Nuclear Engineering and Design 240 (2010) 3851–3861

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Nuclear Engineering and Design

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A new method to derive one set of scaling criteria for reactor natural circulation
at single and two-phase conditions
Donghua Lu a,∗ , Zejun Xiao b , Bingde Chen b
a
CNPRI, China Guangdong Nuclear Power Company, Shenzhen 518026, China
b
The National Key Laboratory of Bubble Physics and Natural Circulation, Nuclear Power Institute of China, Chengdu 610041, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Natural circulation is one of the most important thermal-hydraulic phenomena that makes the fluid flow
Received 7 April 2010 along a closed loop without any external driving force. With this merit, it is adopted by the passive heat
Received in revised form 2 August 2010 removal system to bring the residual heat out of the core at accidents, and by the primary system of some
Accepted 20 August 2010
new conceptual reactors instead of pumps to drive the coolant in the loop at operation. To investigate the
reactor natural circulation and verify system thermal-hydraulic codes, it is a way to construct an inte-
grated effect test facility and perform experiments on it with the scaling criteria. With one-dimensional
assumption, the natural circulation system was simplified as the heat source, heat sink and pipes, and
described by two groups of equations independently for the single-phase and two-phase flow condi-
tions. Based on these equations, a set of non-dimensional equations were derived and the criteria were
obtained both applicable for single-phase and two-phase natural circulation. According to these criteria,
the practical application was analyzed and discussed. In the paper, the property similarity was strongly
suggested in most cases. Though equal height simulation was widely used in the past, the reduced height
simulation is a good way to reproduce three-dimensional (3D) phenomena that are of concern in the
investigation. The CHF simulation is not suggested. The mass of metal and its distribution is of concern
instead of heat transfer at transient simulation.
© 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction Zvirin (1982) reported his theoretical and experimental work on

Natural circulation is a phenomenon that fluid flows in a closed
loop without any external force. Therefore it is widely used to
remove residual heat out of reactor core at severe accident in pres-
surized water reactor (PWR) (Cummins et al., 2003) and boiling
water reactor (BWR) (Shiralkar et al., 2007), or drive coolant in
the primary loop instead of primary pumps in some small reactors
(Modro et al., 2002).
To investigate steady-state or transient phenomenon in reac-
tors, integrated test facilities were constructed and used to perform
experimental studies and verify system codes in past decades. The
usual nuclear reactors have very big thermal power and geometry.
The 1:1 simulation is almost impossible in most cases in labora-
tories. To solve this problem, a solution based on the scaling law
was developed to perform experiments on an integrated test facil-
ity with the reduced power, geometry or pressure. Thus the scaling
law is a key point for this type of experiment during designing test
facilities, determining test parameters and establishing relations
between the data of the prototype and model.
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 28 83560089.
E-mail address: lu donghua@hotmail.com (D. Lu).
single-phase natural circulation loops, which ranges from simple
geometry systems through small-scale loops in laboratory to full-
scale systems of nuclear reactor plants and solar water heaters. It
includes available modeling methods (analytical and numerical) to
describe steady-state flows, transients and stability characteristics
of the various loops.
Heisle (1982) performed a simulation on a natural circulation
system. The fluid was the metal liquid in study. This scaling method
was only for single-phase natural circulation that runs in fast breed
reactor (FBR).
Kocamustafaogullari and Ishii (1983) derived scaling criteria for
a natural circulation system under single-phase and two-phase
flow conditions. They pointed out that the phase change, sub-
cooling, drift-flux and Froude numbers were very important for a
two-phase flow simulation. The authors discussed the fluid to fluid
scaling, such as the water to Freon simulation.
Ishii and Kataoka (1984) started their study on the single-phase
natural circulation simulation. Based on the single-phase scaling
criteria, they derived the two-phase one with the drift-flux model.
The small perturbation technique was applied to analyze the scaling
criteria of two-phase.
Zuber (1991) provided a new method, the Hierarchical Two-
Tiered approach to Scaling (H2TS) for scaling analysis. This is a

0029-5493/$ – see front matter © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.nucengdes.2010.08.012
3852 D. Lu et al. / Nuclear Engineering and Design 240 (2010) 3851–3861

