Improvement of the RELAP5-3D Condensation Heat Transfer Model in the Presence of Noncondensable Gases

Abstract

Condensation of steam on the primary side of steam generator in a pressurized water reactor is one of the means of removing decay heat during accident scenarios such as a small break loss of coolant accident. With the presence of noncondensable gases, the rate of removal of decay heat reduces, affecting the ability of the nuclear plant to remove heat in accident scenarios. Therefore, correct prediction of heat removal capability is very significant to predict the plant behavior. In this study, an analytical model is compared with a numerical solution with the use of experiments performed at University of California, Berkeley and at MIT. A modified correlation is proposed and compared to experimental observation for various noncondensable gases.