Thermal-Hydraulic Response of the Secondary Side of a PWR Steam Generator With an Internal Structure to a Main Steam Line Break

Abstract

This study addresses a numerical analysis of the thermal-hydraulic response of the secondary side of a steam generator (SG) model with an internal structure to a main steam line break (MSLB) at a pressurized water reactor (PWR) plant. The analysis model is comprised of the SG upper space where steam occupies and the part of the main steam pipe between the SG outlet nozzle and the broken pipe end upstream of the main steam isolation valve. To investigate the effects of the presence of the SG internal structure on the thermal-hydraulic response to the MSLB, the numerical calculation results for the analysis model having a perforated horizontal plate as the SG internal structure are compared to those obtained for a simple analysis model having no SG internal structure. Both analysis models have the same physical dimensions except for the internal structure. The initial operating conditions for both SG models are identical to those for an actual operating plant. To simplify the analyses, it is assumed that steam is constantly generated from the bottom of the SG secondary side space during the blowdown process. As the results, it has been found that the pressure wave significantly attenuates as it passes through the perforated internal structure and as time elapses. This leads to reduction in instantaneous hydraulic load on the internal structure including tubing. However, it is seen that the presence of the internal structure does not affect the transient velocities of steam passing through the SG tube bundle during the blowdown, which are 2 to 8 times the velocities during the normal reactor operation as in the case for the empty SG. Consequently, the present findings should be considered for the design of the steam generator to ensure the reactor safety as such elevated high steam velocities can cause fluidelastic instability of tubes which results in high cycle fatigue failure of the tubes.