Heat Transfer Behaviour and Thermo-hydraulics Code Testing for Super-critical Water Cooled Reactors (SCWRs)
Closed for Proposals
Project Type
Coordinated Research ProjectProject Code
I31016
CRP
1405
Approved Date
8 December 2006Project Status
ClosedStart Date
15 September 2007Expected End Date
30 September 2012Completed Date
11 January 2013Description
If successfully developed, Super-Critical Water-Cooled Reactors (SCWRs) will achieve higher thermal efficiencies (44-45%) than current evolutionary LWRs and HWRs (34-36%), and thereby promise improved economics.
This CRP promotes international collaboration among IAEA Member States for the development of Super-Critical Water-Cooled Reactors in the areas of heat transfer behaviour and testing of thermo-hydraulic computer methods.
The CRP has been planned on the advice and with the support of the IAEA Nuclear Energy Department’s Technical Working Groups on Advanced Technologies for LWRs and HWRs (the TWG-LWR & TWG-HWR). Coordination has been agreed with the OECD-NEA, the Technical Secretariat of the Generation-IV International Forum (GIF). The CRP will be conducted by IAEA’s Nuclear Power Technology Development Section, in cooperation with the Division of Nuclear Installation Safety.
Objectives
The overall objectives of this CRP is to encourage research and development (R&D) collaboration and foster the exchange of the technical information among institutes in Member States in the area of thermal-hydraulics of Supercritical Water-Cooled Reactors (SCWRs). The SCWR is an innovative Water Cooled Reactor (WCR) which has high potential for reducing construction cost due to its high thermal efficiency and simple system. Around 20 Member States have high interest in R&D and conceptual design of SCWRs.
Specific Objectives
To establish accurate databases for thermal-hydraulics of supercritical-pressure fluids such as heat transfer, pressure drop, blowdown, natural circulation, and flow stability.
To test analysis methods for SCWR thermo-hydraulic behaviour, and identify code development needs.
Impact
The outputs of the CRP are a most comprehensive and reliable database and the current status of prediction methods in the area of thermal-hydraulics of SCWRs. They can be a technical reference to develop and assess SCWR concepts.
The CRP facilitated close collaboration among the participating institutes and created a community in the area of thermal-hydraulics of SCWRs. Several bi-lateral or multi-lateral collaborations are in progress as a result of the cooperation between participating institutes.
Relevance
The SCWR has been one of the advanced water-cooled reactors, and there has been great interest in both developing and developed Member States in R&D and conceptual design of SCWRs. The CRP fulfilled the objective of project "1.1.5.2 Technology advances in water cooled reactors for improvements in economics and safety" and its outputs provides researchers and engineers in Member States with a most comprehensive and reliable database and the current status of prediction methods in the area of thermal-hydraulics of SCWRs..