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A B S T R A C T
The current HPR1000 has a high construction cost and weak economic competitiveness due to its complex system and large containment. This study proposes a
conceptual design of an advanced containment system based on HPR1000, which aims at reducing the construction cost of nuclear power plants without reducing
their safety. In the design, the In-containment Refueling Water Storage Tank (IRWST) and spray system were discarded, and the space of the double containment
vessel was used to create an annular cavity pool (ACP). The transient pressurization in the containment caused in the early stages of the accident can be quickly
suppressed by ACP instead of the traditional large-volume suppression concept. And due to the significant condensation of steam within the ACP water, the
transportation of air into the ACP results in a reduction in the air mass fraction in the vicinity of the passive containment heat removal system (PCHR) located within
the containment structure. This phenomenon subsequently leads to an enhancement in heat transfer performance. In addition, ACP also serves as the water source for
the safety injection system, the reactor cavity water injection system, and the core replacement system. Compared with HPR1000, the system of the preliminary
design has been greatly simplified, and the size of the containment vessel has been reduced by nearly 47%. The simulation of the large-break loss-of-coolant accident
(LBLOCA) scenario has been conducted to examine the response of the containment system, specifically focusing on the performance of the safety injection system
and suppression system. The results show that the integrity of the containment and core was ensured throughout the accident, and there was a safety margin.
* Corresponding authors at: Heilongjiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Nuclear Power System & Equipment, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin, 150001,
China.
E-mail addresses: mengzhaoming@hrbeu.edu.cn (Z. Meng), sunzhongning@hrbeu.edu.cn (Z. Sun).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nucengdes.2023.112743
Received 9 August 2023; Received in revised form 10 October 2023; Accepted 3 November 2023
Available online 7 November 2023
0029-5493/© 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
X. Qi et al. Nuclear Engineering and Design 415 (2023) 112743
Cooling System (PCCS) was developed for APR+ (Byong Guk Jeon, 2. Description on a new containment system based on HPR1000
2014). Based on the APR + PCCS design (Bae et al., 2012; Choi et al.,
2010), the optimization of the decay heat removal rate is achieved The present HPR1000 utilizes a double-layer containment, and the
through the incorporation of Air Holdup Tanks (AHT). These tanks are IRWST is placed at the bottom of the containment. In case of a loss of
composed of a separate compartment situated above the IRWST and are coolant accident (LOCA), the pumps extract water from IRWST to pro
connected to the containment-free space through vent lines. This hybrid vide direct vessel injection, while sprays located in the upper portion of
cooling system uses a variety of heat removal methods, which on the one the containment system distribute water for the purpose of steam
hand increase the heat removal capacity of the system, on the other hand condensation. And the late heat removal mainly relies on the passive
increase the investment in the construction and daily maintenance of the containment heat removal system through natural circulation (Sun
system. And it is difficult to find a suitable location in the shell to add a et al., 2021; Sun et al., 2020). The suggested containment system intends
sufficient volume of AHT. In addition, hydrogen safety is a crucial aspect to eliminate the IRWST and spray systems. The space between the inner
of nuclear power plant safety. Numerous researchers from academia and and outer containment is used to construct the ACP, and based on the
industry have experimental research (Malet et al., 2005; Gupta et al., ACP, the pressure suppression system (PSS), passive safety injection
2015) and numerical analyses (Li et al., 2018; Zhang et al., 2018; Studer system (PSIS), passive cavity injection, and cooling system (PCIS) are set
et al., 2020) on a large scale to investigate hydrogen behavior and its up. In order to cooperate with the PSIS, the original Automatic
mitigation in the containment of nuclear power plants. Depressurization System (ADS) is adjusted, and the opening condition of
The HPR1000, independently developed by CNNC, adopts a double- the valve associated with the level of the Core Make-up Tank (CMT) is
layer containment and a safety design concept combining active and added. The schematic diagram of the suggested containment system is
passive (Xing et al., 2016; Ji et al., 2021), which greatly improves the given in Fig. 1. In addition, the containment system preserves the PCHR
safety of the nuclear power system, while the complex system and large and the accumulators (ACC) of HPR1000, in which the PCHR can play a
containment make its construction cost high. This paper proposes an role in long-term heat removal after the accident. And the accumulators
advanced containment system based on the HPR1000 that achieves both can operate without external intervention and reliably maintain the core
high safety and low cost by setting an ACP and integrating existing se flooded during the initial phase of LOCA.
curity systems. Finally, the simulation of the LBLOCA is conducted The gas space and water space of the ACP are interconnected with
through the utilization of an accident analysis program. The subsequent the containment via the pressure release line and the pressure sup
responses of the Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV), ACP, and containment pression line, respectively. Among them, the pressure suppression line is
are then examined and analyzed. equipped with a check valve. Vacuum release valves are installed on the
pressure relief pipeline, which is designed to prevent negative pressure
in the containment. And during the refueling process of the plant, the
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X. Qi et al. Nuclear Engineering and Design 415 (2023) 112743
ACP provides cooling water. injection system (RSI) and the CIS are simplified.
