies are carried out for an equal-power double-channel system, at different operating conditions, with both the models, and the results are compared. Instabilities, non-linear oscillations, and effects of recirculation loop dynamics and geometric parameters on the mode of oscillations, are studied using the lumped model. The two channels oscillate out-of-phase in Type-I region, but in Type-II region, both the modes of oscillation are observed under different conditions. Channel-to-channel interaction and on-power refueling studies are carried out using the RELAP model. At high powers, disturbances in one channel significantly affect the stability of the other channel. During on-power refueling, a near-stagnation condition or low-velocity reverse flow can occur, the possibility of reverse flow being higher at lower pressures

Steady state and linear stability analysis of a supercritical water natural circulation loop

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sharma, Manish; Pilkhwal, D.S.; Vijayan, P.K.; Saha, D.; Sinha, R.K.

2010-01-01

Supercritical water (SCW) has excellent heat transfer characteristics as a coolant for nuclear reactors. Besides it results in high thermal efficiency of the plant. However, the flow can experience instabilities in supercritical water reactors, as the density change is very large for the supercritical fluids. A computer code SUCLIN using supercritical water properties has been developed to carry out the steady state and linear stability analysis of a SCW natural circulation loop. The conservation equations of mass, momentum and energy have been linearized by imposing small perturbation in flow rate, enthalpy, pressure and specific volume. The equations have been solved analytically to generate the characteristic equation. The roots of the equation determine the stability of the system. The code has been qualitatively assessed with published results and has been extensively used for studying the effect of diameter, height, heater inlet temperature, pressure and local loss coefficients on steady state and stability behavior of a Supercritical Water Natural Circulation Loop (SCWNCL). The present paper describes the linear stability analysis model and the results obtained in detail.

46 CFR 154.702 - Refrigerated carriage.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... Pressure and Temperature Control § 154.702 Refrigerated carriage. (a) Each refrigeration system must: (1) Have enough capacity to maintain the cargo vapor pressure in each cargo tank served by the system below... the purpose of this section, a “refrigeration unit” includes a compressor and its motors and controls...

Solar Refrigerators Store Life-Saving Vaccines

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Former Johnson Space Center engineer David Bergeron used his experience on the Advanced Refrigeration Technology Team to found SunDanzer Refrigeration Inc., a company specializing in solar-powered refrigerators. The company has created a battery-free unit that provides safe storage for vaccines in rural and remote areas around the world.

Simulation of absorption refrigeration system for automobile application

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ramanathan Anand

2008-01-01

Full Text Available An automotive air-conditioning system based on absorption refrigeration cycle has been simulated. This waste heat driven vapor absorption refrigeration system is one alternate to the currently used vapour compression refrigeration system for automotive air-conditioning. Performance analysis of vapor absorption refrigeration system has been done by developing a steady-state simulation model to find the limitation of the proposed system. The water-lithium bromide pair is used as a working mixture for its favorable thermodynamic and transport properties compared to the conventional refrigerants utilized in vapor compression refrigeration applications. The pump power required for the proposed vapor absorption refrigeration system was found lesser than the power required to operate the compressor used in the conventional vapor compression refrigeration system. A possible arrangement of the absorption system for automobile application is proposed.

Next Generation Refrigeration Lubricants for Low Global Warming Potential/Low Ozone Depleting Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hessell, Edward

2013-12-31

The goal of this project is to develop and test new synthetic lubricants that possess high compatibility with new low ozone depleting (LOD) and low global warming potential (LGWP) refrigerants and offer improved lubricity and wear protection over current lubricant technologies. The improved compatibility of the lubricants with the refrigerants, along with improved lubricating properties, will resulted in lower energy consumption and longer service life of the refrigeration systems used in residential, commercial and industrial heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) and refrigeration equipment.

