Analysis of Heat Transfer and Flow Characteristics of AP1000 Passive Residual Heat Removal Heat Exchanger

In this paper, the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method is applied to the thermal-hydraulic analysis, while the porous media model is used to simplify AP1000 passive residual heat removal heat exchanger tube. The temperature as well as flow distribution in the secondary side of the heat exchanger are obtained, aiming at analysis of natural circulation ability. It can be noted that the fluid in the secondary side of heat exchanger moves driven by the effect of thermal buoyancy, forming the natural cycle, which takes away heat in tube bundle region. The heat transfer in water tank is mainly enhanced by vortex and turbulent flow, caused by the large resistance of tube bundle region as well as large temperature difference. This phenomenon is obvious especially for the recirculation of flow near the tube bundle. The enduring change of flow rate and direction enhance the heat transfer. Besides, the big temperature difference helps to increase the driving effect of natural circulation. Consequently, the heat transfer of the tank is enhanced by above mechanism. The results of this study contribute to the capacity analysis of passive residual heat removal of natural circulation system, providing valuable information for safe operation of AP1000.