Benchmark Analyses of Sodium Natural Convection in the Upper Plenum of the MONJU Reactor Vessel

Closed for proposals

Project Type

Coordinated Research Project

Project Code

I31017

CRP

1469

Approved Date

21 September 2007

Status

Closed

Start Date

15 July 2008

Expected End Date

14 July 2012

Completed Date

27 November 2012

Description

The CRP addresses the natural convection behavior of the coolant in the reactor vessel of a sodium cooled fast reactor. The CRP participants will perform benchmark exercises focusing, in a first stage, on the numerical simulation of the sodium stratification measurements performed in the MONJU reactor vessel during the original start-up experiments. For the first stage of the CRP, the participants will analyse the sodium thermal stratification effects in the MONJU reactor vessel upper plenum after a plant trip test conducted in December 1995 with the reactor at 45% thermal power level simulating an abnormality in the condenser as triggering event

Objectives

The overall objective of the CRP was to improve Member States’ analytical capabilities in the field of fast reactor in-vessel sodium thermal-hydraulics. A necessary condition towards achieving this objective is a wide international validation effort of the data and codes currently employed for the simulation of the various physical effects involved in this field. The CRP contributed towards achieving this objective with the help of benchmark exercises focusing on the numerical simulation of thermal stratification of sodium observed in the Monju reactor vessel at a turbine trip test conducted in December 1995 during the original start-up experiments, and with the help of a thorough assessment of the calculation versus measured data comparisons.

Specific objectives

Identification of weaknesses in current methodologies and of the R&D needs to resolve the identified open issues

Validation of various multi-dimensional fluid dynamics codes in use in Member States through simulation of sodium cooled fast reactor upper plenum temperature distributions and comparison with measured data

Impact

The CRP allowed to improve the analytical capabilities of the participating organizations in the field of in-vessel sodium thermal-hydraulic, as well as to identify the key parameters which affect the moving-up rate of the thermal stratification in the upper part of the vessel of large sodium-cooled fast reactor. This know-how contributed to the validation and qualification of the simulation tools used by the organizations involved in the development and design of innovative SFRs worldwide. Another significant impact was the education and training of young nuclear specialists and PhDs who largely contributed to the different simulations and analyses.

Relevance

This CRP is very relevant in the context of the overall effort of the project 1000154 aimed at increasing the know-how of the member states with an active fast reactor programme in the field of thermal-hydraulic and safety of sodium-cooled fast reactors. Moreover, this CRP is part of a set of CRPs aimed at V&V&Q of data and advanced methods and codes normally used for the design and the safety analysis of fast reactors. The other complementary CRPs are I33012 (PHENIX), I31021 (EBR-II, I31024 (NAPRO) and, in previous years, the CRP on BN-600. This large effort is possible thanks to the disclosure of costly experimental data by countries with FRs in operation. In particular the IAEA is thankful to JAERI which disclosed the results of the turbine trip test conducted in the MONJU reactor during the start-up campaign in 1995. In order to advance in this effort, in the near future it would be of paramount importance to gather other experimental data from MONJU, as well as from the operation of CEFR (China) and BN-800 (Russia). JAERI has already taken commitment to disclose new experimental data aimed at dynamic analysis of the whole primary heat transport system of the MONJU reactor. The relative benchmark exercise will be conducted in the frame of a new CRP planned within the P&B 2016-17 and further.

CRP Publications

Type

Set of 7 papers presented by the CRP participant at 2 IAEA sessions during NURETH-14 Conference

Year

2011

Publication URL

http://www.scribd.com/doc/67883757/Official-Program-of-NURETH-14-Conference-Sept…

Description

At the international conference NURETH-14 held in Toronto in September 2011, the IAEA organized a special session on "Benchmark Analyses of Sodium Natural Convection in the Upper Plenum of the Monju Reactor Vessel". The special session was composed of 7 papers summarizing the overall and specific results of the CRP, including the code-to-code and experimental data comparison

Country/Organization

Canada

Type

IAEA TECDOC

Year

Expected by the end of 2014

Description

Final report of the CRP titled "Benchmark Analysis of Sodium Natural Convection in the Upper Plenum of the MONJU Reactor", already approved by NE-DCT, under approval by PC

Country/Organization

IAEA

Type

Paper at the IAEA International Conference on Fast Reactors and Related Fuel Cycles, FR13

Year

2013

Publication URL

http://www.iaea.org/NuclearPower/Meetings/2013/2013-03-04-03-07-CF-NPTD.html

Description

Benchmark Analyses of Sodium Natural Convection in the Upper Plenum of the MONJU Reactor Vessel

Country/Organization

IAEA

Type

Paper published in peer-reviewed Journal

Year

2013

Publication URL

http://www.hindawi.com/journals/stni/2013/987197/

Description

Research Article on "Analysis of the Natural Convection Flow in the Upper Plenum of the MONJU Reactor with Trio_U

Country/Organization

France/CEA

Type

web-page

Year

2014

Description

A web-page on the main result of the CRP will be created in the CRA web-site

Country/Organization

IAEA

Type

Paper published in a peer-reviewed Journal

Year

2012

Publication URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.5516/NET.02.2012.050

Description

Paper submitted by KAERI, one of the CRP participant, titled: Numerical Analysis of the Thermal-Stratification in the Upper Plenum of the MONJU Fast Reactor

Country/Organization

ROK

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