Experimental investigation on condensation heat transfer for bundle tube heat exchanger of the PCCS (Passive Containment Cooling System)

Abstract To provide a passive cooling system for the reactor containment, Passive Containment Cooling System (PCCS) was adopted in the design of i-POWER nuclear power plant. This study focused on validation tests for condensation heat transfer of the PCCS heat exchanger using the CLASSIC facility. The tests include investigation of the condensation heat transfer in prototypic single tube and bundle tubes. From the single tube experiments, condensation heat transfer model was proposed to reflect the PCCS heat exchanger tube geometry. Experimental results in the bundle tube show consistent trend compared to the proposed heat transfer model from the single tube test. The local condensation heat transfer coefficient of inside tubes was smaller than the average value due to a shadow effect by a larger mass fraction of non-condensable gas, so that design of the PCCS should take into account degradation of the condensation heat removal in the bundle geometry.