Simulation of processes in the air heat exchanger of the system for emergency cooling of a BN-800 reactor installation

A description is given of a three-dimensional mathematical model and the results of a numerical analysis of the processes in a section of the air heat exchanger (AHE) of the system for the emergency cooling of a BN-800 reactor installation under operating conditions characterized by low rates of air consumption through the heat exchanger and reduced temperatures of the sodium at the inlet to the tube bundle. The unique features of the investigated design of the AHE is the form of the platens in which the tube bundle is assembled, and the use of laterally finned tubes, as distinct from the smooth tube bundles used in existing systems of emergency cooling. The results of the calculation of changes in the sodium temperature in the tubes of the heat exchanger are presented, as are the hydrodynamic and temperature fields of the external coolant (the air).