The PSIS is comprised of three main components: the passive high
pressure safety injection system (PHSIS), accumulators, and the passive 3. Model construction
low pressure safety injection system (PLSIS). Among them, the PHSIS
consists of the Core Make-up Tank and corresponding pipelines. The In this study, HPR1000 was used as the prototype for program
CMT is suggested as a method to achieve a comprehensive approach to modeling of the reactor loop. Fig. 2 illustrates the numerical model of
reactor shutdown. This is accomplished by introducing borated water the advanced containment system based on HPR1000. As depicted in
into the reactor (Wang et al., 2013). For this project design, the CMT Fig. 2, the major system of the reactor has three interconnected closed
facilitates the injection of coolant into the RPV downcomer, while also circuits, with each primary circuit primarily comprising the main
supplying a restricted gravity-fed source of makeup water to the primary coolant pipe (cold pipe section and heat pipe section), the main coolant
system during its functioning. The connection between the RPV down pumps, the accumulators and a steam generator. Pressurizer is linked to
comer and the system in question is established by the Direct Vessel the hot leg circuit in order to regulate and safeguard the pressure of the
Injection (DVI) line. The system is designed to be tripped by a valve that primary loop system. The pressurizer is located in loop A. Due to loop B
responds to the low-low pressure (11.76 MPa) signal of the vessel. As the and C are completely symmetric, only the node diagram of loop A and
source of PLSIS, the ACP is higher than the core. When the primary loop B is displayed in Fig. 2.
pressure is reduced to a certain degree, the water in the ACP is injected Normal operation of the reactor: Within the primary circuit, the
into the core by gravity. The function of accumulators is to propel reactor core is traversed by a coolant that effectively absorbs the heat
borated water by means of pressurized nitrogen gas. The purpose of generated by the core’s reactions, thereby causing an increase in the
these accumulators is to provide the reactor with borated water at temperature of the coolant. Then, the heated coolant is pumped into the
moderate pressure levels during the depressurization phase, specifically steam generator (SG) and then conveyed from the primary water to the
in the case of a LOCA. The water level in the containment is high enough secondary coolant via the U-shaped heat transfer tubes. Ultimately, the
to flood the reactor core after the injection system has injected all the main coolant pump facilitates the return of the primary coolant to the
cooling water into the RPV. The cooling water in the containment is reactor pressure vessel, establishing the closed primary circuit. Within
injected into the RPV by gravity through the water injection line to the secondary circuit, a portion of the feed water undergoes a process of
achieve long-term cooling of the core. heat absorption from the primary side, afterwards transforming into
The PCIS is suitable for dealing with serious accidents. After an ac steam. Subsequently, the gaseous phase proceeds into the steam conduit
cident, the operator turned on the cavity water injection system when after traversing the drying apparatus. The steam enters the turbine
the core outlet temperature reached 923.15 K. The cooling water in the through the steam pipe, which then promotes the steam turbines to
ACP is injected into the annular flow channel between the RPV and the work.
thermal insulation layer by gravity, and gradually inundates the lower As depicted in Fig. 2, the reactor core, PCHR, newly designed ACP,
head to cool the outer surface of the pressure vessel in a passive way. PSIS, and PCIS were also simulated in detail. The model incorporates a
Containment size is closely related to plant construction costs and control system that enables the activation of the appropriate safety
safety. The containment volumes of the Gen-II nuclear power M310, the measures based on pertinent signals from the reactor. What’s more, the
typical Gen-III nuclear power AP1000 and HPR1000 are, respectively, red area in Fig. 2 simulates the occurrence of a breach accident through
about 49000 m3,59181 m3,86000 m3 (Estévez-Albuja et al., 2021; Xing the control system. At some point, the flow path between control bodies
et al., 2021). In order to make this scheme more inclusive, the free 240 and 250 is cut off, and the flow path from control bodies 240 and
volume of the containment system in this study is set at 49000 m3. The 250 to 800 is opened at the same time. In this way, the occurrence of the
volume of the ACP is limited by the size of the double containment ring double-ended shear accident can be simulated.
