Implementation of a new empirical model of steam condensation for the passive containment cooling system into MARS-KS code: Application to containment transient analysis

Abstract

For the Korean design of the PCCS (passive containment cooling system) in an innovative PWR, the overall thermal resistance around a condenser tube is dominated by the heat transfer coefficient of steam condensation on the exterior surface. It has been reported, however, that the calculated heat transfer coefficients by thermal-hydraulic system codes were much lower than measured data in separate effect tests. In this study, a new empirical model of steam condensation in the presence of a noncondensable gas was implemented into the MARS-KS 1.4 code to replace the conventional Colburn-Hougen model. The selected correlation had been developed from condensation test data obtained at the JERICHO (JNU Experimental Rig for Investigation of Condensation Heat transfer On tube) facility, and considered the effect of the Grashof number for naturally circulating gas mixture and the curvature of the condenser tube. The modified MARS-KS code was applied to simulate the transient response of the containment equipped with the PCCS to the large-break loss-of-coolant accident. The heat removal performances of the PCCS and corresponding evolution of the containment pressure were compared to those calculated via the original model. Various thermal-hydraulic parameters associated with the natural circulation operation through the heat transport circuit were also investigated.