DOWNSCALING THE SUPERCRITICAL WATER REACTOR BY USING A SCALING FLUID

ROHDE, M.; MARCEL CHRISTIAN PABLO; VAN DER HAGEN, T.H.J.J.

Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan

Conferencia; The 13th International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Reactor Thermal Hydraulics (NURETH-13); 2009

Thermal Hydraulics Division of Atomic Energy Society of Japan and American Nuclear Society

The Supercritical Water Reactor (SCWR) is subject to system-wide instabilities, just as muchas the “good old” Boiling Water Reactor is. These instabilities are mainly caused by the largedensity differences that exist in the reactor. In order to examine such system-wide instabilitiesin an experimental way, one needs to build an experimental facility that mimics the SCWR asa whole. The costs of a water-based facility would become very high due to the high power,pressure and temperature conditions. A facility based on a scaling fluid is therefore preferred.By using the common Freon R-23, most of the physics such as the axial fluid properties, therod-to-bulk heat transfer and the friction distribution can be preserved. The nomimal power ofthe experimental facility becomes 9 kW, the system pressure 5.7 MPa and the core outlettemperature 103.5 oC. Practical issues that strongly determine the design of the facility, suchas the onset of deterioration of heat transfer, the friction and other practical limitations, will betouched upon.