Steady state and transient characteristics of natural circulation loop

Abstract

A natural circulation loop (NCL) consists of a heat source at lower elevation, heat sink at higher elevation and connecting piping. It is representative of primary heat transport system of a nuclear reactor or a solar power plant. The study of steady state and transient characteristics of the NCL is hence important. In this work, a 1D simulation code is developed to model the NCL. The effect of heater power on steady state mass flow rate and temperature rise across heater is studied and compared with experimental data for validation. Further, the code is applied to obtain the flow initiation transients of various configurations of the NCL.