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Playing the “bad guy” to enhance next-generation safety
Sometimes, cops and robbers is more than just a kid’s game. At the Department of Energy’s national laboratories, researchers are channeling their inner saboteurs to discover vulnerabilities in next-generation nuclear reactors, making sure that they’re as safe as possible before they’re even constructed.
Seungwon Shin, S. I. Abdel-Khalik, Damir Juric, M. Yoda, ARIES Team
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 44 | Number 1 | July 2003 | Pages 117-126
Technical Paper | Fusion Energy - IFE Chamber Technology | doi.org/10.13182/FST03-A320
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A numerical investigation has been conducted to analyze the fluid dynamic aspects of the porous wetted wall protection scheme for IFE reactor first walls. A level contour reconstruction method has been used to track the three-dimensional evolution of the liquid film surface on porous downward facing walls with different initial film thickness, liquid injection velocity through the porous wall, surface disturbance amplitude, configuration and mode number, liquid properties, and surface inclination angle. Here, we report on the effects of evaporation and condensation at the liquid film surface on the dynamics of film flow, the free surface topology, the frequency of liquid droplet formation and detachment, the minimum film thickness between explosions, and the equivalent diameter of detached droplets. Generalized charts, which allow designers of conceptual IFE reactors to identify appropriate "windows" for successful operation of the wetted wall protection concept for different coolants are presented.