Thermal hydraulic analysis for the design of intermediate heat exchanger

Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) is a sodium cooled reactor with 500MWe(1210MWt) capacity. Nuclear heat generated in the core is transferred to primary sodium flowing through the subassemblies. The hot primary sodium exchanges heat with secondary sodium through intermediate heat exchangers. A two dimensional analysis of the intermediate heat exchanger has clearly brought out the high values of radial temperature drop of primary and secondary sodium streams when the secondary flow is uniform. A solution of unequal secondary flow has proved to be an effective method to reduce the temperature drops leading to a safer design. (author). 7 refs., 5 figs