Study of startup transients and power ramping of natural circulation boiling systems

Numerical models of a natural circulation test facility and its prototype have been developed with RELAP5/MOD3.4 code and verified for their grid independence by nodal sensitivity studies. The model of the test facility has been validated for its steady state as well as transient predictions with the help of experimental observations. The transient predictions and parametric trends obtained by the numerical model of the prototype have been compared with those of the numerical model of the test facility. Thus, the ability of RELAP5 code to predict the transients during startup of a natural circulation boiling water reactor is verified. A powering procedure for the test facility has been conceptualized with the help of its RELAP5 model and demonstrated experimentally. Based on this, a similar powering procedure for the prototype has been proposed and simulated numerically with its RELAP5 model.