Experimental and Analytical Study of Exponential Power Excursion in Plate-Type Fuel

Abstract

This paper presents an investigation of transient heat transfer, which may occur in nuclear reactors with plate-type fuel during a reactivity initiated accident. Analytical solutions of the heat transfer equation were developed to describe the behavior of plate-type fuel and the MIT pool boiling facility during exponential power excursions governed by conduction heat transfer. Experimental results for non-boiling transient heat transfer tests are also presented and compared to the analytical solutions. Infrared thermometry was used to measure the temperature on the heater surface. The test matrix included exponential power escalations with periods τ as short as 5 milliseconds and water subcoolings ranging from 0 to 78 K. Heat transfer curves and effective heat transfer coefficients to water were measured. The experimental data confirm that the effective heat transfer coefficient decreases monotonically as 1/√τ, as expected from the analytical solutions.