chamber. The distance between internal and external containment refers
to HPR1000. So, in this suggested containment system, the volume of 4. Result analysis and discussion
the containment ring cavity is about 11000 m3. The ACP is used as the
water source for the PSIS, the PCIS, and the refueling of the reactor core, 4.1. Steady analysis
and 3000 m3 of water is conservatively charged. Considering that the
pipeline occupies a part of the volume, the ACP gas space volume is To validate the precision of the numerical model created, we employ
conservatively selected as 7000 m3. The main parameters of the newly the program to obtain stable results. In the context of steady analysis, the
designed containment system are listed in Table 1. input parameters and boundary conditions are assumed to remain con
Compared with the original structure of HPR1000, the main ex stant during the analysis. The steady-state analysis starts at − 1000 s and
pected advantages of the new scheme are as follows: ends at 0 s. In addition, the transient calculation starts at 0 s, and the
1. An ACP is installed between the two layers of containment, which initial state of the transient calculation is determined by the final state of
does not occupy additional space in the containment and can respond to the steady analysis.
the rapid boost of the containment in a timely and reliable manner. The important parameters of the calculation results are compared to
2. The size of the containment has been significantly reduced. This the matching design value of HPR1000. Fig. 3 displays the variation of
system’s free volume of containment is only 57 % of HPR1000. pressurizer pressure and SG outlet pressure. After a short period of
3. The ACP can be used as the water source for the PSS, the PLSIS, fluctuation, the calculated data becomes stable. Among them, it is
The PCIS, and the refueling system, reducing the water consumption of observed that the pressure within the pressurizer remains constant at a
the safety system by about 1700 m3. value of 15.5 MPa, whereas the outlet pressure of the steam generator
4. The heat transfer performance of the PCHR has been enhanced. (SG) remains steady at 6.9 MPa. The calculated pressurizer pressure and
5. The spray system and IRWST are eliminated, and the reactor safety SG outlet pressure exhibit conformity with the design values. Fig. 4
depicts the variations in temperature observed at both the intake and
outflow points of the Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV). Based on the in
Table 1
formation shown in Fig. 4, it can be observed that the temperatures of
The main parameters of new designed containment system.
the RPV inlet and outflow exhibit a consistent value of 568.35 K and
Parameters Unit Values
604.25 K, respectively. The computed values of the inlet and outlet
Containment free volume m3 49,000 temperatures of the RPV exhibit consistency with the values specified in
ACP water capacity m3 3000 the design, with a variance of less than 0.66 %.
ACP gas space volume m3 7000
Fig. 5 presents the fluctuations in the volume flow rate of the primary
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X. Qi et al. Nuclear Engineering and Design 415 (2023) 112743
circuit and the steam production of the steam generator. The volume 4.2. Analysis of transients during the LBLOCA disaster
flow rate of the primary circuit remains constant at 2317.6 m3⋅h− 1,
while the mass flow rate of vapor created in the steam generator remains The fundamental principle underlying the design of nuclear power
unchanged at 552.7 kg⋅s− 1. Table 2 (Sui et al., 2018; Sui et al., 2017) plants involves the examination and analysis of potential accident sce
displays a comprehensive comparison of the important parameters narios that are representative of typical conditions encountered during
during steady analysis. As can be seen from Table 2, the deviation be the operation of such facilities. The occurrence of a significant loss of
tween the calculated values and the design values is very small. The coolant accident (LOCA) is commonly considered design-based event in
findings indicate that the stable analysis calculations align closely with the context of nuclear power plants (NPP). The LBLOCA is defined as a
the designated value of HPR1000. breach at the pressure boundary of the reactor coolant system with a
break equivalent diameter ranging from 152 mm to a double-ended
guillotine break. After the accident, cooling water in the loop quickly
sprayed into the containment, resulting in a rapid rise in pressure. The
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X. Qi et al. Nuclear Engineering and Design 415 (2023) 112743
Table 2
Comparison of important parameters during steady-state analysis.
Name Unit Design Calculate Deviation
values values
Table 3
Assumptions during the transient.
number Assumptions
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X. Qi et al. Nuclear Engineering and Design 415 (2023) 112743
Fig. 6. Comparison of containment pressure with different containment system Fig. 9. Fuel central and cladding surface temperature variations versus time.
vs. time.
Fig. 10. Variation of non-condensable gas content in the ACP and containment
Fig. 7. Variations in containment and ACP pressures as a function of time. versus time.
Fig. 11. Air mass fraction variation in containment free space versus time.
Fig. 8. PRV water level variation versus time.
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X. Qi et al. Nuclear Engineering and Design 415 (2023) 112743
5. Conclusions
Fig. 12. Variation of water temperature and liquid level in ACP vs. time.
