Estimation of heat transfer coefficient and flow characteristics on heat transfer tube in sodium-water reaction

Matsumoto, Toshinori*; Takata, Takashi*; Yamaguchi, Akira*; Kurihara, Akikazu ; Ohshima, Hiroyuki

In the steam generator of a sodium-cooled fast reactor, when the tube fails, water leaks into the sodium stream and sodium-water reaction is initiated. In the present study, a numerical analysis has been carried out to determine the heat transfer coefficient from temperature data obtained in a sodium-water reaction experiment. By updating the heat transfer coefficient, an inverse problem of heat transfer has been solved in the analysis based on the result of the SWAT-1R experiment. It is found that the heat transfer coefficient fluctuates largely during the reaction. The heat transfer coefficient is affected by the flow characteristics. Hence, we characterize the flow pattern near the heat transfer tube at typical periods in the phenomenon progression.