before selecting any suitable correlations or equations to describe

Nomenclature them.
Hsu et al. (1990) performed a system scaling-modeling analy-
A dimensionless area sis for small-break LOCA (loss of coolant accident) based on the
a area of cross section (m2 ) mass and energy balances and flow-pressure drop relationship. His
Cs ratio of reference flow area between prototype and study found that the inventory of the coolant is a more proper
model chronological scaling parameter than the time scale.
d hydraulic diameter (m) Vijayan and Austregesilo (1994) used three rectangular chan-
f friction coefficient nel loops to verify the power-to-volume scaling law applicable
Fr Froude number to simulating the primary system of nuclear reactor. Three loops
Gr Grashof number have the same height and different hydraulic diameters. The result
g local gravity acceleration (m/s2 ) showed that the power-to-volume scaling law was reasonable
Ht the distance ratio of hot core and cold core in pro- for single-phase natural circulation. Their study found that the
totype and model transient and stability behavior can be simulated only when the
h enthalpy (kJ/kg) diameter ratio Dp /Dm is kept. Here, the subscript p indicates pro-
K orifice coefficient totype and m indicates model. The simple scaling criteria were
L dimensionless length presented in their paper, including the Grashof number similarity
l length (m) Grp = Grm , Stanton number similarity Stp = Stm and geometry sim-
O rigid body barycenter ilarity Dp /Dm = Lp /Lm = Hp /Hm . The product Gr(D/L) was suggested
Oc cold core of cooling section for steady state. Compared with Ishii et al.’s criteria, these criteria
Oh hot core of heating section neglected the flow resistance and heat source similarity.
P pressure (MPa) Reyes and Hochreiter (1998) established a set of simulation cri-
q heat flux (kW/m2 ) teria for the passive heat removal system of the AP600 and AP1000
Ri Richardson number with H2TS. The scaled phenomena include closed loop natural
S dimensionless loop length circulation, open system depressurization, venting, draining and
St Stanton number injection, and long-term recirculation. The natural circulation scal-
s loop length (m) ing was still based on the Ishii and Kataoka’s analysis. A 1:4 height,
T temperature (K) and 1:6.93 diameter test facility APEX was constructed based on
t time (s) their scaling analysis. The pressure simulation of the APEX for the
U dimensionless velocity AP600 and AP1000 was divided into two parts. The high pressure
u velocity (m/s) section was the reduced pressure simulation (AP600 7.45 MPa cor-
Vgj drift velocity (m/s) responding to APEX 2.21 MPa), and the low pressure section near
X mass quality to atmosphere is 1:1. The APEX tried to reproduce some 3D phe-
nomenon with its relative bigger diameter and shorter height.
Greek letters
Choi et al. (2006) utilized the Ishii and Kataoka’s scaling law
 density (kg/m3 )
while they designed the ATLAS integrated test facility to simulate
g vapor mass source (kg/m3 /s)
APR1400 natural circulation at LOCA conditions. The ATLAS is a 1/2
˘ dimensionless criteria
height, 1/288-volume, full-pressure simulation of the APR1400. The
 heating circumference (m)
simulation capability includes the reflood phase of the large-break
 dimensionless time
LOCA, small-break LOCA scenarios, steam generator (SG) tube rup-
tures, main steam line breaks, midloop operation, etc. Then Choi et
Subscript
al. (2008) performed experimental simulation of a DVI line break
0 initial prameter
of the APR1400 with the ATLAS.
c cooling section
Bae et al. (2008) investigated a scaling methodology for a
e exit of core
small-scale integral test facility. To analyze thermal-hydraulic phe-
f liquid
nomena during a DVI line small-break LOCA in the PWR, they
g gas
proposed energy scaling methodology to scale the coolant mass
H heat source and sink
inventory and the thermal power for a reduced pressure condi-
h heating section
tion. A system analytical code MARS was applied to predict the
i ith section of loop
parameters in the prototype and test facility. The test facility repro-
in inlet
duced a reasonable transient of pressure and coolant inventory
M model
when compared to the prototype model. In their experiment, the
m mixture of two-phase flow
power supplier could not reach the scaled power. Therefore, the
p prototype
convective heat transfer was not simulated at the steam generator
R ratio of prototype and model
U-tubes. A modified power curve was used for simulating the core
r reference point
decay heat.
SP single-phase flow
The long-term research activities on integrated effect tests prove
sub subcooling
that the scaling methodology and criteria act very important roles
TP two-phase flow
in nuclear reactor thermal-hydraulic study. In the nuclear reactor
scaling simulation, natural circulation is always a main objective to
be simulated. Many other phenomena are simulated based on the
general scaling method based on a pair of time ratios, the spe- scaling criteria of natural circulation.
cific and characteristic time ratios that are generated for each The evolution of scaling methodology is from suppleness to
transfer process. The characteristic time ratios and the hier- complexity. In the early stage of simulation experiments, the
archical structure furnish scaling criteria. But Zuber’s method power-to-volume scaling law was usually used with the equal
still needs very well understanding of the physical phenomenon height of the model and prototype. The time and velocity scale
 D. Lu et al. / Nuclear Engineering and Design 240 (2010) 3851–3861 3853

are 1:1. But this simulation always has the vessel with very thin the similarity criteria for both phases are different. This may be
cross section. It makes the design of test facilities become more possible to make the design and data explanation become much
difficult, and has more metal mass in simulators than the scaling complex.
requires. With small diameter, some 3D phenomena are distorted Generally, if the scaling criteria both for single-phase and two-
in the model. Then new scaling methodology adopted the reduced phase are the same, then the single-phase and two-phase natural
height simulation. It means time and velocity are scaled. This sim- circulation simulation experiments can be performed on the same
ulation gives out a model that has bigger diameter than the equal test facility. In this paper, the investigation is to derive a united
height one. The 3D phenomena are easier to be reproduced in this set of criteria for both the single and two phases natural circula-
simulation. But till now, the equal height simulation is still useful tion, directly from the mass, momentum, heat transfer and energy
for some very simple natural circulation systems, which are mainly equations.
controlled by one-dimensional physical effect. Then the reduced
pressure simulation was applied to the integrated effect test of 2. Modeling natural circulation system
reactors. Its practice is much more complex.
In all natural circulation scaling methodologies, no doubt 2.1. Assumptions
the Ishii and Kataoka’s occupies very important position. Many
researchers adopted it as their scaling criteria. It is the basic of the Usually the reactor primary system is very complex. To perform
present paper too. So it is necessary to introduce their method at the scaling analysis, some assumptions are needed to simplify it
first. while the natural circulation characteristic is kept:
Ishii and Kataoka (1984) established their description for single-
phase natural circulation based on one-dimensional equations, a. One-dimensional assumption: the fluid flows along axis of equip-
including the continuity, momentum, energy and heat transfer ment and pipes, and heat transfer happens in the radial direction
equations. Then, equations were transformed into the following at boundary vertical to flow direction;
forms: b. Characteristic number, such as the hydraulic diameter can be
Continuity equation used to express the effect from radial direction with widely used
a0 single and two phases empirical correlations;
ui = ur . (1)
ai c. Heat loss, axial heat transfer along the loop, and high stage items
in equations are negligible.
The Boussinesq assumption was used before the momentum
equation was integrated:
2.2. Basic equations
dur  a0 u2r 
 fl   a 2
0
 li = ˇgTlh − +K . (2)
dt ai 2 d ai With above simplifications, each section i of the primary coolant
i i i loop is described with the following basic equations for single-
Fluid energy equation (ith section) phase and two-phase conditions independently. The drift-flux
  model is added in two-phase equations.
∂T ∂T 4h Continuity equation
Cp +u = (Ts − T ). (3)
∂t ∂s d Two-phase

Solid energy equation (ith section) ∂m,i ∂m,i um,i

+ = 0, (6)
∂t ∂s
∂Ts
s Cps + Ks ∇ 2 Ts − q̇s = 0 (4) Single-phase
∂t
The boundary condition between the fluid and structure at the ∂i ∂i ui
+ = 0. (7)
ith section is given by ∂t ∂s
∂Ts Momentum equation
−Ks = h(Ts − T ). (5) Two-phase
∂y
 