An Evaluation of the Environmental Impact of Different Commercial Supermarket Refrigeration Systems Using Low Global Warming Potential Refrigerants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Beshr, Mohamed [University of Maryland, College Park; Aute, Vikrant [University of Maryland, College Park; Abdelaziz, Omar [ORNL; Fricke, Brian A [ORNL; Radermacher, Reinhard [University of Maryland, College Park

2014-01-01

Commercial refrigeration systems consumed 1.21 Quads of primary energy in 2010 and are known to be a major source for refrigerant charge leakage into the environment. Thus, it is important to study the environmental impact of commercial supermarket refrigeration systems and improve their design to minimize any adverse impacts. The system s Life Cycle Climate Performance (LCCP) was presented as a comprehensive metric with the aim of calculating the equivalent mass of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere throughout its lifetime, from construction to operation and destruction. In this paper, an open source tool for the evaluation of the LCCP of different air-conditioning and refrigeration systems is presented and used to compare the environmental impact of a typical multiplex direct expansion (DX) supermarket refrigeration systems based on three different refrigerants as follows: two hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants (R-404A, and R-407F), and a low global warming potential (GWP) refrigerant (N-40). The comparison is performed in 8 US cities representing different climates. The hourly energy consumption of the refrigeration system, required for the calculation of the indirect emissions, is calculated using a widely used building energy modeling tool (EnergyPlus). A sensitivity analysis is performed to determine the impact of system charge and power plant emission factor on the LCCP results. Finally, we performed an uncertainty analysis to determine the uncertainty in total emissions for both R-404A and N-40 operated systems. We found that using low GWP refrigerants causes a considerable drop in the impact of uncertainty in the inputs related to direct emissions on the uncertainty of the total emissions of the system.

Review of investigations in eco-friendly thermoacoustic refrigeration system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raut Ashish S.

2017-01-01

Full Text Available To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, internationally research and development is intended to improve the performance of conventional refrigeration system also growth of new-fangled refrigeration technology of potentially much lesser ecological impact. This paper gives brief review of research and development in thermoacoustic refrigeration also the existing situation of thermoacoustic refrigeration system. Thermoacoustic refrigerator is a novel sort of energy conversion equipment which converts acoustic power into heat energy by thermoacoustic effect. Thermoacoustic refrigeration is an emergent refrigeration technology in which there are no moving elements or any environmentally injurious refrigerants during its working. The concept of thermoacoustic refrigeration system is explained, the growth of thermoacoustic refrigeration, various investigations into thermoacoustic refrigeration system, various optimization techniques to improve coefficient of performance, different stacks and resonator tube designs to improve heat transfer rate, various gases, and other parameters like sound generation have been reviewed.

Study on thermalhydraulics of natural circulation decay heat removal in FBR. Experiment with water of typical reactor trip in the demonstration FBR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koga, Tomonari; Murakami, Takahiro; Eguchi, Yuzuru

2010-01-01

Intending to enhance safety and to reduce costs, an FBR plant is being developed in Japan. In relies solely on natural circulation of the primary cooling loop to remove a decay heat of the core after reactor trips. A water test was carried out to advance the development. The test used a 1/10 reduced scale model simulating the core and cooling systems. The experiments simulated representative accidents from steady state to decay heat removal through reactor trip and clarified thermal-hydraulic issues on the thermal circulation performance. Some modifications of the system design were proposed for solving serious problems of natural circulation. An improved design complying with the suggestions will make it possible for natural circulation of the cooling systems to remove the decay heat of the core without causing and unstable or unpredictable change. (author)

An Experimental Study of Natural Circulation in a Loop with Parallel Flow Test Sections

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mathisen, R P; Eklind, O

1965-10-15

The dynamic behaviour of a natural circulation loop parallel round duct channels has been studied. The test sections were both electrically heated and the power distribution was uniform along the 4300 mm heated length of the 20 mm dia. channels. The inter channel interference and the threshold of flow instability were obtained by using a dynamically calibrated flowmeter in each channel. The pressure was 50 bars and the sub-cooling 6 deg C. The main parameters varied, were the flow restrictions in the one-phase and two-phase sections. The instability data were correlated to the resistance coefficients due to these restrictions. Theoretical calculations for parallel channels in natural circulation have been compared with the experimental results. For the conditions determined by the above mentioned magnitudes, the steady-state computations are in excellent agreement with experiment. The transients are also nearly similar, except for the resonance frequency which for the theoretical case is higher by an amount between 0.3 and 0.5 c.p.s.

