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Natural circulation in nuclear systems
Aksan, Nusret Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, Switzerland.
- Passive safety systems
- Example systems
- Thermal-hydraulic phenomena
- Additional Reading
Natural circulation is a process by which fluid motion is driven by a density gradient and no external source of energy is required. In general, a heat source, a heat sink, and the pipes connecting them form the essential hardware of a natural circulation system. The pipes are connected to the source (heater) and sink (cooler) in such a way that they form a continuous circulation path (Fig. 1). When the flow path is filled with working fluid, circulation can set in automatically following the activation of the heat source under the influence of a body field such as gravity. With both the source and sink maintained at constant conditions, a steady condition is expected to be achieved that can continue indefinitely, if the integrity of the closed loop is maintained.
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