Later, a group of similarity criteria were obtained by the analysis ∂m,i um,i ∂m,i u2m,i ∂p 
+ =− + m,i gs − TP,i
of non-dimensional equations. ∂t ∂s ∂s a
i
To the two-phase natural circulation simulation, a new group  
of equations were established by reconstructing above equations ∂ ˛i g f 2
− Vgj,i . (8)
into the two-phase form with the drift-flux model (Ishii, 1977). ∂s (1 − ˛)i m,i
Time partial difference items were eliminated with the steady-state
assumption. The new group of similarity criteria for the two-phase Single-phase
is different from the single-phase one. The dimensionless phase  
change number Npch and subcooling number Nsub were added into ∂i ui ∂i u2i ∂p 
+ =− + gs − SP,i . (9)
the single-phase criteria and the Richardson number was replaced ∂t ∂s ∂s a
i
by the Froude number to compose the two-phase criteria.
In their work, the similarity criteria for single-phase flow are Energy equation
mainly composed by the Richardson number, friction number, Two-phase
modified Stanton number, time ratio number, Biot number, heat ∂m,i hm,i ∂m,i um,i hm,i  j 

source number and geometry similarity groups. The similarity cri- + = hTP,j (Tw,j − Tsat )
∂t ∂s a i
teria for two-phase flow are mainly composed by the phase change j i
number, subcooling number, Froude number, drift-flux number,  
density ratio number, friction number, time ratio number, heat ∂ ˛i g f
− hfg Vgj,i . (10)
source number, and geometry similarity groups. It means for one ∂s m,i
test facility to perform the single-phase and two-phase simulation,
3854 D. Lu et al. / Nuclear Engineering and Design 240 (2010) 3851–3861

Single-phase
  
∂i hi ∂i ui hi j

+ = hSP,j (Tw,j − Tf ) . (11)

∂t ∂s a i
j i

Heat transfer equation

Two-phase

hTP,j,i (Tw,j − Tsat )i = qj,i . (12)

Single-phase

hSP,j,i (Tw,j − Tsat )i = qj,i . (13)

The drift velocity Vgj in Eqs. (8) and (10) is:

    1/4
g gfg
Vgj = ug − j = 0.2 1− j + 1.4 . (14)
f f2

Here, j = ˛ug + (1 − ˛)uf .

2.3. System simplification

The most important characteristics should be kept between the

prototype and simulation facility when deriving the scaling criteria. Fig. 1. Schematic of natural circulation system.
They are the density difference of fluid, core distance between the
cooling and heating section, and loop resistance.
With the above simplification, the complicated primary loop can
At steady-state conditions, the components in the primary loop
be simplified into one-dimensional system as Fig. 1 shows.
can be divided into two kinds: those with heat transfer and those
lhc is the vertical distance between the hot core Oc and the
without heat transfer. Thus a typical natural circulation system can
cold core Oh along the Z direction, which is the gravity direction.
be depicted by pipes, heating sections and cooling sections. The
Though some researchers used the height of plants in their scaling
cooling section indicates bundles of tubes in SGs which really per-
derivation, this definition is close to the physical truth of the one-
form heat transfer. The heating section is defined as the section
dimensional natural circulation system, and better to establish the
of fuel assemblies which releases heat to the coolant. These two
relationship among three factors of natural circulation. The defini-
sections perform as the heat source and sink in the system. Others
tion of the hot core and cold core is not only valid to the normal
including the hot leg, cold leg, SG plenum, RPV upper or lower head,
PWR, in which SGs are usually in the vertical position, but also fea-
pumps, and downcomer could be regarded as pipes.
sible to a horizontal SG or an inclined one, such as the VVER or other
For a steady-state simulation, if the heat loss from the pipe wall
natural circulation systems.
to atmosphere is ignored, pipes are thought to be no heat transfer
Though assumptions above are based on the steady-state, this
between the wall and fluid. Pipes in a reactor, such as the cold leg
does not mean the transient behavior will not happen in the simula-
and hot leg, no doubt satisfy the definition. Some parts with sudden
tion facilities during tests. Evidently simulating transient behavior
flow area change can be considered as a special type of pipe with
needs more criteria to scale some local parameters. For example
the orifice effect. So the fluid velocity and flow resistance in pipes
the heat capacity of the core can be considered during the pressure
can be decided by the length, hydraulic diameter and flow area.
transient by scaling metal block mass. The velocity transient of the
In practice, some parts of the primary loop have a large quan-
loop can be described by the partial difference of velocity to time
tity of metal and contact with the flowing fluid directly. They could
in the momentum equation.
be involved in heat transfer when a temperature transient is sim-
ulated, thus the density of fluid in the loop is altered to have the
flow rate of natural circulation being changed. So the effect of the 3. Basic equations simplification
heat capacity is considered in the simulation.
During the simplification, the one-dimensional parameters are 3.1. Eliminating the heat transfer item
determined by a radial integral average as Eq. (15) shows. The axis
of the SG and core is along the direction of gravity, and it is better To simplify equations, Eqs. (10) and (12) are merged together
to locate the plane composed by the axis of the SG and core on the to eliminate the heat transfer item. Similarly Eqs. (11) and (13) are
XOZ. merged too. One reason why the heat transfer item is eliminated is
 for the complexity of the heat transfer simulation. Another reason
A
˚(x, y)dA is for the accurate simulation of heat transfer is very difficult in a
˚(z) = (15)
A model based on the one-dimensional assumption.
Here a core related to the density variation is defined in the Several factors affect convective heat transfer behavior between
heating section or cooling section. The first step is to get a one- the wall and fluid: the surface, temperature difference, and coef-
dimensional density variation along the section as Eq. (15) does. ficient of convective heat transfer. Of them, the coefficient of
With this one-dimensional density variation, a core position is convective heat transfer is decided by fluid properties, velocity, and
defined as the location where the integral average density is equal hydraulic diameter. If the geometry is changed during scaling, most
to the local as Eq. (16) defines. Since the density in the core or SG of above factors will change. To simulate every factor among them
is usually a monotone variable, this position is unique. is not easy. The conductive heat transfer is difficult to be simulated
 as convective one too.
h
(Z) dZ For natural circulation, the enthalpy variation along the loop is
(z) = average = . (16)
h of concern because it affects the density difference in the momen-
 D. Lu et al. / Nuclear Engineering and Design 240 (2010) 3851–3861 3855

