The stress analysis of a heavy liquid metal pump impeller

Abstract

Lead-based coolant reactor is a promising Generation-IV reactor. In the lead-based coolant reactor, the coolant is liquid lead or lead-bismuth eutectic. The main pump in the reactor is a very important device. It supplies force for the coolant circulation. The liquid metal has a very large density which is about ten times of the water. Also, the viscosity of the coolant is small which is about one sixth of the water. When the pump transports heavy liquid, the blade loading is heavy. The large force can cause the failure of the blade when the fatigue stress exceeds the allowable stress. The impeller fraction is a very serious accident which is strictly prohibited in the nuclear reactor. In this paper, the numerical method is used to simulate the flow field of a heavy liquid metal pump. The SST k-w turbulent model is used in the calculation to get a more precise flow structure. The hydraulic force is obtained with the one way fluid solid coupling. The maximum stress in the impeller is analyzed. The stress in the liquid metal pump is compared with that in the water pump. The calculation results show that the maximum stress of the impeller blade increases with increase of flow rate. In the design of the impeller blade thickness, the impeller strength in large operating condition should be considered. The maximum stress of the impeller blade located in the middle and near the hub of the leading edge. In this position, the blade is easy to fracture. The maximum deformation of the impeller firstly increase with increase of flow rate and then decrease with increase of flow rate. The maximum deformation exists in the middle of the leading edge when in small flow rate and in the out radius of the impeller when in large flow rate. Comparing the stress of the impeller when transporting water and LBE, the maximum stress is almost one-tenth of that in the LBE impeller which is the same ratio of the density. The static stress in different medium is proportional to the pressure distribution because a large percentage of the total stress is caused by hydraulic pressure.