Nuclear Science and Techniques

Abstract:

To investigate the steady thermal hydraulic characteristics of U-tube steam generator (SG), a 1D simulation code based on the four-equation drift flux model is developed. The U-tube channels presumably consist mainly of the primary channel, secondary channel, and tube wall. In the sub-cooling regions of the primary and secondary channels, flow is simulated using the single-phase flow model, whereas that in the boiling regions of the secondary channels is simulated using the four-equation drift flux model. The first-order equations of upwind difference are derived based on the staggered grid. Steady-state thermal hydraulic parameters are obtained with a cross-iteration scheme of heat balance and natural circulation requirement. The developed code is applied to analyze the SG behavior of the Qinshan I Nuclear Power Plant under 100%, 75%, 50%, 30%, and 15% power conditions. Analysis results are then compared with the simulation results obtained using RELAP5.

Key words: U-tube steam generator, Thermal hydraulic characteristic, Steady simulation, Four-equation drift flux model