Pressure Transient Analysis in Piping Systems Including the Effects of Plastic Deformation and Cavitation

TLDR: In this paper, the authors developed a computer program that combines the capabilities of PTA-1 and PTAC to analyze pressure transients in the intermediate heat transport system of a sodium-cooled breeder reactor.

Abstract: Computational methods for analyzing pressure transients in the intermediate heat transport system of a sodium-cooled breeder reactor are being developed at Argonne National Laboratory. Because these systems typically operate at low pressures, thin-walled piping is used. Consequently, the pressure pulses produced by a sodium/water reaction in a steam generator or a pipe break may plastically deform sections of the piping, and rarefaction waves, because of the low operating pressure, may produce cavitation in the system. Both these phenomena have a large effect on the pressure pulses traversing the pipe network and, consequently, on the transient loading on major components. The computer program PTA-1, which includes the effect of plastic deformation of piping, and the computer program PTAC, which includes the effect of cavitation, have previously been validated using available experimental data. A new program, PTA-2, is being developed which combines the capabilities of PTA-1 and PTAC. Comparisons will be shown between PTA-2 predictions and the results of several experiments performed at Stanford Research Institute. In each of these experiments, a pressure pulse caused plastic deformation of a thin-walled pipe, producing a rarefaction wave which then produced a cavitated region in another pipe.