Numerical investigation of three-dimensional natural circulation phenomenon in passive safety systems for decay heat removal in large pools

Many advanced designs of nuclear reactors adopt a methodology of passive safety systems in order to avoid the occurence of a severe accident. In one of such systems, the decay heat generated from a reactor is transferred by natural circulation into large pool of water called the Gravity Driven Water Pool (GDWP). Three-dimensional (3D) convection flows develop, which in turn affect the heat transfer process and hence the temperature pattern. The heat transfer process can get compromised by the possible stratification of the temperature. Further, the material of construction of GDWP may have certain temperature limitations and puts bounds on the extent of stratification. The objective of this study is to investigate the 3D natural circulation phenomenon in GDWP. The present work is in continuation of our earlier work Gandhi et al. [1,2] where the natural convection has been analyzed in 0.025 and 0.21 m3 vessels. Now, we have reported the simulation for 9247 m3 GDWP tank. Single phase CFD simulations using open source CFD code [OpenFOAM-1.6] have been performed for a geometry (ID = 12 m, OD = 50 m and height (HT) = 5 m). In order to reduce the thermal stratification, various geometrical modifications have been incorporated on the heat exchanger design, such as (1) distributing the heat transfer area of heat exchanger among single, double and multiple heat sources (2) to optimize the location of heat exchanger inside the GDWP (3) provision of passive elements such as draft tubes (single or concentric multiple) around the heat source at the center, which can act as a chimney. A detailed CFD analysis of three dimensional temperature and velocity distribution in the secondary side of GDWP has confirmed the mitigation of thermal stratification phenomenon by optimizing the distribution and position of heat exchangers. Passive draft tubes also result in significant enhancement in natural circulation and hence reduction in thermal stratification.