Assessment of steam condensation model with the presence of non-condensable gas in a vertical tube using RELAP5 Mod 3.2 code and MIT exp. Data

The non-condensable gas effect is a primary concern in some passive systems used in advanced design concepts, such as the Passive Residual Heat Removal System (PRHRS) of AP1000, APR1400, AES-2006, the Passive Containment Cooling System (PCCS) of AP1000 design, and Isolation Condensation System (ICS) of ESBWR design. The accumulation of the non-condensable gas inside the condensing tubes can significantly reduce the level of heat transfer which affects the heat removal capacity in accident condition and impacts plant safety. The objective of the present work is to assess the analysis capability of two wall film condensation models of RELAP5/Mod3.2 with the presence of non-condensable gas in a vertical tube on condensation experiments performed at MIT, USA. The results of the simulations and experimental data show the similar tendencies that the heat transfer coefficients increase as the inlet steam-non condensable gas mixture flow rate increases, the inlet steam-non-condensable gas mass fraction decrease, and the inlet saturated steam temperature decrease