An Experimental Study of Natural Circulation in a Loop with Parallel Flow Test Sections

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mathisen, R.P.; Eklind, O.

1965-10-01

The dynamic behaviour of a natural circulation loop parallel round duct channels has been studied. The test sections were both electrically heated and the power distribution was uniform along the 4300 mm heated length of the 20 mm dia. channels. The inter channel interference and the threshold of flow instability were obtained by using a dynamically calibrated flowmeter in each channel. The pressure was 50 bars and the sub-cooling 6 deg C. The main parameters varied, were the flow restrictions in the one-phase and two-phase sections. The instability data were correlated to the resistance coefficients due to these restrictions. Theoretical calculations for parallel channels in natural circulation have been compared with the experimental results. For the conditions determined by the above mentioned magnitudes, the steady-state computations are in excellent agreement with experiment. The transients are also nearly similar, except for the resonance frequency which for the theoretical case is higher by an amount between 0.3 and 0.5 c.p.s

Heat transfer experiments and correlations for natural and forced circulations of water in rod bundles at low Reynolds numbers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Sung-Ho; El-Genk, Mohamed S.; Rubio, Reuben A.; Bryson, James W.; Foushee, Fabian C.

1988-01-01

Experimental heat transfer studies were conducted for fully developed forced and natural flows of water through seven uniformly heated rod bundles, triangularly arrayed with P/D = 1.25, 1.38, and 1.5. In forced circulation experiments, Re ranged from 80 to 50,000 and Pr from 3 to 8.5, while in natural circulation, Re varied from 260 to 2,000, and Ra q from 8 x 10 8 to 2.5 x 10 8 . The forced flow data fell into the two basic flow regimes: turbulent and laminar flow. At the transition between these regimes, Re, which varied from 2,200 for P/D = 1.25 to 5,500 for P/D = 1.5, increased linearly with P/D. The heat transfer data for turbulent flow was within ±15 percent of Weisman's correlation, which was developed for fully developed turbulent flow in rod bundles at Re > 25,000. The laminar flow data showed the dependence of Nu on Re to be weaker than that for turbulent flow, but the exponent of Re increased with P/D: Nu = A Re B Pr 1/3 , where A is equal to 1.061, 0.511, and 0.346 for P/D = 1.25, 1.38 and 1.5, respectively, and B is a linear function of P/D (B = 0.797 P/D - 0.656). Natural circulation data indicated that rod spacing only slightly affected heat transfer, and Nu increased proportionally to Ra 0.25 ; Nu = 0.272 Ra q 0.25 . The application of the results to SNL's ACRR indicated that although the core is cooled by natural convection, either the natural circulation correlation or the forced turbulent flow correlation can be used to accurately predict the single phase heat transfer coefficient in the ACRR. These results were concluded because of the high Rayleigh and Reynolds numbers in the ACRR. The ACRR operates near the boundary between mixed and forced turbulent flow regimes: consequently, achieving the high heat transfer coefficient was possible with natural circulation. (author)

A new compressed air energy storage refrigeration system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Shenglong; Chen Guangming; Fang Ming; Wang Qin

2006-01-01

In this study, a new compressed air energy storage (CAES) refrigeration system is proposed for electrical power load shifting application. It is a combination of a gas refrigeration cycle and a vapor compression refrigeration cycle. Thermodynamic calculations are conducted to investigate the performance of this system. Economic analysis is performed to study the operating cost of the system, and comparison is made with a vapor compression refrigeration system and an ice storage refrigeration system. The results indicate that the CAES refrigeration system has the advantages of simple structure, high efficiency and low operating cost

An analytical and experimental investigation of natural circulation transients in a model pressurized water reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Massoud, M

