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Conference Article: Rapid depressurization of a helium vessel: A comparison between experimental data and one-dimensional analysis

Dang, M.; Dupont, J.F.; Weber, H. (Eidgenoessisches Inst. fuer Reaktorforschung, Wuerenlingen (Switzerland))

Abstract

The analysis of rapid pressure transients following the rupture of a barrier between different pressure levels in a direct gas turbine loop is a major safety concern for gas cooled reactor plants of the HHT type. In this context the need for reliably tested numerical methods is evident. In this paper a preliminary experiment of rapid depressurization of a helium vessel is presented. The usual one-dimensional numerical methods: a) finite difference method (FDM), b) control volume method (CVM), c) method of characteristics (CHM) are reviewed. A general agreement between the numerical results obtained with FDM and CHM and the experimental data is observed except in the immediate vicinity of sudden flow area changes where two-dimensional effects are predominant. The control volume method leads to a too conservative estimate of the depressurization rate in the vessel.

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key words: depressurization; finite difference method; helium cooled reactors; htgr type reactors; one-dimensional calculations; reactor safety; reactor simulators; reactor vessels; transients; analog systems; containers; functional models; gas cooled reactors; graphite moderated reactors; iterative methods; numerical solution; reactors; safety; simulators

Reference:: International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna (Austria). International Working Group on Gas-Cooled Reactors. Specialists meeting on gas-cooled reactor safety and licensing aspects, Lausanne, Switzerland, 1-3 September 1980. Summary report. Jan 1981; International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna (Austria). International Working Group on High-Temperature Reactors.; IWGGCR--1, pp:102-110