Numerical analysis of JOYO MK-II natural circulation test with fast reactor plant dynamics code super-COPD

Hiyama, Tomoyuki ; Doda, Norihiro  ; Ohshima, Hiroyuki; Iwasaki, Takashi*

An analysis of JOYO MK-II natural circulation test has been performed to evaluate the applicability of the fast reactor plant dynamics code super-COPD to natural circulation decay heat removal phenomena. The analysis domain is set from the reactor core to the intermediate heat exchanger (IHX) so as to focus on the simulation accuracy of natural circulation behavior in the primary system and we compared the numerical results with experimental measurement. As a result, it was found that natural circulation behavior is much influenced by the coolant mixing regime in the upper plenum of the reactor vessel. The predicted transient changes of the core outlet coolant temperature and the primary flow rate showed good agreement with the test results by using a variable mesh partitioning method and by setting appropriate mixing volume in the upper plenum region which can include the effect of thermal stratification phenomena on the natural circulation behavior.