High-temperature Structural Analysis of Small-scale Prototype of Process Heat Exchanger (III)

A PHE (Process Heat Exchanger) is a key component of nuclear hydrogen system for massive production of hydrogen: the PHE transfers the very high temperature heat (950 .deg. C) generated from the VHTR (Very High Temperature Reactor) to a chemical reaction. The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute developed a small-scale gas loop for testing the performance of VHTR components and manufactured a modified PHE prototype for carrying out the testing in the gas loop. In this study, as a part of the evaluation of the high-temperature structural integrity of the modified PHE prototype which is scheduled to test in the gas loop, we carried out high-temperature structural analysis modeling, macroscopic thermal and structural analysis of the PHE prototype under the gas loop test conditions as a precedent study before carrying out the performance test in the gas loop. The results obtained in this study will be used to design the performance test setup for the modified PHE prototype