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Experimental Investigation of the Heat Transfer Characteristics and Operation Limits of a Fork-Type Heat Pipe for Passive Cooling of a Spent Fuel Pool

Author

Listed:
  • Changhwan Lim

    (Department of Nuclear Engineering, Kyung-Hee University, Yongin-si 17104, Gyeonggi-do, Korea)

  • Jonghwi Choi

    (Department of Nuclear Engineering, Kyung-Hee University, Yongin-si 17104, Gyeonggi-do, Korea)

  • Hyungdae Kim

    (Department of Nuclear Engineering, Kyung-Hee University, Yongin-si 17104, Gyeonggi-do, Korea)

Abstract

A fork-type heat pipe (FHP) is a passive heat-transport and air-cooling device used to remove the decay heat of spent nuclear fuels stored in a liquid pool during a station blackout. FHPs have a unique geometrical design to resolve the significant mismatch between the convective heat transfer coefficients of the evaporator and condenser parts. The evaporator at the bottom is a single heat-exchanger tube, whereas the condenser at the top consists of multiple finned tubes to maximize the heat transfer area. In this study, the heat transfer characteristics and operating limits of an FHP device were investigated experimentally. A laboratory-scale model of an FHP was manufactured, and a series of tests were conducted while the temperature was varied to simulate a spent fuel pool. As an index of the average heat transfer performance, the loop conductance was computed from the measurement data. The results show that the loop conductance of the FHP increased with the heat transfer rate but deteriorated significantly at the operating limit. The maximum attainable heat transfer rate of the unit FHP model was accurately predicted by the existing correlations of the counter-current flow limit for a single-rod-type heat pipe. In addition, the instant heat transfer behaviors of the FHP model under different temperature conditions were examined to interpret the measured loop conductance variation and operating limit.

Suggested Citation

  • Changhwan Lim & Jonghwi Choi & Hyungdae Kim, 2021. "Experimental Investigation of the Heat Transfer Characteristics and Operation Limits of a Fork-Type Heat Pipe for Passive Cooling of a Spent Fuel Pool," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-24, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:23:p:7862-:d:686312
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. C. S. Huang & Chia-Wang Yu & R. H. Chen & Chun-Ta Tzeng & Chi-Ming Lai, 2019. "Experimental Observation of Natural Convection Heat Transfer Performance of a Rectangular Thermosyphon," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-12, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Hongzhe Zhang & Fang Ye & Hang Guo & Xiaoke Yan, 2022. "Isothermal Performance of Heat Pipes: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-16, March.
    2. Chende Xu & Zhengguang Wang & Shuai Tang & Xiangyu Chi & Xixi Zhu & Yaru Li & Naihua Wang, 2023. "Research Progress on Thermal Hydraulic Characteristics of Spent Fuel Pools: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-20, May.

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