1987-01-01

Natural Circulation phenomena in a simulated PWR was investigated experimentally and analytically. The experimental investigation included determination of system characteristics as well as system response to the imposed transient under symmetric and asymmetric operations. System characteristics were used to obtain correlation for heat transfer coefficient in heat exchangers, system flow resistance, and system buoyancy heat. Asymmetric transients were imposed to study flow oscillation and possible instability. The analytical investigation encompassed development of mathematical model for single-phase, steady-state and transient natural circulation as well as modification of existing model for two-phase flow analysis of phenomena such as small break LOCA, high pressure coolant injection and pump coast down. The developed mathematical model for single-phase analysis was computer coded to simulate the imposed transients. The computer program, entitled ''Symmetric and Asymmetric Analysis of Single-Phase Flow (SAS),'' were employed to simulate the imposed transients. It closely emulated the system behavior throughout the transient and subsequent steady-state. Modifications for two-phase flow analysis included addition of models for once-through steam generator and electric heater rods. Both programs are faster than real time. Off-line, they can be used for prediction and training applications while on-line they serve for simulation and signal validation. The programs can also be used to determine the sensitivity of natural circulation behavior to variation of inputs such as secondary distribution and power transients.

Experimental study of core thermohydraulics in fast reactors during transition from forced to natural circulation. Influence of inter-wrapper flow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kamide, H.; Hayashi, K.; Momoi, K.

1997-01-01

The evaluation of core thermohydraulics under natural circulation conditions is important to utilize inherent safety features of Fast Reactors. When heat exchangers of a decay heat removal system are operated in an upper plenum of reactor vessel, cold sodium is provided by the heat exchangers. Core-plenum interactions will occur during a natural circulation condition due to this cold sodium in the upper plenum, e.g., it can penetrate into gap regions between fuel subassemblies (inter-wrapper flow, IWF) and the flow may reverse in low power core channels. These interactions will significantly modify the flow and temperature distributions in the core. Sodium experiments were carried out to study these phenomena. In a test section, seven subassemblies are housed and connected to an upper plenum. The influences of core-plenum interactions on the core thermohydraulics were investigated under steady state conditions and also in transitions from forced to natural circulation. Cooling effects of IWF on the fuel subassemblies were found in spite of natural circulation flow reduction in the primary loop due to temperature decreases in the upper non-heated section in the core. The inter-wrapper flow can effectively cool the core under extreme conditions of low flow rates through the core. (author)

Suitability criterion for a refrigerant for use in solar operated sorption refrigerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tabassum, S.A.; Mir, M.S.

1996-01-01

The thermodynamics of a sorption refrigeration cycle has been discussed representing the cycle on a clapeyron digram. The minimum generation temperature required has been determined using the 'd-a' equation which represents the sorption equilibrium of the pair, and Gibbs free energy relation. The mathematical relation developed provides a totally new basis for determination of suitability of a particular refrigerant. (author)

Suitability criterion for a refrigerant for use in solar operated sorption refrigerator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tabassum, S A; Mir, M S [University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore (Pakistan). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering

1996-06-01

The thermodynamics of a sorption refrigeration cycle has been discussed representing the cycle on a clapeyron digram. The minimum generation temperature required has been determined using the `d-a` equation which represents the sorption equilibrium of the pair, and Gibbs free energy relation. The mathematical relation developed provides a totally new basis for determination of suitability of a particular refrigerant. (author).

SIMULATION OF NON-AZEOTROPIC REFRIGERANT MIXTURES FOR USE IN A DUAL-CIRCUIT REFRIGERATOR/FREEZER WITH COUNTERCURRENT HEAT EXCHANGES

Science.gov (United States)

The paper discusses a refrigerator/freezer (RF) system that has two complete and independent refrigeration cycles for the two compartments. It uses a non-azeotropic refrigerant mixture (NARM) in each cycle and countercurrent heat exchangers throughout. This RF is housed in a stan...