∂
 ˛g f

tum equation, and this variation is decided by the heat added into
m um hm + hfg Vgj
the fluid or removed out of it. The key point is the total heat trans- ∂s m i
ferred and its position in the system. If the parameters about heat   j   a  ∂X
r
  j 
transfer are not simulated one by one, but the total heat and distri- i
= qj,i ⇔ r ur hfg = qj,i . (21)
bution is simulated, thus the density variation is simulated. Then, ai ai ∂s ai
j j
natural circulation is still simulated too. Therefore eliminating the
heat transfer item helps simplify equations.
Single-phase
To a natural circulation system with the given geometry, if the
Quality Xi is applied to Eq. (18) and an equation same as Eq. (21)
heating power and pressure are constant, then the density distri-
is obtained:
bution along the loop is invariable, thus the flow rate is invariable.
    a  ∂X  j 
When the transient is of concern, the variation with time should be ∂i ui hi j r i
= qj,i ⇔ r ur hfg = qj,i
considered. To simplify the criteria derivation, the partial difference ∂s a ai ∂s a
j i j i
∂/∂ t is neglected because: (a) any big ∂/∂ t caused by fast depres-
surizing means the circulation flow rate is not controlled by the
Thus the energy equation has the same form for both single-
natural circulation mechanism; (b) any density variation induced
phase and two-phase.
by the power transient will not fully affect the circulation flow rate
Considering the one-dimensional assumptions of this natural
instantly till this altered density is transported to the whole loop to
circulation model, it is better to symbolize the heat sink and source
change the density difference between cooling and heating section
with heat Qj,i instead of the product of the heating circumference
as Fig. 1 shows.
and heat flux  j qj,i in each section:
Incorporating the energy equation with the heat transfer equa-
tion and eliminating the heat transfer item, the following energy  a  ∂X
r
  Qj,i 
i
equations are obtained. r ur hfg = (22)
ai ∂s ai
Two-phase j

∂m,i um,i hm,i  j  ∂


˛i g f

From the above equation, it is concluded that the total heat
= qj,i − hfg Vgj,i . (17) transferred in each section needs to be simulated instead of each
∂s a ∂s m,i
j i
source and sink separately.
Single-phase
   4. Non-dimensionalizing equations
∂i ui hi j
= qj,i . (18)
∂s a One purpose of the scaling criteria is to establish the relation-
j i
ship between parameters of the prototype and model. This means
Thus a united set of equations describing natural circulation for one parameter in the prototype needs a corresponding one in the
both single and two phases are derived as follows: model, though it is not necessary to be equal. Non-dimensional
Continuity variables were adopted in equations to fulfill the requirement of
this relationship.
{m um a}i = {ua}i = {r ur ar } (19) In natural circulation system, though a lot of parameters are
The subscript r means the reference point, which is at the inlet of concern, the flow velocity is the first one because it is a key
of the core. parameter existed in three equations (Eqs. (19)–(21)). The non-
Momentum equation dimensionalization ensure that the prototype and model has the
For single-phase and two-phase both. similar process even the absolute figure of each parameter is
different. This is a way to perform experiments on a reduced
  ar  ∂ur 1      a 2  fl
r r

model with parameters different from the prototype. In the non-
r li = glhc − r u2r +k .
ai ∂t 2 i ai dh i dimensionalization, parameters at inlet of reactor core or heat
i i
source are selected as the reference.
(20)
Continuity
 A   + 
Here, for single-phase, it is easy to obtain above equation when r r
Ui = Ur . (23)
the result of the second item at left hand in Eq. (9) is zero after Ai i+
integrating. For two-phase, from Eq. (14), Vgj = (1 − ˛)(ug − uf ) is
Momentum
derived. The last item at the right hand of Eq. (8) is moved to left
hand and combined it with the second item of the left hand, then:
  L  ∂Ur 1 2
i
= ˘Ri + Lhc − U ˘Fr . (24)
  Ai ∂ 2 r
∂m,i u2m,i ∂ ˛i g f ∂m,i u2m,i i
2
+ Vgj,i ⇒
∂s ∂s (1 − ˛)i m,i ∂s Energy
 
∂ ˛i g f ∂g ˛i u2g ∂f (1 − ˛i )u2f ∂Xi
+ (ug − uf )2 ⇒ + . = ˘pch ˘H . (25)
∂s m,i ∂s ∂s ∂S
Parameters for the non-dimensionalization
u
It is zero when integrating above item in the closed loop. Thus, Velocity: Ui = u i , Ur = uur .
0 0
Eq. (20) is derived from Eq. (8). li lhc
Length: Li = , Lhc = .
Energy equation l0 l0
hc hc
Two-phase tu0
Time:  = .
l0
With quality Xi = (hi − hf )/hfg expressing enthalpy, Eq. (17) can hc
ai
be re-written as followed equation with Vgj = (1 − ˛)(ug − uf ) and Flow area: Ai = a0 .
i+ +
i r
Eq. (19). Density: = 0 , r = 0 .
3856 D. Lu et al. / Nuclear Engineering and Design 240 (2010) 3851–3861


Density difference: + = . From Eq. (35) the following equation yields:
+
0
Qj,i  
Heat sink and source: Qj,i = q  . r
= 1. (36)
0 0
0 0 R
In which, u0 , 0 , a0 are initial core inlet parameters at time 0; lhc
is the initial vertical core distance between the heating and cooling This criterion indicates the pressure relationship between the
section; and a0 = ar .  0 is the core inlet heating circumference, and prototype and simulator exists:
q0 is the average heat flux of core. PM
0 = in,0 − out,0 , is the initial core inlet and outlet density ≡ constant. (37)
PP
difference.
Non-dimensional criteria ˘ in Eqs. (23)–(25) are defined as: For the water–water simulation, it means that the pressure
Richardson number is equal in the model and prototype; for the fluid–fluid simula-
tion, the pressure ratio is decided by the saturated density ratio
 0
g0 lhc
= , (26) (g /f )M = (g /f )P . The detailed discussion is presented in the
Ri r u0 2 latter part of this paper. In fact, the water–water simulation is often
used in practice.
denotes relationship between buoyancy force and inertial force.
Then yields:
Resistance number
  
 Ar 2  +   fl  0
= 1. (38)
r
˘Fr = +K , (27) 0
Ai i+ dh i
R
i
From Eq. (24), the following similarity is reasonable while a
denotes the sum of the friction loss and orifice in the loop. transient is simulated.
Phase change number
(Lhc )R = 1. (39)
0 
q0 lhc 0 For the velocity transient, the time similarity is required:
˘pch = , (28)
r ur ar hfg  
tu0
denotes relationship between the heating power and fluid enthalpy R = 0
= 1. (40)
lhc R
rise in each section.
Heat source and sink number: To satisfy the simulation, the following equations should be
 equal to unity.
˘H = Q +. (29)
j (˘Ri )R = 1, (˘Fr )R = 1, (˘pch )R = 1, (˘H )R = 1

With Eq. (33), (˘Fr )R is simplified as:

5. Similarity criteria  
  Ar   fl 
Defined here is the ratio of the dimensionless parameter (˘Fr )R = +K = 1. (41)
Ai dh i
between the prototype and model: i R

