Vertical Tube Passive Condenser Under Secondary Pool Water Level Transient

An experimental work was carried out on a passive containment cooling system (PCCS) test facility where the effect of PCCS pool water level change on the PCCS heat transfer characteristics was investigated. The specific design of condensing tube was based on scaling analysis from the PCCS design of Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR). The annulus between the primary condensing tube and the secondary boiling tube is filled with water and serves as water pool. During the test, steam generated in the pool is discharged through three steam exit nozzles located symmetrically at the top of the secondary boiling tube. Transient tests carried out with secondary pool water level change show that the system pressure for complete condensation mode increases with decrease in water level, however rate of condensation is almost constant. However, if the PCCS is operated in through flow mode the system pressure (primary side pressure) is constant, however, the condensate rate decreases indicating that some of the steam does not condense.