During their commissioning, steam generators are clean, which means there is no fouling of the heat transfer surface of tubes and no clogging of the flow area on the secondary side. Then sludge appears steadily at a slow pace during operation. Sludge initiates a partial loss of cooling capacity which is modeled by a fouling factor and which mainly results in vapor pressure decrease. Sludge also initiates a reduction of the secondary side flow area, known as clogging. Four safety-related issues are dependant on clogging [1]: the secondary water mass balance, the thermohydraulics oscillations, the tube vibration risk and the resistance of internal structures. This paper focuses on the last of these issues. A numerical application, based on the modeling of a fictitious steam generator, is detailed in this presentation. The order of magnitude is an 8-times increase of the loads in normal operating conditions in case of a typical 60% clogging ratio of the upper tube support plate, and a 12-times increase in case of incidental depressurization transient. These theoretical results emphasize the need to take these loads properly into account in the checking of the mechanical behavior of the internal structure of the steam generators in operation in case of significant sludge deposits.
After a period of several years of operation, steam generators can be affected by fouling and clogging. Fouling means that deposits of sludge accumulate on tubes or tube support plates (TSP). That results in a reduction of heat exchange capabilities and can be modelled by means of a fouling factor. Clogging is a reduction of flow free area due to an accumulation of sludge in the space between TSP and tubes. The increase of the clogging ratio results in an increase of the overall TSP pressure loss coefficient. The link between the clogging ratio and the overall TSP pressure loss coefficient is the most important aspect of our capability to accurately calculate the thermal-hydraulics of clogged steam generators. The aim of the paper is to detail the experimental approach chosen by EDF and AREVA NP to address the calculation uncertainties. The calculation method is classically based on the computation of a single-phase (liquid-only) pressure loss coefficient, which is multiplied by a two-phase flow factor. Both parameters are well documented and can be derived on the basis of state of the art methods such as IDEL’CIK diagrams and CHISHOLM formula. The experimental approach consists of a validation of the correlations by performing tests on a mock-up section with an upward flow throughout a vertical array of tubes. A mixture of water and vapour refrigerant R116 is used to represent two-phase flows. The tube bundle is composed of a 25 tubes array in a square arrangement. The overall height of the mock-up is 2 m. Eight test TSPs were manufactured, considering eight different clogging configurations: six plates with a typical clogging profile at six clogging ratios (0, 44%, 58%, 72%, 86%, 95%), and two plates with a clogging ratio of 72% associated with two different clogging profiles (large bending radius profile and rectangular profile). A series of tests were performed in 2009 in single-phase flow conditions. Two-phase flow tests with a mixture of liquid water and vapour refrigerant R116 will be performed in 2010. The paper illustrates the main results obtained during the single-phase tests performed in 2009.
The tubes of PWR steam generators are part of the second barrier between the nuclear fuel and the environment. The integrity in operation of the tubes is addressed with Non Destructive Examinations (NDE) and flaw allowances criteria. If a tube does not match the criteria, it is plugged. As a consequence, the steam generators tube plugging (SGTP) may increase during the maintenance outages. This increase has to be managed properly because it basically affects the heat exchange capacity of the Nuclear Steam Supply System (NSSS). This can be managed by performing long-term predictions in order to prepare in advance the possibility of steam generator replacements. But this “long-term operation” management is to be completed with an intermediate term management considering the real operating conditions of the NSSS. Intermediate term predictions, based on a simulation of the mechanisms leading to the degradation of the tubes, are annually compared with the evolution of real NDE and real SGTP. These predictions are completed with the set-up of a model, for each Reactor Coolant System (RCS), considering the relation between the average SGTP and the primary flow-rate. The predictions are used to check that the real operating conditions of each NSSS can be matched with an existing safety file.
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