 
With Eq. (36), (˘Ri )R is simplified as:
= M . (30)    
R
P
 0
g0 lhc 0
g 0 lhc
( ) = = = 1. (42)
If ˘ R = constant, it means that the parameters in the model cor- Ri R r u0 2 0 u0 2
respond to those of the prototype one to one.
The following result is obtained with Eq. (37).
The velocity response is of concern in a natural circulation sys-  
tem. It is better to have: fg
u  = 1. (43)
i
g
Ui,R = = 1, (31) R
u0 R
(˘pch )R is re-written as follows with Eqs. (36) and (43):
and     
u  0 
q0 lhc 0
0 
q0 lhc 0 fg
r (˘pch )R = = (44)
Ur,R = = 1, (32) r ur ar hfg 0 u0 a0 hfg g
u0 R R R

The following equation is needed: This is the non-dimensional phase change number in the paper
(Ishii and Zuber, 1970).
 A   +  From the definition of quality Xi = (hi − hf )/hfg and Eq. (43), the
r r
= 1, (33)
Ai R i+ following non-dimensional subcooling number is derived:
R
 
hsub fg
To have Eqs. (23) tenable. ˘sub = . (45)
In most cases, the similarity of the relative flow area is required: hfg g

(ai /a0 )M It is concluded from Eq. (21) that the quality change is equal
Ai,R = = 1. (34)
(ai /a0 )P from the core inlet to outlet while (˘pch )R = 1 and (˘H )R = 1. If the
quality at the core exit is the same:
The case of Ai,R =
/ 1 is not discussed here.
According to Eqs. (33) and (34), (Xe )R = 1. (46)
 +
 Then at inlet yields:
r
= 1. (35)
i+ R (Xin )R = 1. (47)
 D. Lu et al. / Nuclear Engineering and Design 240 (2010) 3851–3861 3857

Therefore the following equation is obtained in each section: From the phase change number, the ratio of heat flux of fuel rod
simulators was obtained:
(˘sub )R = 1. (48) 
 0 
 
q0 lhc 0 fg a0
Furthermore, to simulate the drift-flux model, a transformation (˘pch )R = = 1 ⇒ (q0 )R =  .
of Eq. (14) is done to change it into the following equation: 0 u0 a0 hfg g 0 0
lhc
R
R
     1/4
Vgj g fg X 1.4 gfg (55)
= 0.2 1− 1+ + . (49)
u0 f g ur f2
If the configuration of the prototype fuel assemblies was
When the property ratio satisfies Eq. (38) requirement, and the adopted, there is (a0 )R = (0 )R . So the above equation can be sim-
X distribution is kept along the loop, the following equation is plified as:
obtained for the drift-flux model simulation: 
1
(˘d )R = 1. (50) (q0 )R =  . (56)
0
lhc
Here: R

Vgj This means that heat flux is doubled in a 1/4 height scale simu-
˘d = . (51) lation.
u0
a0 is used as the reference parameter in the non-
From the momentum equation, there is:
dimensionalization of equations. Here defines:
 
 L  (a0 )M
i
= 1. (52) = Cs. (57)
Ai (a0 )P
i R
This ratio indicates the area ratio at core inlet. The detailed dis-
The criteria above are feasible to the water–water simulation
cussion about this ratio will be presented later in this paper.
or the fluid–fluid simulation such as the water-Freon simulation if
Power ratio:
their density ratio satisfies Eq. (43).  
QR = (q0 a0 lhc )R = lhc a0 . (58)
6. The water–water simulation R

Volume ratio:
Here gives out an example to derive the criteria for the
water–water simulation with the identical properties and same VR = (a0 lhc )R = (lhc a0 )R . (59)
geometry of subchannels in the SG and core. All parameters for this example are listed in Table 1.
From the Richardson number, the relationship between the
height ratio and velocity ratio is obtained:
    7. Simulation types and equations
 0
g0 lhc 0
lhc

( ) = = ⇒ (u0 )R = 0 ) .
(lhc (53)
Ri R 0 u0 2 u0 2 R 7.1. Simulation and types
R R

With Eq. (53), the time ratio is obtained: Though the simulation experiment widely exists in many
   research fields, what is an accurate simulation is still a very dif-
tu0 0 ) .
R = 0
= 1 ⇒ tR = (lhc R
(54) ficult question for a researcher to answer. It is true the distortion
lhc R will make parameters in a simulation test facility diverge from the

Table 1
Scaling parameters for the water–water simulation under identical properties.

Item Criteria Notes

1 0
(lhc )R = Ht Determined by the prototype scale, electricity power and 3D phenomenon effects.
2 (l0 )R = Cs

3 (P0 )R = 1 Equal pressure simulation, and properties similarity

4 (Xin )R = 1 Inlet temperature or inlet quality similarity at the core inlet

 l0 
5 h
=1 Velocity ratio is determined by the height ratio
u2
0 R  
   
A fl
6 ( ) = r
Ai dh
+K =1 Satisfying it needs to adjust the orifice coefficient according to the practical need
Fr R i

 i R
 L 
7 i
Ai
=1 Related to the transient simulation of the velocity response
i R
(ai /a0 )M
8 Ai,R = =1 Flow area ratio
0 
(ai /a0 )P

 l
hc
9 ( ) = (q0 )R a
=1 Determining the heat flux of the fuel simulator and heat transfer area. The axial one-dimensional
pch R
R distribution simulation is needed. From this criterion the total power ratio can be deduced.

10 tR = 0
(lhc )R Time ratio
  Vgj 
11 ( ) = u0
=1 Drift-flux model simulation. It is automatically satisfied under the condition of similar properties.
d iR iR
3858 D. Lu et al. / Nuclear Engineering and Design 240 (2010) 3851–3861

Table 2
The scaling simulation types.

