A characteristics-based implicit finite - Difference scheme for the analysis of instability in water cooled reactors

Abstract

The objective of the paper is to analyze the thermally induced density wave oscillations in water cooled boiling water reactors. A transient thermal hydraulic model is developed with a characteristics-based implicit finite-difference scheme to solve the nonlinear mass, momentum and energy conservation equations in a time-domain. A two-phase flow was simulated with a one-dimensional homogeneous equilibrium model. The model treats the boundary conditions naturally and takes into account the compressibility effect of the two-phase flow. The axial variation of the heat flux profile can also be handled with the model. Unlike the method of characteristics analysis, the present numerical model is computationally inexpensive in terms of time and works in a Eulerian coordinate system without the loss of accuracy. The model was validated against available benchmarks. The model was extended for the purpose of studying the flow-induced density wave oscillations in forced circulation and natural circulation boiling water reactors. Various parametric studies were undertaken to evaluate the model's performance under different operating conditions. Marginal stability boundaries were drawn for type-I and type-II instabilities in a dimensionless parameter space. The significance of adiabatic riser sections in different boiling reactors was analyzed in detail. The effect of the axial heat profile was also investigated for differe boiling reactors.