Stability Boundary Analysis of Magnetohydrodynamic Circulator for the Intermediate Heat Transfer System of Prototype Gen IV Sodium Fast Reactor

Abstract

The most important part of researching generation IV nuclear reactor is safety. In the research of generation IV sodium cooled fast reactor, magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) circulator is received attention to transport coolant stable. In this study, the stability of an magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) circulator were evaluated by the mathematical approach to obtaining critical value of developed pressure. The critical developed pressure equation is function of flow rate and dimensionless parameters which are derived from the theoretical model of MHD circulator with dimensionless scaled velocity, flow rate, and pressure. The stability conditions which are expressed by critical value of developed pressure and dimensionless parameters are investigated according to the change of the MHD circulator main design variables. Both relationships between dimensionless parameters, stability phenomenon and the main design variables as stability boundary of MHD circulator are analyzed. It is shown that stability of MHD circulator is safe when the stability criterion is lower than 1.