Three-dimensional analysis of flow characteristics on the reactor vessel downcomer during the late reflood phase of a postulated LBLOCA

Abstract

A three-dimensional CFD analysis has been performed on the flow characteristics in the reactor vessel downcomer during the late reflood phase of a postulated large-break loss-of-coolant accident (LBLOCA), in order to validate the modified linear scaling methodology that was applied in the MIDAS test facility of Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute. The vertical and circumferential velocity similarities are numerically tested for the 1/1 and 1/5 linear scale models for the APR1400 reactor vessel downcomer. The effects of scale on flow patterns, pressure and velocity distributions, and the impinging jet behavior are analyzed with the FLUENT code. In addition, a simplified half cylinder model with a single emergency core cooling (ECC) nozzle is numerically tested to investigate the scale effect on the spreading width and break-up of ECC water film. The qualitative and quantitative results indicate that the 1/5 modified linear scale model of the reactor vessel downcomer would reasonably preserve the hydrodynamic similarity with APR1400.