Critical Heat Flux on Curved Calandria Vessel of Indian PHWRs During Severe Accident Condition

Abstract

In pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWRs), during an unmitigated severe accident, the absence of adequate cooling arising from multiple failures of the cooling system leads to the collapse of pressure tubes and calandria tubes, which may ultimately relocate to the lower portion of the calandria vessel (CV) forming a debris bed. Due to the continuous generation of decay heat in the debris, it will melt and form a molten pool at the bottom of the CV. The CV is surrounded by calandria vault water, which acts as a heat sink at this scenario. In-vessel corium retention (IVR) through the external reactor vessel cooling (ERVC) is conceived as an effective method for maintaining the integrity of a calandria vessel during a severe accident in a nuclear power plant. Under the IVR conditions, it is necessary to ensure that the imparted heat flux due to melt is less than the critical heat flux (CHF) at the bottom of the calandria vessel wall. To evaluate the thermal margin for IVR, experiments are performed in a prototypic curved section of calandria vessel (25o sector) of calandria vessel to determine the CHF, heat transfer coefficient, and its variation along with the curvature of calandria vessel. The effect of moderator drainpipe on CHF and the heat transfer coefficient has also been evaluated. It has been observed that the imparted heat flux is much less than the CHF at the bottom of the calandria vessel.