Experimental Study on Thermal-Hydraulics During Start-Up in the Natural Circulation Boiling Water Reactor Concept: Effects of System Pressure and Increasing Heat Flux on the Geysering and Density Wave Oscillation

Abstract

The feasibility study in thermal-hydraulics for the future light water reactor concept is carried out. One of the essential studies is the two-phase flow instability during start-up in the natural circulation boiling water reactor (BWR) concept. It is anticipated that the occurrence of the two-phase flow instabilities during start-up significantly affects the feasibility concept, since it would cause the complexity in raising and maneuvering the power output. The purpose of the current study is to experimentally investigate the driving mechanism of the geysering and density wave oscillation in the natural circulation loop, induced by a range of system operating pressure and increasing heat flux in vertical parallel channels. The pressure range of atmospheric up to about 4 bars, and the input heat flux range of 0 up to 577 kW/m2 are applied in these experiments. An experimental apparatus of twin boiling upflow channels to simulate natural circulation flow loop has been designed, constructed and operated. The natural circulation in the loop occurs due to the density difference between two-phase region in the channels and the single-phase liquid in the downcomer. The objective of the study is to propose a rational start-up procedure in which the geysering and density wave oscillation can be prevented during startup, according to its system pressure and heat flux. Previous studies have clarified that three (3) kinds of thermo-hydraulics instabilities may occur during start-up in the natural circulation BWR depending on its procedure and reactor configuration, which are (1) geysering induced by condensation, (2) natural circulation induced by hydrostatic head fluctuation in steam separator, and (3) density wave oscillation.