Authors: A. Samantara, J. Abraham, K. Natesan
Year: 2026
Industry: Nuclear & SMR
Keywords: Use FSE, Transient, Dynamic, SFR, Loss of Coolant, Validation, Parametric
ABSTRACT
During a pump seizure event in secondary sodium circuit of a fast breeder reactor, pump speed reduces sharply resulting in pressure transient in the circuit. It is essential to analyze this scenario to estimate peak pressures in the circuit, which will help in designing the circuit and its components or to avoid failure of components during the event. Towards this, a study is carried out in system dynamics code Flownex to analyze the event. The numerical model deployed for the analysis is validated against published experimental and theoretical benchmark results. Following the event of pump seizure, pump inlet pressure increases while outlet pressure decreases. Maximum pressures at the pump inlet is estimated as 546.6 kPa (abs). Maximum pressures at rupture disc location is seen to be well below its set pressure, eliminating its risk of rupture. Based on the parametric study by varying the pump seizure time, it is established that the maximum pressures are within the acceptable limits.