TY - JOUR
T1 - Thermal-hydraulics analysis of a small lead-cooled fast reactor with reactor vessel cooling system using ACENA
AU - Cai, Yuzhuo
AU - Zhang, Dalin
AU - Lin, Yue
AU - Du, Peng
AU - Wang, Bo
AU - Zhu, Lina
AU - Tian, Wenxi
AU - Qiu, Suizheng
AU - Su, Guanghui
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 Elsevier Ltd. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.
PY - 2026/2
Y1 - 2026/2
N2 - The Reactor Vessel Cooling System (RVCS) plays a crucial role in passive residual heat removal for small lead-cooled fast reactors. This study employs ACENA, a multi-phase, multi-physics coupling analysis code independently developed by Xi’an Jiaotong University, to assess the thermal performance of STAR-LM, a representative small-scale lead-cooled fast reactor, under RVCS operation during accident scenarios. The results confirm the effectiveness of the RVCS in significantly reducing coolant and vessel wall temperatures, ensuring reactor safety. However, a gradual decline in heat removal capacity is observed, primarily due to a decreasing air temperature difference. Sensitivity analysis reveals that increasing the chimney height enhances natural circulation and heat dissipation, whereas enlarging the hydraulic diameter of the RVCS loop structure notably weakens its cooling efficiency. These findings provide valuable insights into the safety assessment of small liquid–metal-cooled fast reactors and contribute to the optimization of RVCS design and operation strategies.
AB - The Reactor Vessel Cooling System (RVCS) plays a crucial role in passive residual heat removal for small lead-cooled fast reactors. This study employs ACENA, a multi-phase, multi-physics coupling analysis code independently developed by Xi’an Jiaotong University, to assess the thermal performance of STAR-LM, a representative small-scale lead-cooled fast reactor, under RVCS operation during accident scenarios. The results confirm the effectiveness of the RVCS in significantly reducing coolant and vessel wall temperatures, ensuring reactor safety. However, a gradual decline in heat removal capacity is observed, primarily due to a decreasing air temperature difference. Sensitivity analysis reveals that increasing the chimney height enhances natural circulation and heat dissipation, whereas enlarging the hydraulic diameter of the RVCS loop structure notably weakens its cooling efficiency. These findings provide valuable insights into the safety assessment of small liquid–metal-cooled fast reactors and contribute to the optimization of RVCS design and operation strategies.
KW - ACENA code
KW - Lead-cooled fast reactor
KW - Reactor thermal analysis
KW - Reactor vessel cooling system
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105029763024
U2 - 10.1016/j.anucene.2025.111925
DO - 10.1016/j.anucene.2025.111925
M3 - 文章
AN - SCOPUS:105029763024
SN - 0306-4549
VL - 227
JO - Annals of Nuclear Energy
JF - Annals of Nuclear Energy
M1 - 111925
ER -