2012 Volume 6 Issue 2 Pages 51-62
Three-dimensional calculations of ventilation air flow and thermal-hydraulic behavior in a spent fuel pit (SFP) were made using the CFD software, FLUENT6.3.26 to evaluate the heat loss and water temperature in the SFP after shutdown of its cooling systems. The air and water velocities near the water surface were evaluated from the calculated results and referred to conditions of evaporation heat transfer tests, which were carried out at Shinshu University. From the test data, a correlation for evaporation heat fluxes was introduced and incorporated into the calculation of thermal-hydraulic behavior in the SFP. Then, a three-dimensional calculation of thermal-hydraulic behavior in the SFP was done. It was confirmed that the higher the water temperature was, the larger the heat loss from water was, and that the major heat loss was the evaporation heat transfer from the water surface to ventilation air, which was about ten times larger than the heat transfer to concrete walls.
