Modelling of a passive hydraulic lock concept for the mitigation transfer tubes in a SFR core

Abstract

To improve the safety of the integrated Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor, recent safety complementary devices can prevent or mitigate the consequences of a hypothetical severe accident consecutive to a loss of reactor cooling sequence. In particular, the M−TT device is set by empty transfer tubes, in place of some fuel sub-assemblies present in the reactor core, using an innovative passive hydraulic lock. It is based on the concept of hydraulic diode controlled by the flowrate of primary pumps. This system is dedicated to provide an easy way to discharge corium towards the core catcher in the hypothetical case of severe accident. In bonus, concerning the prevention of severe accident, it opens a direct flow path between the hot pool, equipped with decay heat removal exchangers, and the cold pool. This can lead to an easier passage of colder sodium towards the cold pool to promote core cooling by natural convection in case of the loss of the primary flow. This paper is devoted to the evaluation of the assessment of the hydraulic lock function and of the small magnitudes of the perturbations induced by our device on the thermal–hydraulic behavior of the reactor during normal operations. Through an analytical analysis and an up-scaling numerical approach, ranging from the local scale (CFD) to the system one, we claim that the lock function is kept during the normal situations at various power regimes. The leak flow represents no more than 1% of the primary pump flow. In addition, no important reactor thermal–hydraulic perturbation is brought by adding transfer tubes in the core. This is true for normal steady states, whatever the power is, but also for a full-power loss of forced flow accidental transient leading to the natural convection cooling.