Modeling a Printed Circuit Heat Exchanger with RELAP5-3D for the Next Generation Nuclear Plant

The main purpose of this report is to design a printed circuit heat exchanger (PCHE) for the Next Generation Nuclear Plant and carry out Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA) simulation using RELAP5-3D. Helium was chosen as the coolant in the primary and secondary sides of the heat exchanger. The design of PCHE is critical for the LOCA simulations. For purposes of simplicity, a straight channel configuration was assumed. A parallel intermediate heat exchanger configuration was assumed for the RELAP5 model design. The RELAP5 modeling also required the semicircular channels in the heat exchanger to be mapped to rectangular channels. The initial RELAP5 run outputs steady state conditions which were then compared to the heat exchanger performance theory to ensure accurate design is being simulated. An exponential loss of pressure transient was simulated. This LOCA describes a loss of coolant pressure in the primary side over a 20 second time period. The results for the simulation indicate that heat is initially transferred from the primary loop to the secondary loop, but after the loss of pressure occurs, heat transfers from the secondary loop to the primary loop.