In this paper, a preliminary containment design has been developed
for the HPR1000. The suppression system is set based on the ACP, and
reflooding stage, the containment pressure begins to fall due to a large the arrangement of the systems, such as the safety injection system and
decrease in the release of coolant inventory. The PCHR starts running at the CIS, is optimized. The proposed advanced containment system has
this stage. At the beginning of the long-term core cooling phase, the been tested against a LBLOCA. Based on the aforementioned analytical
containment pressure increases to the second peak pressure of 450 kPa analysis, it is possible to derive the following concrete results:
because of a small increase in the release of mass energy. Then, PCHR
heat removal is established, the release of mass energy continues to 1. Compared with HPR1000, the system and equipment of the con
decrease, and the containment pressure decreases smoothly. The tran ceptual design have been greatly simplified. The size of the
sient event resulted in a maximum containment pressure of approxi containment vessel has been reduced by nearly 47 %, and the overall
mately 0.45 MPa, which falls below the designated containment design water capacity in the vessel has been reduced by about 1,700 m3. The
pressure of 0.52 MPa. construction cost of a nuclear power unit is significantly influenced
Fig. 8 depicts the temporal progression of the liquid level within the by the containment structure, which constitutes a substantial amount
core. And Fig. 9 shows the fuel cladding temperature and fuel central of the overall expenses. Consequently, enhancing the economic
temperature. As shown in Fig. 8, the level of the RCV began to drop after viability of the unit can be achieved by reducing the dimensions of
the LBLOCA. At the 9 s, the upper part of the core begins to burn dry. The the containment.
core can only dissipate heat by radiating it to the surrounding structure. 2. Under the conditions of a LBLOCA, all of the passive safety systems
As a result, the fuel temperature and the cladding temperature began to that have been designed demonstrate efficient and successful oper
rise rapidly (as shown in Fig. 9). Then the water level gradually began to ation, ensuring the continuous safety of the reactor.
rise as a result of the injection system. In the later stage of LBLOC, the 3. The ACP can store a large amount of non-condensable gas inside the
water level within the vessel reaches around 6.9 m, above the active core containment, so that the PCHR heat transfer capacity is enhanced as
outlet (6.8 m). Therefore, the active core is covered during the long-term expected. Under the specified conditions of P = 0.5 MPa and Tcon
cooling phase of the accident. As the core was flooded, its temperature
tainment − Twall = 30 K, it can be observed that the PCHR heat transfer
began to drop. The maximum fuel cladding temperature (fuel central coefficient of the new containment system proposed in this paper is
temperature) reached during the transient is about 1389 K, which is nearly 35.7 % higher than that of HPR1000.
below the peak temperature (1477 K) in the embrittlement guideline for
comparison. And the maximum temperature reached in the fuel center, CRediT authorship contribution statement
1426 K, is similarly lower than its melting temperature (2990 K). So the
reactor core can be kept in safe conditions at all times during the Xiangjie Qi: Writing – review & editing. Fangxiaozhi Yu: Investi
accident. gation. Zhaoming Meng: Methodology. Zhongning Sun: Funding
An important function of the ACP is that it can draw and store air acquisition. Nan Zhang: . Zehua Guo: Conceptualization.
from containment-free space. Fig. 10 illustrates the presence of non-
condensable gas within the air cleaning and purification (ACP) system
Declaration of Competing Interest
and the containment area. The transfer of non-condensable gas in the
containment to ACP is divided into two stages: the first stage is before
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
the 2000 s; the second stage is from the 3000 s to 200000 s. The whole
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
process transferred 15260 kg of non-condensible gas, accounting for
the work reported in this paper.
about one-third of the total original gas in the containment. Fig. 11
shows the air mass fraction in containment-free space for the HPR1000
Data availability
and advanced containment system. For HPR1000, the air fraction was
maintained at about 0.4. And the heat transfer coefficient of PCHR, as
The data that has been used is confidential.
determined by SU’s correlation (Su et al., 2013), is found to be 1.4 kW/
m2 K at P = 0.5 MPa and Tcontainment − Twall = 30 K. In the context of the
Acknowledgments
suppressive containment system, the air fraction and its related heat
transfer coefficient are observed to be 0.3 and 1.9 kW/m2 K, respec
This work is financed by National Key R&D Program of China
tively. As a result, the use of ACP in the suppressive containment system
(2020YFB1901404). The authors would like to express their apprecia
considerably enhances the efficiency of PCHR.
tion for this.
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X. Qi et al. Nuclear Engineering and Design 415 (2023) 112743
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