Fluid-to-fluid modeling of supercritical water loops for stability analysis

The use of supercritical water as coolant/moderator may induce oscillations in the supercritical light water reactor similar to the density wave oscillations observed in boiling water reactors (BWRs). In order to experimentally investigate the stability of supercritical reactors, a fluid-to-fluid downscaled facility is proposed. It is found that with an appropriate mixture of refrigerants R-125 and R-32, the dimensionless enthalpy and density of the supercritical water can be accurately matched for all relevant operational conditions of the reactor. Moreover, the inertia distribution, the friction factor distribution and the heat transfer mechanism are taken into account in the modeling. As a result of the proposed downscaling, the operational pressure, temperature and power are considerably smaller than those of a water-based system, which in turn helps reducing the construction and operational costs of a test facility. Finally, it is found that the often used modeling fluid supercritical CO2 cannot accurately represent supercritical water at reactor conditions.