Design of Liquid Metal Phase Change Heat Exchanger for Next-Generation Nuclear Plant Process Heat Application

Abstract

The Next Generation Nuclear Plant will most likely produce electricity and its reactor heat will be further utilized for the production of hydrogen, oil recovery from tar sands and oil shales, and other process heat applications, that will further the nation's pursuit of energy independence. An intermediate heat exchanger is required to transfer heat from the Next-Generation Nuclear Plant to the hydrogen plant (or other processes) in the most efficient way possible. Phase change heat exchangers are quite attractive in this regard, as they can transfer process heat more efficiently than for the single phase due to the advantage of high-enthalpy transport that includes the sensible heat of liquid, the latent heat of vaporization, and possible vapor superheat. This paper explores the overall heat transfer characteristics and pressure drop of the phase change heat exchanger with helium as the primary and sodium as the secondary heat exchanger coolant. For a two-phase boiling regime, the convective heat transf...