No. Height Diameter Properties Advantage and disadvantage

1 1:1 1:1 Similar Though the scaling is easy to reach, it is only possible for some very small reactors.
2 1:1 – Similar Very popular to investigate natural circulation in a large scale power station. With a greatly shrunk
diameter, the test facility has very thin figure. The 3D phenomenon is not expected by this method. In
this simulation, it is easy to keep the ratio of time, velocity and quality as 1:1.
3 – – Similar A typical one is the reduced height simulation. This method is helpful to reproduce 3D phenomenon in
a small scaled test facility. But be careful of the time ratio.
4 – – – With the reduced height and pressure, the difficult level and the cost of the test facility is lowered. The
3D phenomenon is considered. The problem is about the two-phase simulation. It cannot keep quality
equal to the prototype. The application is quite complex.

true ones in the prototype. This always exists because the test facil-
ity is not the prototype itself. Another problem is that researchers
cannot know all phenomena in a complicated system when they
start working on it, thus they cannot purposely avoid any possible
distortion that they do not want.
In a natural circulation system, there are a lot of thermal-
hydraulic phenomena, but only some of them are of concern by
researchers. On the one hand, researchers want to reproduce those
phenomena they really want to investigate in an integrated effect
test. Thus similar criteria should satisfy this need. On the other
hand, in an integrated effect test facility, not all thermal-hydraulic
phenomena are easy to be reproduced because some of them
require a very special environment. For example, the critical heat
flux (CHF) depends very much on the flow channel geometry, heat
flux distribution and local fluid parameters. Usually, a natural circu-
lation simulation is used to model natural circulation at first. After
that some local phenomena and their effects on natural circulation
are investigated, such as the 3D effect of the RPV downcomer. But
this cannot be directly included in the criteria derivation process
because of the one-dimensional assumption.
The core height distance between the cooling and heating sec-
tion is quite crucial in the simulation. The property similarity is
another crucial factor in simulation. If properties are not simu-
lated, both the design of the test facilities and data explanation
are complex.
From these two factors, their combinations have four types
listed in Table 2.
From Table 2, it is strongly suggested to apply the No. 2 or 3
method, for it has many virtues. First, the two-phase simulation
and transient from single to two-phase is simple. Second, quality,
power and velocity are just related to the height ratio and area ratio
with the identical pressure. At last, the 3D phenomenon is easy to
be reproduced with the relative big diameter/height ratio. In this
type of simulation, the heat capacity in metal is worried about, but
it can be solved by carefully designing.
7.2. Explanation for equations and its transformation
In the basic equations, the momentum equation reveals three
key factors: the density difference, vertical distance between the
heating and cooling section core, and gravity for the natural cir-
culation phenomenon. There are many heat transfer components
such as SGs, fuel assemblies, and component walls working as a
heat source or sink. In a passive system simulation, some other heat
exchangers are entangled in heat transfer. These components have
different heat transfer modes and parameters with 3D distribution.
To simply describe them with these one-dimensional equations,
the average heat flux q along the Z direction and heat circumfer-
ence  at a cross section were used to remark characteristics of the
fuel rod heat transfer, or their product q presents the total heat
transferred in each section. Here, the heat flux q is like the statis-
tic average as Eq. (16) shows. In this paper, a new energy equation
relates the enthalpy of the fluid to the heat source or sink. The
reason is not only for the heat source or sink have different heat
transfer behavior during the transient, but rather many factors are
involved, such as the convective heat transfer, heat capacity, and
reverse heat transfer in SGs. Heat capacity can not be neglected. In
a typical RPV of the PWR, the weight of the metal is about 300–400
tons. Thus heat storage is a quite large number. It affects natural
circulation during the transient. For fuel assemblies, heat comes
from the nuclear reactivity, but during the transient, when tem-
perature drops fast, the effect of the heat accumulated in fuel rods
should be evaluated according to its percentage devotion in the
total heat transferred. Here the detailed simulation of each heat
sink and source is not discussed because their simulation belongs
to another issue.
Though not all parameters in a natural circulation system are
mentioned in equations, it does not mean their simulation is not
reached. Some parameters correlate with others. This is why the
drift-flux model is automatically satisfied when the cross sectional
area ratio is ensured and property similarity is adopted. On the
other hand, it should be understood that the certain simulation
criteria do not cover all phenomena. They exist in both prototype
and model though the simulation does not purposely describe them
with equations.
7.3. Similarity of properties
During the transformation of the continuity equation, ∂i /∂ t
was assumed to be negligible. Then for Eq. (33), there are two cases
for the cross section area ratio:
A  A 
r r
=1 and =
/ 1
Ai R Ai R
From the former equation, the property similarity was derived
because only the property similarity can satisfy this ratio under any
condition. For the water simulation, it means identical properties.
Here, the pressure effect on density needs to be discussed. It is
true that density of the liquid water is less affected by pressure, but
temperature has large effect on density. It is possible to simulate
water natural circulation under different pressure if the tempera-
ture is identical. For the two-phase simulation, the density ratio
of the saturated water to steam f /g is a reference parameter.
This parameter shows that quality and velocity cannot be simu-
lated at the same time if the property is different. For low pressure
simulating high pressure, if the velocity is simulated, the quality
is lower than that of the prototype, and this means power is not
simulated. Therefore it is very difficult to simulate high pressure
by low pressure at the two-phase condition.
On the other hand, for the non-identical property condition,
there is the following equation:
  A    a 
r+ i r i
= ⇔ = . (60)
i+ R
Ar R i R ar R
To help understand the above equation, an example is made
here. If the density at some place of the loop has density half of the
 D. Lu et al. / Nuclear Engineering and Design 240 (2010) 3851–3861
reference point in the prototype, and it is one forth of the reference
point at the corresponding point in the model, this will need the
ratio of flow area in the model twice of the prototype. This enlarged
area can have a low density mixture with the velocity same as the
prototype. Thus the power ratio is only related to the height and
flow area ratio only. Of course in the heating or cooling section of
the model, the flow area is gradually enlarged or shrunk to satisfy
the requirement from the above equation. This shape of the core or
SG is a little bit difficult to design, but if the integral effect on the
driving force is equal, a constant flow area may be possibly used to
replace the original one. This simulation with different properties
is only useful for a pressure constant test.
7.4. Two-phase flow similarity
The two-phase flow simulation is much more difficult than the
single-phase. Fortunately most of the two-phase flow phenomena
are related to the hydraulic diameter and properties, usually to the
saturated density of liquid and vapor. If the diameters are equal,
with identical properties, the two-phase flow is certainly the same.
This is why for the core and SG simulation, the same flow channel
configuration is suggested.
