Investigation of the use of nanofluids to enhance the In-Vessel Retention capabilities of Advanced Light Water Reactors

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Nuclear Science and Engineering; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program, 2007.

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Hannink, Ryan Christopher
Other Authors: Jacopo Buongiorno and Lin-Wen Hu.
Format: Thesis
Language:eng
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2008
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/41314
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author Hannink, Ryan Christopher
author2 Jacopo Buongiorno and Lin-Wen Hu.
author_facet Jacopo Buongiorno and Lin-Wen Hu.
Hannink, Ryan Christopher
author_sort Hannink, Ryan Christopher
collection MIT
description Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Nuclear Science and Engineering; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program, 2007.
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spelling mit-1721.1/413142022-01-31T17:07:25Z Investigation of the use of nanofluids to enhance the In-Vessel Retention capabilities of Advanced Light Water Reactors Hannink, Ryan Christopher Jacopo Buongiorno and Lin-Wen Hu. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Technology and Policy Program. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division Technology and Policy Program Nuclear Science and Engineering. Technology and Policy Program. Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Nuclear Science and Engineering; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p. 126-130). Nanofluids at very low concentrations experimentally exhibit a substantial increase in Critical Heat Flux (CHF) compared to water. The use of a nanofluid in the In-Vessel Retention (IVR) severe accident management strategy, employed in Advanced Light Water Reactors, was investigated. A model simulating the two-phase flow and heat transfer on the reactor vessel outer surface quantified the increase in decay power that can be removed using a nanofluid, predicting that the use of a nanofluid will allow a stable operating power ~40% greater than the power allowable using water to be achieved, while holding the Minimum Departure from Nucleate Boiling Ratio (MDNBR) constant. A nanofluid injection system that would take advantage of the enhanced CHF properties of the nanofluid in order to provide a higher safety margin than the current IVR strategy or, for given margin, enable IVR at higher core power, is proposed. A risk-informed analysis has revealed that this injection system has a reasonably high success probability of 0.99, comparable to the success probability without the injection system. Potential regulatory, environmental, and health risk issues were analyzed, and it was concluded that the current regulatory regimes are adequate for ensuring that the implementation of nanofluids in IVR will not endanger public health and safety. However, experimental verification of nanofluid CHF enhancement at prototypical IVR conditions and periodic nanofluid property testing as a surveillance requirement are needed to reduce the key uncertainties related to nanofluid performance. Finally, a periodic review of the health and environmental risks of nanofluids and, if necessary,follow-up research are ecommended to ensure the health of the public and environment. by Ryan Christopher Hannink. S.M. 2008-04-23T14:44:43Z 2008-04-23T14:44:43Z 2007 2007 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/41314 214328868 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 130 p. application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Nuclear Science and Engineering.
Technology and Policy Program.
Hannink, Ryan Christopher
Investigation of the use of nanofluids to enhance the In-Vessel Retention capabilities of Advanced Light Water Reactors
title Investigation of the use of nanofluids to enhance the In-Vessel Retention capabilities of Advanced Light Water Reactors
title_full Investigation of the use of nanofluids to enhance the In-Vessel Retention capabilities of Advanced Light Water Reactors
title_fullStr Investigation of the use of nanofluids to enhance the In-Vessel Retention capabilities of Advanced Light Water Reactors
title_full_unstemmed Investigation of the use of nanofluids to enhance the In-Vessel Retention capabilities of Advanced Light Water Reactors
title_short Investigation of the use of nanofluids to enhance the In-Vessel Retention capabilities of Advanced Light Water Reactors
title_sort investigation of the use of nanofluids to enhance the in vessel retention capabilities of advanced light water reactors
topic Nuclear Science and Engineering.
Technology and Policy Program.
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/41314
work_keys_str_mv AT hanninkryanchristopher investigationoftheuseofnanofluidstoenhancetheinvesselretentioncapabilitiesofadvancedlightwaterreactors