Natural refrigerants for air conditioners in passenger cars. A contribution to climate protection. Background; Natuerliche Kaeltemittel fuer PKW-Klimaanlagen. Ein Beitrag zum Klimaschutz. Hintergrund

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hoffmann, Gabriele; Plehn, Wolfgang

2010-09-15

Air conditioners in passenger cars contain a refrigerant which significantly increases the greenhouse effect. Currently about 30 % of global emissions of partially fluorinated hydrocarbons originate from these air conditioners. According to the directive 2006/40/EC, this refrigerant must be replaced by a less harmful substance. Under this aspect, the contribution under consideration initially reports on the stock and level of air conditioning of passenger cars as well as on the refrigerant tetrafluoroethane. Subsequently, refrigerants for air conditioning of passenger cars such as carbon dioxide, 1.1-difluoroethane and 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoro propylene are described. Overall, the refrigerant carbon dioxide is the best alternative for mobile air conditioning.

Analytical study on thermal-hydraulic behavior of transient from forced circulation to natural circulation in JRR-3

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hirano, Masashi; Sudo, Yukio

1986-01-01

Transient thermal-hydraulic behaviors of the JRR-3 which is an open-pool type research reactor has been analyzed with the THYDE-P1 code. The focal point is the thermal-hydraulic behaviors related to the core flow reversal during the transition from forced circulation downflow to natural circulation upflow. In the case of a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA), for example, the core flow reversal is expected to occur just after the water pool isolation from the primary cooling loop with a leak. The core flow reversal should cause a sudden increase in fuel temperature and a steep decrease in the departure-from-nucleate-boiling ratio (DNBR) and the phenomenon is, therefore, very important especially for safety design and evaluation of research reactors. Major purposes of the present work are to clarify physical phenomena during the transient and to identify important parameters affecting the peak fuel temperature and the minimum DNBR. The results calculated with THYDE-P1 assuming the sequences of events of the loss-of-offsite power and LOCA help us to understand the phenomena both qualitatively and quantitatively, with respect to the safety design and evaluation. (author)

Polyhalogenated hydrocarbon refrigerants and refrigerant oils colored with fluorescent dyes and method for their use as leak detectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Parekh, M.

1988-07-19

A leak detectable refrigeration composition is described comprising: (A) a refrigeration liquid selection from the group consisting of: (1) a polyhalogenated hydrocarbon refrigerant; (2) a refrigeration oil selected from the group consisting of naphthenic oils, paraffinic oils, alkylated benzenes, silicones, polyglycols, diesters or triesters of dicarboxylic or tricarboxylic acids, and polyalkyl silicate oils, and (3) a mixture of A(1) and A(2), and (B) a fluorescent dye compound or composition comprising the dye selected from the group consisting of: (1) a fluorescent dye selected from the group consisting of perylene, naphthoxanthene, monocyclic aromatic compounds having an organometallic compound, (2) a solution of fluorescent dye in a solvent, and (3) a mixture of B(1) and B(2). The fluorescent dye compound or composition is soluble in the refrigeration liquid. The concentration of the dye being at least 0.001 grams per 100 grams of the refrigeration liquid.

Thermal and hydrodynamic characteristics of supercritical CO2 natural circulation in closed loops

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Lin; Deng, Bi-Li; Jiang, Bin; Zhang, Xin-Rong

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► We model thermosyphon heat transfer and stability with super-/trans-critical turbulence model incorporated. ► Potentials of super-/trans-critical CO 2 thermosyphon are confirmed. ► Three characteristics found: flow instability; high flow rate with density wave; heat transfer discrepancies. ► Major laws of system stability factors are different compared with traditional fluids. ► Traditional thermosyphon flow correlation has its limitations and deserves further development. -- Abstract: Natural convective flow of supercritical fluids has become a hot topic in engineering applications. Natural circulation thermosyphon using supercritical/trans-critical CO 2 can be a potential choice for effectively transportation of heat and mass without pumping devices. This paper presents a series of numerical investigations into the fundamental features in a supercritical/trans-critical CO 2 based natural circulation loop. New heat transport model aiming at trans-critical thermosyphon heat transfer and stability is proposed with supercritical/trans-critical turbulence model incorporated. In this study, the fundamentals include the basic flow and heat transfer behavior of the above loop, the effect of heat source temperature on system stability, the effect of loop diameter on natural convection supercritical CO 2 loop and its coupling effect with heat source temperature and the effect of constant changing heat input condition and system behavior evolution during unsteady input or failure conditions. The fundamental potentials of supercritical/trans-critical CO 2 based natural convection system are confirmed. Basic supercritical CO 2 closed loop flow and heat transfer behaviors are clarified. During this study, the CO 2 loop stability map are also put forward and introduced as an important feature of supercritical CO 2 system. Stability factors of natural convective trans-critical CO 2 flow and its implications on real system control are also discussed in

High temperature refrigerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Steyert, W.A. Jr.

