Experimental study of steam-air mixture thermal stratification during the dropping of containment pressure

Abstract

The passive containment cooling system (PCCS) as a passive technology has been applied in Generation Ⅲ nuclear power plants. Experiments were conducted in a scale model to analyze the thermal stratification in containment during the containment pressure dropping. Results indicate that the obvious thermal stratification occurs in the containment during the transient-state heat transfer process but not during the steady-state heat transfer process. For the transient-state process, the steam-air mixture temperature increases by 2 °C for each 100 mm increase in the elevation direction of the pressure tank. The nonuniform distribution of air in containment causes thermal stratification, which is more pronounced for lower air mass fraction and higher initial containment pressure. The thermal stratification effect on the condensation heat transfer process is assessed via diffusion layer heat transfer and film heat transfer to evaluate its effect. The diffusion layer heat transfer coefficient (HTC) is strongly affected by thermal stratification, whereas no effect is observed on the film HTC. This leads to the total condensation HTC at the top of the heat exchanger is approximately 3–5 times than that at the bottom in the first 100 s of the containment pressure dropping process. To improve the overall heat transfer performance of PCCS, approaches that enhance the heat transfer capacity at the bottom of the heat exchanger should be considered for prioritization, especially the methods of steam diffusion heat transfer capacity.