If the diameters of pipes, vessels and components are greatly
shrunk, the flow pattern simulation is not possible in some cases.
Considering the flow resistance is mainly generated by the core and
SGs, this shortcoming is not very serious except that when a break
needs simulated to study the break position effect. With different
break positions, the spray of two-phase flow is different. This needs
simulating the flow pattern.
8. The physical meaning of criteria
8.1. Richardson number and resistance number
The Richardson number and resistance number symbolize the
driving force and its balance force in a natural circulation loop.
The Richardson number Ri is the relationship between the iner-
tial force and buoyancy. Here the distance of the heating section and
cooling section core were used to symbolize the thermal-hydraulic
height of the gravity driving force, instead of the system height used
by Ishii and Kataoka (1984).
In Ishii and Kataoka’s method, for single-phase, Ri number is:
gT0 l0
˘Ri = . (61)
u0 2
For two-phase, Ishii and Kataoka (1984) used the Froude number
in their criteria:
u20  9. Discussions
˘Fr = . (62)
gl0 ˛0 
Evidently, Eq. (61) is identical to Eq. (42) when the Boussinesq
assumption is used. The Fr number equation is a special expression
of Eq. (42) at the two-phase condition.
Ishii and Kataoka thought the resistance similarity was easy to
obtain because this factor is a lumped effect of all resistance along
the loop. To keep the resistance similar, an orifice is usually used to
adjust the total resistance of the loop. The flow rate of natural circu-
lation is affected by many factors, such as the flow area, hydraulic
diameter, length, friction number and orifice. In the transient case,
to minimize the distortion, it is better to ensure each section has
strictly scaled, thus the two-phase flow pattern and velocity are
simulated.
3859
8.2. Non-dimensional phase change number and subcooling
number
The non-dimensional phase change number shows the rela-
tion between the heat and fluid enthalpy variation. Different heat
sources or sinks have different types of heat transfer. In this paper,
the average heat flux of the fuel rod surface was used to symbolize
heat transfer because it is related to the power ratio.
The non-dimensional subcooling number denotes temperature
or quality of fluid at the inlet of the core. This number requires
the inlet fluid has the same enthalpy when property similarity is
adopted. In this paper, quality X was used to mark the enthalpy
both of the single and two phases flow. Then equal inlet quality is
required.
Ishii and Kataoka (1984) adopted these two non-dimensional
numbers to simulate the possible flow instability in a two-phase
system. But not all instability can be simulated only with them in a
natural circulation system.
8.3. Heat source and sink number
In a natural circulation system, there are many components act-
ing as the heat source or sink, such as SG tubes, fuel rods, and metal
blocks involved in heat transfer. In this number, the integral effect
of heat transfer is scaled in each section.
Two parts exist in the heat transfer simulation. First part is the
controlled heat source such as the heat from the nuclear reactivity.
It is simulated by electrical heated rod simulators. If the transient
response of the system needs to be of concern, the transient heat
transfer should be considered in the second part by simulating the
metal heat capacity. The transient heat transfer is very complicated.
It is better to calculate it with some software like Relap5 to compare
the similarity of the model and prototype.
The heat source and sink number reveals that heat transfer in
each section should be simulated, but heat transfer itself is related
to the convective and conductive modes.
8.4. Geometry simulation
The geometry simulation includes Eqs. (34), (39) and (52).
The core distance of the heating and cooling sections is a very
important parameter. Its ratio controls many other criteria as
Table 1 shows.
The ratio of the relative cross sectional area (ai /a0 )R gives out
the radial similarity of the model and prototype. This ensures the
density simulation in two-phase flow when the property similarity
is used.
Eq. (52) is related to the transient simulation. It controls the time
that the fluid passes through this section and transport the density
change into the next section in the scaled time.
9.1. Flow instability simulation
The two-phase flow instabilities are divided into two types: the
static and dynamic instability. Each of them includes many kinds
of instabilities with different mechanisms. For natural circulation,
different instabilities happen with different loop parameters, flow
channel geometries and local fluid conditions. For example, the
density wave oscillation (DWO) is quite common in the two-phase
flow. Though it is related to the dimensionless phase change num-
ber Npch and dimensionless subcooling number Nsub , the pressure,
channel length, and configuration of channels have a very strong
effect on it. To simulate the DWO in the core or SG, which has
parallel channels, it is better to adopt a typical subchannel of the
3860 D. Lu et al. / Nuclear Engineering and Design 240 (2010) 3851–3861
prototype. The flow excursion happens easily in natural circulation.
It is related to the flow resistance, and driving force generated by
the gravity and density difference. If the equal height and identical
properties are used in the simulation, it can be simulated.
For those simulations with the reduced height, the DWO is not
possible to be reproduced because the time ratio is different, though
the flow excursion may be simulated. Simulation with different
properties cannot reproduce flow instability at the predicted point.
9.2. Heat transfer simulation
In the above section, a conclusion was made that the simula-
tion of the convective and conductive heat transfer is not quite
necessary. The simulation of the temperature gradient in metal
components is not either. The real key factor is the total mass of
the metal which controls the heat released into the fluid. When a
small diameter ratio is adopted, this issue becomes evident because
at this moment, the thickness of wall become relative thicker than
the similarity criteria requires. Thus it produces the distortion dur-
ing the transient. Of course it is possible to adjust the wall thickness
that involves in heat transfer by inserting some ceramic materials
into metal blocks.
The transient heat transfer exists in some complicated simula-
tions, such as the safety injection in the APEX simulation for the
AP1000 safety injection. During the safety injection the cold water
is sprayed into the RPV downcomer. In this instance, the hot wall
contacts the cold water near the injection nozzle. So the thickness
simulation is not the only key point, the real difficulty is the flow
regime. The injection is a high 3D phenomenon. While the height
and diameter have different length ratios, and the velocity ratio is
usually bigger than the diameter ratio, it is not expected to have a
very high similarity in this transient.
In general, simulating heat transfer is concentrated on the total
heat and its distribution along the axis of the core instead of the
inner temperature gradient of the metal components or convective
heat transfer between the wall and fluid. It can be concluded that
investigating the temperature gradient of components, or the con-
vective heat transfer is not the task of such integrated simulation
if the scale is not 1:1.
9.3. Critical heat flux (CHF)
In the papers (Ishii and Kataoka, 1984; Reyes and Hochreiter,
1998), the CHF simulation is mentioned. In most cases, it is not a
good idea to simulate the CHF in an integral effect test facility. It is
because:
a. The mechanism of the CHF is very complex. CHF includes DNB
(departure nucleate boiling) under the subcooling condition,
dryout under high quality, and the CHF under CCFL (counter cur-
rent flow limit). Till now, there is no such unique correlation to
describe all these CHFs correctly. A lot of empirical correlations
are used in different conditions. Therefore it is impossible to find
one or two CHF correlations that are suitable for deriving criteria
in this one-dimensional natural circulation equation group.
