Design review and controllability assessment of the SMART-ITL secondary system for the SMART design with experimental investigation

Abstract This paper aims at the design review and controllability assessment of a secondary system of SMART-ITL which is an integral effect test facility for an integral type reactor of SMART. The design concepts and operating characteristics of the SMART-ITL secondary system were described, and compared with a prototype SMART plant. Then, based on an experimental investigation, the thermal-hydraulic behaviors in the secondary system were analyzed in three sequential steps: a steady-state analysis of the thermodynamic aspect, a dynamic analysis using the lumped heat transfer model, and heat-up simulations as a case study. The key parameter determining system pressure was identified in the steady-state analysis. A dynamic model was established with several physical assumptions, and validated using relevant experimental results. Then, a case study was conducted to identify the effect of recirculation water during heat-up simulations using the validated dynamic model. The results indicated that the design of the present secondary system was appropriate as a part of the integral effect test facility of SMART-ITL, and was being properly operated to match the design intent. Furthermore, the design concept of the present SMART-ITL secondary system is expected to be widely utilized for various separate and integral effects tests for pressurized water reactor designs.