Transient thermal hydraulic analysis of the IAEA 10 MW MTR reactor during Loss of Flow Accident to investigate the flow inversion

Transient analyses of the IAEA 10 MW MTR reactor are investigated during a fast and slow Loss of Flow Accident (LOFA) with a neutron kinetic and thermal hydraulic coupling model. A spatial-dependent thermal hydraulic technique is adopted for analyzing the local thermal hydraulic parameters and hotspot location during a flow inversion. The flow rate through the channel is determined in terms of a balance between driving and preventing forces. Friction and buoyancy forces act as resistance of the flow before a flow inversion while buoyancy force becomes the driving force after a flow inversion. By taking into account the buoyancy effect to determine the flow rate, the difference in the flow inversion time between hot and average channels is investigated: a flow inversion occurs earlier in the hot channel than in an average channel. Furthermore, the movement of the hotspot location before and after a flow inversion is investigated for a slow and fast LOFA. During a flow inversion, two temperature peaks are observed: (1) the first temperature peak is at the initiation of the LOFA, and (2) the second temperature peak is when a flow inversion occurs. The maximum temperature of the cladding is found at the second temperature peak for both LOFA analyses, and is lower than the saturation temperature.