High-Temperature Structural Analysis on the Small-Scale PHE Prototype

Abstract

PHE (Process Heat Exchanger) is a key component for transferring the high-temperature heat generated from a VHTR (Very High Temperature Reactor) to a chemical reaction for massive production of hydrogen. Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute has established a small-scale nitrogen gas loop for the performance test on VHTR components and has manufactured a small-scale PHE prototype made of Hastelloy-X of high-temperature alloy. A performance test on the PHE prototype is underway in the gas loop. In this study, in order to evaluate the high-temperature structural integrity of the PHE prototype under the test condition of the gas loop, structural analysis on the PHE prototype was carried out to gauge the stiffness of pipelines connected to the PHE prototype in the gas loop.