Comparison of numerical results with experimental data for single-phase natural convection in an experimental sodium loop

A comparison is made between computed results and experimental data for single-phase natural convection in an experimental sodium loop. The tests were conducted in the Thermal-Hydraulic Out-of-Reactor Safety (THORS) Facility, an engineering-scale high temperature sodium facility at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory used for thermal-hydraulic testing of simulated LMFBR subassemblies at normal and off-normal operating conditions. Heat generation in the 19 pin assembly during these tests was typical of decay heat levels. Tests were conducted both with zero initial forced flow and with a small initial forced flow. The bypass line was closed in most tests, but open in one. The computer code used to analyze these tests [LONAC (LOw flow and NAtural Convection)] is an ORNL-developed, fast running, one-dimensional, single-phase finite difference model for simulating forced and free convection transients in the THORS loop