LAPSE:2023.30180
Published Article
LAPSE:2023.30180
Numerical Study on the Cavitation Flow and Its Effect on the Structural Integrity of Multi-Stage Orifice
Gonghee Lee, Myungjo Jhung, Juneho Bae, Soonho Kang
April 14, 2023
Flow leakage due to cavitation erosion occurred at the socket welding part downstream of the multi-stage orifice installed in the auxiliary feedwater (AFW) pump recirculation line of the domestic nuclear power plant (NPP). To assess the adequacy of the changed operating flow rate proposed by a domestic NPP operator as the corrective measure concerning the flow leakage in the AFW pump recirculation line, the pattern of the cavitation flow in the eight-stage orifice and the connecting pipe depending on the magnitude of the operating flow rate was predicted by using ANSYS CFX R19.1. Additionally, using ANSYS Mechanical, the structural analysis was conducted under the same operating flow rate condition used for the flow analysis, and the structural integrity was evaluated for the allowable stress. Based on the flow analysis results, it was found that the operating flow rate was the main factor to influence the cavitation behavior inside the multi-stage orifice, and cavitation flow still happened even in the vicinity of the corrected operating flow rate, so it should be necessary to fundamentally review the adequacy of the multi-stage orifice design. On the other hand, the geometric dimensions and arrangement of orifice hole position at the individual stage of the multi-stage orifice may have a significant influence on the characteristics of pressure drop and flow patterns (including cavitation). Therefore, these effects were examined by simulating an analysis model in which the hole diameter of the eighth-stage orifice was changed under the design flow rate condition. As a result of flow analysis, it was found that reducing the hole diameter in the eighth stage orifice resulted in increasing the pressure drop. In relation to the structural integrity of the eight-stage orifice and the connecting pipe, it was found that its integrity could be maintained under the design and operating flow rate conditions.
Keywords
auxiliary feedwater system, cavitation, Computational Fluid Dynamics, in-service testing, multi-stage orifice, multiphase flow
Suggested Citation
Lee G, Jhung M, Bae J, Kang S. Numerical Study on the Cavitation Flow and Its Effect on the Structural Integrity of Multi-Stage Orifice. (2023). LAPSE:2023.30180
Author Affiliations
Lee G: Department of Regulatory Assessment, Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, Daejeon 34142, Korea [ORCID]
Jhung M: Department of Nuclear Safety Research, Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, Daejeon 34142, Korea
Bae J: Department of Regulatory Assessment, Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, Daejeon 34142, Korea
Kang S: Department of Kori NPP Regulation, Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, Daejeon 34142, Korea
Journal Name
Energies
Volume
14
Issue
6
First Page
1518
Year
2021
Publication Date
2021-03-10
Published Version
ISSN
1996-1073
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Original Submission
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PII: en14061518, Publication Type: Journal Article
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LAPSE:2023.30180
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doi:10.3390/en14061518
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Apr 14, 2023
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