1978-01-01

A high temperature magnetic refrigerator is described which uses a Stirling-like cycle in which rotating magnetic working material is heated in zero field and adiabatically magnetized, cooled in high field, then adiabatically demagnetized. During this cycle the working material is in heat exchange with a pumped fluid which absorbs heat from a low temperature heat source and deposits heat in a high temperature reservoir. The magnetic refrigeration cycle operates at an efficiency 70% of Carnot

Transient boiling in two-phase helium natural circulation loops

Science.gov (United States)

Furci, H.; Baudouy, B.; Four, A.; Meuris, C.

2014-01-01

Two-phase helium natural circulation loops are used for cooling large superconducting magnets, as CMS for LHC. During normal operation or in the case of incidents, transients are exerted on the cooling system. Here a cooling system of this type is studied experimentally. Sudden power changes are operated on a vertical-heated-section natural convection loop, simulating a fast increase of heat deposition on magnet cooling pipes. Mass flow rate, heated section wall temperature and pressure drop variations are measured as a function of time, to assess the time behavior concerning the boiling regime according to the values of power injected on the heated section. The boiling curves and critical heat flux (CHF) values have been obtained in steady state. Temperature evolution has been observed in order to explore the operating ranges where heat transfer is deteriorated. Premature film boiling has been observed during transients on the heated section in some power ranges, even at appreciably lower values than the CHF. A way of attenuating these undesired temperature excursions has been identified through the application of high enough initial heating power.

Temperature control characteristics analysis of lead-cooled fast reactor with natural circulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Minghan; Song, Yong; Wang, Jianye; Xu, Peng; Zhang, Guangyu

2016-01-01

Highlights: • The LFR temperature control system are analyzed with frequency domain method. • The temperature control compensator is designed according to the frequency analysis. • Dynamic simulation is performed by SIMULINK and RELAP5-HD. - Abstract: Lead-cooled Fast Reactor (LFR) with natural circulation in primary system is among the highlights in advance nuclear reactor research, due to its great superiority in reactor safety and reliability. In this work, a transfer function matrix describing coolant temperature dynamic process, obtained by Laplace transform of the one-dimensional system dynamic model is developed in order to investigate the temperature control characteristics of LFR. Based on the transfer function matrix, a close-loop coolant temperature control system without compensator is built. The frequency domain analysis indicates that the stability and steady-state of the temperature control system needs to be improved. Accordingly, a temperature compensator based on Proportion–Integration and feed-forward is designed. The dynamic simulation of the whole system with the temperature compensator for core power step change is performed with SIMULINK and RELAP5-HD. The result shows that the temperature compensator can provide superior coolant temperature control capabilities in LFR with natural circulation due to the efficiency of the frequency domain analysis method.

Refrigerant charge management in a heat pump water heater

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Jie; Hampton, Justin W.

2014-06-24

Heat pumps that heat or cool a space and that also heat water, refrigerant management systems for such heat pumps, methods of managing refrigerant charge, and methods for heating and cooling a space and heating water. Various embodiments deliver refrigerant gas to a heat exchanger that is not needed for transferring heat, drive liquid refrigerant out of that heat exchanger, isolate that heat exchanger against additional refrigerant flowing into it, and operate the heat pump while the heat exchanger is isolated. The heat exchanger can be isolated by closing an electronic expansion valve, actuating a refrigerant management valve, or both. Refrigerant charge can be controlled or adjusted by controlling how much liquid refrigerant is driven from the heat exchanger, by letting refrigerant back into the heat exchanger, or both. Heat pumps can be operated in different modes of operation, and segments of refrigerant conduit can be interconnected with various components.

