Development of Analysis Tools for Heat Pipes Used in the Core Cooling of Small Modular Reactors: Potassium Property Correlations

Abstract

Alkali metal heat pipes can be used for core cooling in advanced micro- and small modular reactors. This article provides a detailed review of currently available saturation property correlations for potassium that can be utilized in heat pipe simulation models. Using these properties, numerical models will be developed and employed to simulate and compare the performance of heat pipe models to experimental results. A comprehensive comparative overview of the best available potassium saturation property correlations developed over the past century has been assembled. The results show most of the potassium property correlations needed to model a heat pipe are relatively well defined and recommendations for their use can be provided, but the findings also suggest a significant disparity in some cases.