Heat removal from high power density systems

Van Rooijen, W.

The scope of this lecture for the 2009 FJOH Summer School is heat removal from highpower density fast reactor cores. In these lecture notes, we will start with an introduction of the basic thermal conditions typical for a high power density fast reactor core and several preliminary constraints and boundary conditions for the thermal design will be established. In chapter 2 the basic thermal analysis of cylindrical fuel elements will be given. In this chapter, the relation between core power density, fuel power density, linear heat rate and the temperature profiles in the fuel and cladding will be established. In chapter 3 some basic observations about heat transfer from a solid wall to a flowing fluid are introduced, followed by a discussion of heat transfer correlation specific for rod bundles cooled by liquid metal coolants in chapter 4. The final chapter will provide some concluding remarks as well as an outlook to more advanced subjects of the thermal analysis of high power density systems.