Refrigeration: Introducing energy saving opportunities for business

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2006-04-15

In some industries, most notably food and drink and chemicals, refrigeration accounts for a significant proportion of overall site energy costs. For instance, in the industrial handling of meat, poultry and fish, it often accounts for 50% of total energy costs. In ice-cream production the proportion is 70%. In a number of commercial sectors, refrigeration also represents a significant proportion of overall energy costs. For example: Cold storage 90%; Food supermarkets 50%; Small shops with refrigerated cabinets 70% or over; Pubs and clubs 30%. Against these high costs, even a small reduction in refrigeration energy use can offer significant cost savings, resulting in increased profits. Energy saving need not be expensive. Energy savings of up to 20% can be realised in many refrigeration plant through actions that require little or no investment. In addition, improving the efficiency and reducing the load on a refrigeration plant can improve reliability and reduce the likelihood of a breakdown. Most organisations can save energy and money on refrigeration by: More efficient equipment; Good maintenance; Housekeeping and control. This publication provides an understanding of the operation of refrigeration systems, identifies where savings can be realised and will enable readers to present an informed case on energy savings to key decision makers within their organisation. (GB)

Environmentally benign working pairs for adsorption refrigeration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cui Qun; Tao Gang; Chen Haijun; Guo Xinyue; Yao Huqing

2005-01-01

This paper begins from adsorption working pairs: water and ethanol were selected as refrigerants; 13x molecular sieve, silica gel, activated carbon, adsorbent NA and NB, proposed by authors, were selected as adsorbents, and the performance of adsorption working pairs in adsorption refrigeration cycle was studied. The adsorption isotherms of adsorbents (NA and NB) were obtained by high-vacuum gravimetric method. Desorption properties of adsorbents were analyzed and compared by thermal analysis method. The performance of adsorption refrigeration was studied on simulation device of adsorption refrigeration cycle. After presentation of adsorption isotherms, the thermodynamic performance for their use in adsorption refrigeration system was calculated. The results show: (1) the maximum adsorption capacity of water on adsorbent NA reaches 0.7 kg/kg, and the maximum adsorption capacity of ethanol on adsorbent NB is 0.68 kg/kg, which is three times that of ethanol on activated carbon, (2) the refrigeration capacity of NA-water working pair is 922 kJ/kg, the refrigeration capacity of NB-ethanol is 2.4 times that of activated carbon-methanol, (3) as environmental friendly and no public hazard adsorption working pair, NA-H 2 O and NB-ethanol can substitute activated carbon-methanol in adsorption refrigeration system using low-grade heat source

Development of core hot spot evaluation method for decay heat removal by natural circulation under transient conditions in sodium-cooled fast reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohshima, Hiroyuki; Doda, Norihiro; Kamide, Hideki; Watanabe, Osamu; Ohkubo, Yoshiyuki

2010-01-01

Toward the commercialization of fast reactors, a design study of Japan Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor (JSFR) is being performed. In this design study, the adoption of decay heat removal system operated by fully natural circulation is being examined from viewpoints of economic competitiveness and passive safety. This paper describes a new evaluation method of core hot spot under transient conditions from forced to natural circulation operations that is necessary for confirming feasibility of the fully natural circulation decay heat removal system. The new method consists of three analysis steps in order to include effects of thermal hydraulic phenomena particular to the natural circulation decay heat removal, e.g., flow redistribution in fuel assemblies caused by buoyancy force, and therefore it enables more rational hot spot evaluation rather than conventional ones. This method was applied to a hot spot evaluation of loss-of-external-power event and the result was compared with those by conventional 1D and detailed 3D simulations. It was confirmed that the proposed method can estimate the hot spot with reasonable degree of conservativeness. (author)

Mountain Plains Learning Experience Guide: Heating, Refrigeration, & Air Conditioning.

Science.gov (United States)

Carey, John

This Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning course is comprised of eleven individualized units: (1) Refrigeration Tools, Materials, and Refrigerant; (2) Basic Heating and Air Conditioning; (3) Sealed System Repairs; (4) Basic Refrigeration Systems; (5) Compression Systems and Compressors; (6) Refrigeration Controls; (7) Electric Circuit…