b. The law of the pressure effect on the CHF indicates that the CHF
increases with pressure rising from very low at first, then at some
pressure point, the CHF falls while pressure continuously rises.
This is why no correlation can predict the CHF in a very wide
pressure range. So this special CHF characteristic prevent exper-
iments getting correct CHF phenomenon when the simulation is
performed with the different pressure or pressure transient.
c. The CHF is strongly affected by local parameters, especially by
the local quality at high pressure. Furthermore, CHF is sensitive
to the configuration of subchannels, such as the mixing vane in
fuel assemblies. In the simulation of a natural circulation system,
it adds extra difficulty to simulate this complex requirement. For
instance, the cross mixing is different in a reduced height core,
and the CHF is different when a fuel rod has the uniform or non-
uniform heat flux distribution.
The CHF experiment has its own simulation method. It is better
not to consider the CHF simulation in natural circulation. The CHF
is only a design limitation for the fuel rod simulator.
9.4. Simulators of the reactor core and SG
The SG and reactor core are not only the flow path, but also
the heating section. The flow rate, heat, and friction need to be
considered together, but they are related to the different scaling
ratios. The flow rate is related to its flow area ratio; and the friction
and heat are related to the fuel rod diameter. Furthermore, the SG
and reactor core are composed by many similar subchannels with
the same thermal-hydraulic characteristic. It is reasonable to regard
this subchannel as a basic unit in the simulation. Thus, grid spacers
and SG tubes for the prototype can be used again. It is of great
convenience to use the prototype geometry of fuel assemblies and
SG tubes.
The reactor core power has the radial and axial non-uniform
heat flux distribution. Usually, the radial non-uniform power is
not as important as the axial because the vertical density differ-
ence is mainly considered at natural circulation. To simulate this
power distribution, a type of the non-uniform heated rod simula-
tor is needed. Usually it is an indirectly electrically heated simulator
with an axial cosine distribution of the ohmic resistance. By the
way, for wisely simulating the axial power distribution, it is better
to divide a rod simulator into several sections, each section with an
independently electricity adjustable heater.
The radial power distribution is easy to reach by dividing rod
simulators into two zones or more. The center has higher heat flux
than the circumference.
10. Reference flow area ratio
In the momentum equation, natural circulation is connected
with the height of the plant, or core distance of the heating sec-
tion and cooling section. Thereafter, many criteria are related to
the height ratio. Though Eq. (34) indicates the flow area should
have the same ratio between the prototype and model, it is just a
relative ratio related to the reference area. In this paper it is the
area at the core inlet. It means there is no direct limitation to the
reference area.
Ishii and Kataoka (1984) emphasized the effect of heat capacity
on natural circulation during the temperature transient. Based on
this thought, they obtained an expression dR = ıR /(Cp )R to show
the relationship between the diameter ratio and conductive depth
ratio. A flow area ratio was established by the above correlation.
Reyes thought the friction similarity was a start point. Thus, he got
an expression dR = u2R fR among the fluid velocity u, friction coeffi-
cient f, and hydraulic diameter d. Because the friction coefficient is
determined by Reynolds number and pipe roughness, to perform
simulation with smaller diameter pipes, the inner wall of pipes was
purposely polished to reduce its roughness.
In practice, the hydraulic diameter d is different in different
sections of a reactor. Its simulation is different too. In pipes, the
hydraulic diameter is equal to the real diameter of pipes, but in the
core and SG, the hydraulic diameter is not scaled when the ves-
sel diameter is greatly shrunk. So the hydraulic diameter cannot
express the flow area in some components such as the core and SG,
which produce the majority share of the flow resistance.
 D. Lu et al. / Nuclear Engineering and Design 240 (2010) 3851–3861
In fact, the reference flow area ratio is decided by the power sup-
plier mainly. Of course some other factors should be considered. In
them, the 3D phenomenon is an important one when some asym-
metrical thermal hydraulics is investigated. For example, one side
broken of the direct vessel injection pipe. Therefore, the reference
flow area is decided by the power and cost at first. If the 3D phe-
nomenon needs to be studied, a diameter ratio close to the height
ratio should be adopted.
11. Applications
The possible applications of these criteria include:
(a) The steady-state and transient simulation of some reactors that
utilizes natural circulation as their primary system driving force
fully or partially.
(b) Establishing the simulation laws for reactor transient during
severe accident together with other scaling criteria such as
venting and draining, etc.
(c) Other natural circulation system except reactors with heat
sources at the lower position and heat sinks at the higher posi-
tion.
It should be mentioned that though the equations include the
time partial items, it does not mean this criteria totally support very
fast pressure transient in a reactor because ∂/∂ t is neglected dur-
ing deriving. For example, when a large-break LOCA happens, the
fast depressurization will have subcooling water become saturated
in very short time. It changes density much quicker than the heat
source and sink do. New criteria should be considered together at
such condition.
12. Conclusions
From each set of equations describing the single-phase and two-
phase natural circulation system independently, a united group
of dimensionless equations were obtained and a group of criteria
applicable for the single-phase and two-phase natural circulation
scaling simulation were derived simultaneously.
Based on them, analysis was performed on the scaling simula-
tion method and criteria. Following suggestions were presented:
1. Natural circulation is a system phenomenon. The density dif-
ference, core distance of heating and cooling section, and flow
resistance are three very important factors in scaling simulation.
2. The flow resistance is an integral parameter, which is adjustable
by regulating the length, friction, and orifice.
3. The simulation of the SG or core is better based on the typical
flow channel configuration of the prototype.
4. The height and flow area ratio are decided by the power supplier
scale and 3D phenomenon simulation.
5. The identical properties simulation is suggested to reduce the
simulation distortion, and it is helpful to unite the single-phase
and two-phase criteria in one group.
6. The heat capacity of metal blocks should be considered in the
experiment, and the simulation is mainly on the metal distribu-
tion and quantity.
3861
7. The CHF should not be simulated in the scaling experiment for
its simulation is not compatible with the natural circulation sim-
ulator in most cases.
8. The reduced height simulation is a good way to balance the
power scale and 3D phenomenon simulation.
Finally, with Ishii et al.’s work, the single-phase and two-phase
natural circulation scaling method was established and applied to
the steady-state and transient thermal-hydraulic investigation of
the reactor primary loop. After that, some researchers developed it
into the transient simulation of venting and draining during LOCA
conditions, thus greatly expanded its application scope. The scaling
simulation of natural circulation is still in evolution. With develop-
ing of system codes, the 3D phenomenon simulation is required to
verify 3D calculation codes.
Acknowledgements
Here the authors want to show their thanks to Prof. Qiao Wu,
The Department of Nuclear Engineering and Healthy, Oregon State
University, USA for his help during the writing this paper.
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